Methane-eating Microbes Can Use Iron And Manganese Oxides To 'Breathe'

Iron and manganese compounds, in addition to sulfate, may play an important role in converting methane to carbon dioxide and eventually carbonates in the Earth's oceans, according to a team of researchers looking at anaerobic sediments. These same compounds may have been key to methane reduction in the early, oxygenless days of the planet's atmosphere.

"We used to believe that microbes only consumed methane in marine anaerobic sediment if sulfate was present," said Emily Beal, graduate student in geoscience, Penn State. "But other electron acceptors, such as iron and manganese, are more energetically favorable than sulfate."
Microbes or groups of microbes -- consortia -- that use sulfates to convert methane for energy exist in marine sediments. Recently other researchers have identified microbes that use forms of nitrogen in fresh water environments to convert methane.
"People had speculated that iron and manganese could be used, but no one had shown that it occurred by incubating live organisms," said Beal.
Beal, working with Christopher H. House, associate professor of geoscience, Penn State, and Victoria J. Orphan, assistant professor of geobiology, California Institute of Technology, incubated a variety of marine sediments to determine if there were microbes that could convert methane to carbon dioxide without using any sulfur compounds. They report their results in the July 10 issue of Science.
Using samples of marine sediment taken 20 miles off the California coast and about 1,800 feet deep near methane seeps in the Pacific, Beal incubated a variety of sediment systems including as controls, an autoclaved sterile sample, a sample with sulfate as a control and a sample that was sulfate, iron oxide and manganese oxide free, but live. She also incubated samples that were sulfate free but contained iron oxide or manganese oxide. She placed methane gas that contained the non-radioactive carbon-13 isotope in the empty space in the flasks above the sediment and tested any resulting carbon dioxide produced by the samples. All the carbon dioxide had the carbon-13 isotope and so came from the methane samples.
The sterile control showed no activity, while the live control without sulfate showed minute activity. The sulfate control showed the most activity as expected, but both the iron and manganese oxide-laced samples showed activity, although less activity than the sulfate.
"We do not think that iron and manganese are more important than sulfate reduction today, but they are not trivial components," said House, who is director of Penn State's Astrobiology Research Center. "They are probably a big part of the carbon cycle today."
One reason they are important is that some of the carbon dioxide produced reacts with both the manganese and iron to form carbonates that precipitate and sequester carbon in the oceans. Even if the carbon dioxide escaped into the atmosphere, it is a less problematic greenhouse gas than methane.
On the early Earth, where oxygen was absent from the atmosphere, sulfates were scarce. Without sulfates, iron and manganese oxides may have been essential in converting methane to carbon dioxide.
"Sulfate comes mostly from oxidative weathering of rocks," said Beal. "Oxygen is needed for this to occur."
While manganese and iron oxides are made in today's oxygen atmosphere, they where also formed by photochemical reactions in a low oxygen atmosphere. These oxides were probably more abundant in the early Earth's oceans than sulfates.
While Beal has categorized the more than a dozen microorganisms living in the sediments she used, she does not know which of these microbes is responsible for consuming methane. It might be one bacteria or archaea species, or it may be a consortium of microbes. She is trying to identify the organisms responsible.
The National Science Foundation and the NASA Astrobiology Institute supported this work.
Adapted from materials provided by Penn State.

'Hotspots' Of Human Impact On Coastal Areas Ranked

Coastal marine ecosystems are at risk worldwide as a result of human activities, according to scientists at UC Santa Barbara who have recently published a study in the Journal of Conservation Letters. The authors have performed the first integrated analysis of all coastal areas of the world.

"Resource management and conservation in coastal waters must address a litany of impacts from human activities, from the land, such as urban runoff and other types of pollution, and from the sea," said Benjamin S. Halpern, first author, who is based at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at UCSB.
"One of the great challenges is to decide where and how much to allocate limited resources to tackling these problems," he said. "Our results identify where it is absolutely imperative that land-based threats are addressed –– so-called hotspots of land-based impact –– and where these land-based sources of impact are minimal or can be ignored."
The hottest hotspot is at the mouth of the Mississippi River, explained Halpern, with the other top 10 in Asia and the Mediterranean. "These are areas where conservation efforts will almost certainly fail if they don't directly address what people are doing on land upstream from these locations."
Nutrient runoff from upstream farms has caused a persistent "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico, where the Mississippi runs into this body of water. The dead zone is caused by an overgrowth of algae that feeds on the nutrients and takes up most of the oxygen in the water.
The authors state that they have provided the first integrated analysis for all coastal areas of the world. They surveyed four key land-based drivers of ecological change:
nutrient input from agriculture in urban settings
organic pollutants derived from pesticides
inorganic pollutants from urban runoff
direct impact of human populations on coastal marine habitats.
Halpern explained that a large portion of the world's coastlines experience very little effect of what happens on land –– nearly half of the coastline and more than 90 percent of all coastal waters. "This is because a vast majority of the planet's landscape drains into relatively few very large rivers, that in turn affect a small amount of coastal area," said Halpern. "In these places with little impact from human activities on land, marine conservation can and needs to focus primarily on what is happening in the ocean. For example: fishing, climate change, invasive species, and commercial shipping."
Coauthors from NCEAS are Colin M. Ebert, Carrie V. Kappel, Matthew Perry, Kimberly A. Selkoe, and Shaun Walbridge. Fiorenza Micheli of Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station and Elizabeth M. P. Madin of UCSB's Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology are also co-authors. Selkoe is also affiliated with the University of Hawaii's Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology.
NCEAS is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the National Marine Sanctuaries, and an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship provided additional support for this research.
Adapted from materials provided by University of California - Santa Barbara.

Saharan Dust Storms Linked To Enigmatic Fertilizer Plankton In Ocean

The tropical Atlantic waters around Cape Verde are very low in plant nutrients. Nitrogen is in especially short supply and limits the growth of the phytoplankton, the tiny plants that are at the basis of the food chain in the ocean. In this area, the nutrients fall out from the sky: Trade winds carry Saharan dust rich in iron and phosphorus which can fertilize the surface of the ocean.

This was one of the reasons for the IFM-GEOMAR and other German and UK institutions to establish an observatory on the Cape Verde island Sao Vicente. The Tenatso Observatory now supports long-term measurements of dust and greenhouse gases as well as an oceanographic mooring and regular sampling expeditions by the small Cape Verdean research vessel Islandia.
“We’re testing whether Saharan dust can promote the growth of a particular type of microbe, a cyanobacteria. These cyanobacteria can fertilize the surface of the ocean by fixing the abundant nitrogen gas that is dissolved in seawater”, says Prof. Julie LaRoche from IFM-GEOMAR, co-leader of the expedition.
There is plenty of nitrogen gas in the atmosphere but it needs to be "fixed" so that it turns into a fertilizer which is available to phytoplankton. The enigmatic cyanobacteria UCYN-A seems to be a very special nitrogen fixer. In contrast to other cyanobacteria, it is probably incapable of producing oxygen. This in turns enables it to fix nitrogen during the day while others cannot.
The Trade Winds and frequent dust storms that make this area so important for ocean research also complicate the scientists’ work. Dust samples are collected with filters on top of the atmospheric observatory. The collection of the water samples, however, requires sailing on the Islandia for several hours to the ocean observatory located 130 kilometres offshore in a surrounding water depth of 3600 metres. The samples are returned to laboratories that have been established at Cape Verde’s “National Institute for Fishery Development” where the dust experiments are conducted.
"The working conditions are difficult and some trips on the Islandia are like a roller coaster. But overall it’s a very positive work experience, thanks to our supportive Cape Verdean colleagues, the crew of the Islandia, and the general ambience on the islands “, says Stefanie Sudhaus , Ph.D. student at IFM-GEOMAR and member of the last expedition. Loaded with plenty of data from their experiments and confident that the experiments will deliver new discoveries, the scientists have returned to Kiel. During the expedition they were accompanied by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research and the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research.
Research Project at the Cape Verde
Scientists from German and Cape Verdean institutes have started collecting data at Cape Verde Observatory Tenatso in 2008, measurements that they hope to continue in order to follow the effect of global change in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. Their research is part of the SOPRAN project (Surface Ocean Processes in the Anthropocene) that is largely supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
Nitrogen fixers and UCYN-A
There is plenty of nitrogen gas (N2) in the atmosphere but only few organisms are able to "fix" it so that it turns into a fertilizer with biologically useful molecules. Cyanobacteria or blue-green algae are amongst the most important nitrogen-fixers. Until recently scientists thought that single-cell organisms could only fix the nitrogen during the night because during the day, oxygen is released through photosynthesis and inhibits nitrogen fixation by poisoning the enzyme responsible for it.
The cyanobacterium UCYN-A doesn’t seem to work like that. It lacks the genes for photosystem II that are needed for the oxygen release and apparently cannot fix carbon dioxide into sugars. Thus, it may utilize light energy in other ways and forgoes photosynthesis, as is normally carried out by land plants and other algae. Although this organism has never been isolated in pure culture, an initial characterization of its genome was published in 2008 by the group of Jonathan Zehr at University of Santa Cruz (Zehr et al. 2008, Science Vol. 322 no. 5904, pp. 1110-1112).
Adapted from materials provided by Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences (IFM-GEOMAR).

New NASA Satellite Survey Reveals Dramatic Arctic Sea Ice Thinning

Arctic sea ice thinned dramatically between the winters of 2004 and 2008, with thin seasonal ice replacing thick older ice as the dominant type for the first time on record. The new results, based on data from a NASA Earth-orbiting spacecraft, provide further evidence for the rapid, ongoing transformation of the Arctic's ice cover.

Scientists from NASA and the University of Washington in Seattle conducted the most comprehensive survey to date using observations from NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite, known as ICESat, to make the first basin-wide estimate of the thickness and volume of the Arctic Ocean's ice cover. Ron Kwok of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., led the research team, which published its findings July 7 in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans.
The Arctic ice cap grows each winter as the sun sets for several months and intense cold ensues. In the summer, wind and ocean currents cause some of the ice naturally to flow out of the Arctic, while much of it melts in place. But not all of the Arctic ice melts each summer; the thicker, older ice is more likely to survive. Seasonal sea ice usually reaches about 2 meters (6 feet) in thickness, while multi-year ice averages 3 meters (9 feet).
Using ICESat measurements, scientists found that overall Arctic sea ice thinned about 0.17 meters (7 inches) a year, for a total of 0.68 meters (2.2 feet) over four winters. The total area covered by the thicker, older "multi-year" ice that has survived one or more summers shrank by 42 percent.
Previously, scientists relied only on measurements of area to determine how much of the Arctic Ocean is covered in ice, but ICESat makes it possible to monitor ice thickness and volume changes over the entire Arctic Ocean for the first time. The results give scientists a better understanding of the regional distribution of ice and provide better insight into what is happening in the Arctic.
"Ice volume allows us to calculate annual ice production and gives us an inventory of the freshwater and total ice mass stored in Arctic sea ice," said Kwok. "Even in years when the overall extent of sea ice remains stable or grows slightly, the thickness and volume of the ice cover is continuing to decline, making the ice more vulnerable to continued shrinkage. Our data will help scientists better understand how fast the volume of Arctic ice is decreasing and how soon we might see a nearly ice-free Arctic in the summer."
In recent years, the amount of ice replaced in the winter has not been sufficient to offset summer ice losses. The result is more open water in summer, which then absorbs more heat, warming the ocean and further melting the ice. Between 2004 and 2008, multi-year ice cover shrank 1.54 million square kilometers (595,000 square miles) -- nearly the size of Alaska's land area.
During the study period, the relative contributions of the two ice types to the total volume of the Arctic's ice cover were reversed. In 2003, 62 percent of the Arctic's total ice volume was stored in multi-year ice, with 38 percent stored in first-year seasonal ice. By 2008, 68 percent of the total ice volume was first-year ice, with 32 percent multi-year ice.
"One of the main things that has been missing from information about what is happening with sea ice is comprehensive data about ice thickness," said Jay Zwally, study co-author and ICESat project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "U.S. Navy submarines provide a long-term, high-resolution record of ice thickness over only parts of the Arctic. The submarine data agree with the ICESat measurements, giving us great confidence in satellites as a way of monitoring thickness across the whole Arctic Basin."
The research team attributes the changes in the overall thickness and volume of Arctic Ocean sea ice to the recent warming and anomalies in patterns of sea ice circulation.
"The near-zero replenishment of the multi-year ice cover, combined with unusual exports of ice out of the Arctic after the summers of 2005 and 2007, have both played significant roles in the loss of Arctic sea ice volume over the ICESat record," said Kwok.
For images of the Arctic sea ice decline, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/icesat-20090707.html .
For more information about ICESat, visit: http://icesat.gsfc.nasa.gov/ .

Journal reference:
Kwok, R., G. F. Cunningham, M. Wensnahan, I. Rigor, H. J. Zwally, and D. Yi. Thinning and volume loss of the Arctic Ocean sea ice cover: 2003–2008. Journal of Geophysical Research, 2009; 114 (c7): C07005 DOI: 10.1029/2009JC005312
Adapted from materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Protecting Polar Bears With New Tracking Methods

A new approach to tracking polar bears, developed by Queen's University researchers, will shed more light on the potentially endangered Arctic animal and help boost the economy of Canada's north.

Integrating the traditional knowledge of Inuit hunters with state-of-the-art genetic DNA analysis, a three-part method developed by biologists Peter V.C. de Groot and Peter Boag, is cheaper and much easier on the bears than the current tracking practice, in which they are spotted from helicopters, tranquilized and marked.
"The data from current aerial monitoring methods may be becoming less accurate with increased sea ice changes caused by global warming, and we need a more sensitive tool to monitor Canada's bear populations," says Dr. de Groot. "This [new] method, along with others being evaluated, should allow us to annually survey all of the country's polar bears, non-intrusively, with Inuit involvement, at a fraction of the current cost."
The Queen's researchers, including MSc Biology students Pamela Wong and Christopher Harris, are using a multi-phased approach to create a clearer picture of the polar bear population. First, a number of "hair traps" – fenced enclosures baited with meat – will be set up about 15 kilometres apart over a 600-kilometre area. Bits of hair left behind by the bears as they attempt to reach the meat are sent to Dr. Boag's lab, where the number and sex of the animals are determined using DNA markers. At the same time, samples of bear feces are collected and genetically screened by collaborators at the Laboratory of Wildlife Diseases at the San Diego Zoo for the presence of disease-causing agents that may infect polar bears.
Polar bear footprints provide the other two elements of Dr. de Groot's tracking method. As a testament to the strength of the Inuit ability to identify a bear's sex, age and size from its prints in the snow, some of the region's top hunters are allowing the reliability and accuracy of their diagnoses to be evaluated. The hunters' assessments, complemented by an analysis of digital images of the footprints, will be combined with the results of the genetic data to map the bear population's age and sex distribution, diet, movement and mating patterns.
The Queen's team has received up to $500,000 from the federal Ministry of Indian and Northern Affairs to refurbish and upgrade research cabins in the McClintock Channel, west of Baffin Island. Local labourers will be used to haul building materials hundreds of kilometres by skidoo, and set up the cabins. Coupled with ongoing polar bear surveys in which local residents set up the sampling stations and analyze tracks, this work is expected to provide an economic boost for the communities involved. And when the refurbished huts – each equipped with wind turbines, generators, heaters and 15 beds – aren't being used for research, Inuit hunters may be able to bring in eco-tourists by skidoo to observe the bears in a natural setting.
The funding is part of the federal government's integrated Northern Strategy that focuses on exercising Canada's Arctic sovereignty, protecting the North's environmental heritage, promoting social and economic development, and improving northern governance.
Adapted from materials provided by Queen's University.

How Can The World's Fisheries Be Sustainable?

According to the most recent report on the status of the world's fisheries by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, fisheries supply at least 15% of the animal protein consumed by humans, provide direct and indirect employment for nearly 200 million people worldwide and generate $US85 billion annually. This same report indicates that 28% of the world's fisheries stocks are currently being overexploited or have collapsed and 52% are fully exploited.

A new study published in PLoS Biology provides the first global evaluation of how management practices influence fisheries' sustainability. The study assessed the effectiveness of the world's fisheries management regimes using evaluations from nearly 1,200 fisheries experts, analyzing these in combination with data on the sustainability of fisheries catches. The results indicate that most fisheries management regimes are lagging far behind standards set by international organizations, and that the conversion of scientific advice into policy, through a participatory and transparent process, plays the most critical role in determining the sustainability of fisheries.
"The world's fisheries are one of the most important natural assets to humankind," says lead author Camilo Mora, a Colombian researcher at Dalhousie University and the University of California San Diego. "Unfortunately, our use of the world's fisheries has been excessive and has led to the decline or collapse of many stocks."
"The consequences of overexploiting the world's fisheries are a concern not only for food security and socio-economic development but for ocean ecosystems," says Boris Worm, a professor at Dalhousie University and co-author of the paper. "We now recognize that overfishing can also lead to the erosion of biodiversity and ecosystem productivity."
"The different socioeconomic and ecological consequences associated with declining fish stocks are an international concern and several initiatives have been put forward to ensure that countries improve the way they use their marine resources," explains Mora. "Some of these initiatives include the United Nations Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Although these initiatives have been endorsed by most governments, a global assessment on the extent to which these ideals are actually implemented and effective remains lacking."
Mora and his colleagues analyzed a set of attributes upon which country-level fisheries could be evaluated. They pinpointed six parameters, including the scientific quality of management recommendations, the transparency of converting recommendations into policy, the enforcement of policies, the influence of subsidies, fishing effort, and the extent of fishing by foreign entities.
To quantify those attributes the researchers developed a questionnaire designed to elicit worst- to best-case answers. The survey was translated into five languages and distributed to over 13,000 fisheries experts around the world. Nearly 1,200 evaluations were used in the study. The responses of the surveyed experts were compared to, and found to be in accordance with, empirical data, supporting the validity of the data obtained in the study.
The results of this global survey showed that 7% of all coastal states carry out rigorous scientific assessment for the generation of management policies, 1.4% also have a participatory and transparent process to convert scientific recommendations into policy, and less than 1% also implement mechanisms to ensure the compliance with regulations. No one country was additionally free of the effects of excess fishing capacity, subsidies or access to foreign fishing.
"Perhaps the most striking result of our survey was that not a single country in the world was consistently good with respect to all these management attributes. So which countries are doing well and which are not is a question whose answer depends on the specific attribute you are looking at," says Mora.
The results of the study show that wealthier countries, though they have predominantly better science and enforcement capabilities, face the negative repercussions of excessive subsidies and larger fishing capacity, which have resulted largely from increased modernization of national fleets. In contrast, poorer countries largely lacked robust science and enforcement capabilities and although these nations have less fishing capacity nationally, they disproportionally sold fishing rights to nations that did. The study showed that in 33% of the coastal states classified as low-income (commonly countries in Africa and Oceania) most fishing is carried out by foreign fleets from either the European Union, South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan or the United States.
The only attribute in which poorer and wealthier countries overlapped significantly was their limited ability to convert scientific recommendations into policy. The mechanism for this pattern, however, was different. Poor countries reportedly struggle with the effects of corruption while wealthier countries often encounter more political or economical pressures.
For the second part of the study, Mora and his colleagues combined the database on management effectiveness with a recently developed index to assess the probability that the catch of a particular country is sustainable or not. This part of the study showed that out of several attributes analysed, the transparency with which scientific recommendations are turned into policy plays the strongest role in the fate of fisheries sustainability.
"Transparent policy-making is at the centre of the entire process," explains co-author Marta Coll, at the Institut de Ciènces del Mar in Spain. "If this is heavily influenced by political pressures or corruption, it is unlikely that good scientific advice will ever be translated into proper regulations. Similarly, authoritarianism in this process is likely to reduce compliance with the resulting policies."
"This study provided us with a look at both sides of the coin," says Andrew Rosenberg at the University of New Hampshire, who was not involved in the study. "On one hand, it reminds us of the difficult challenges facing fisheries management globally in protecting critical natural resources from overexploitation. On the other hand it delivers a message of hope that when policy-making is transparent, participatory, and based on science, things can improve."
Funding to CM, RAM, and BW was provided by the Sloan Foundation through the Future of Marine Animal Populations Project. KJG holds a Royal Society-Wolfson Research Merit Award. Funding to RUS was provided by the Pew Fellowship for Marine Conservation. Funding to DZ, RUS, and RW was provided by the Pew Charitable Trust, Philadelphia through the Sea Around Us Project. Funding to MC was provided by the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme FP7/2007-2013 under grant agreement #GA-2008-219265 for the implementation of ECOFUN Project. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Journal reference:
Mora C, Myers RA, Coll M, Libralato S, Pitcher TJ, et al. Management Effectiveness of the World's Marine Fisheries. PLoS Biol, 7(6): e1000131 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1000131
Adapted from materials provided by Public Library of Science, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.Public Library of Science (2009, July 7). How Can The World's Fisheries Be Sustainable?. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 8, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/06/090622201918.htm

Close Relationship Between Past Warming And Sea-level Rise

A team from the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (NOCS), along with colleagues from Tübingen (Germany) and Bristol presents a novel continuous reconstruction of sea level fluctuations over the last 520 thousand years. Comparison of this record with data on global climate and carbon dioxide (CO2) levels from Antarctic ice cores suggests that even stabilisation at today's CO2 levels may commit us to sea-level rise over the next couple of millennia, to a level much higher than long-term projections from the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Little is known about the total amount of possible sea-level rise in equilibrium with a given amount of global warming. This is because the melting of ice sheets is slow, even when temperature rises rapidly. As a consequence, current predictions of sea-level rise for the next century consider only the amount of ice sheet melt that will occur until that time. The total amount of ice sheet melting that will occur over millennia, given the current climate trends, remains poorly understood.
The new record reveals a systematic equilibrium relationship between global temperature and CO2 concentrations and sea-level changes over the last five glacial cycles. Projection of this relationship to today's CO2 concentrations results in a sea-level at 25 (±5) metres above the present. This is in close agreement with independent sea-level data from the Middle Pliocene epoch, 3-3.5 million years ago, when atmospheric CO2 concentrations were similar to the present-day value. This suggests that the identified relationship accurately records the fundamental long-term equilibrium behaviour of the climate system over the last 3.5 Million years.
Lead author Professor Eelco Rohling of the University of Southampton's School of Ocean and Earth Science based at NOCS, said: "Let's assume that our observed natural relationship between CO2 and temperature, and sea level, offers a reasonable 'model' for a future with sustained global warming. Then our result gives a statistically sound expectation of a potential total long-term sea-level rise. Even if we would curb all CO2 emissions today, and stabilise at the modern level (387 parts per million by volume), then our natural relationship suggests that sea level would continue to rise to about 25 m above the present. That is, it would rise to a level similar to that measured for the Middle Pliocene."
Project partners Professor Michal Kucera (University of Tübingen) and Dr Mark Siddall (University of Bristol), add: "We emphasise that such equilibration of sea level would take several thousands of years. But one still has to worry about the large difference between the inferred high equilibrium sea level and the level where sea level actually stands today. Recent geological history shows that times with similarly strong disequilibria commonly saw pulses of very rapid sea-level adjustment, at rates of 1-2 metres per century or higher."
The new study's projection of long-term sea-level change, based on the natural relationship of the last 0.5 to 3.5 million years, differs considerably from the IPCC's model-based long-term projection of +7 m. The discrepancy cannot be easily explained, and new work is needed to ensure that the 'gap is closed'.
The observed relationships from the recent geological past can form a test-bed or reality-check for models, to help them achieve improved future projections.
The project was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (UK) and the Deutsche Forschungs-Gemeinschaft (Germany).
The authors are Eelco Rohling (NOCS), Katharine Grant (NOCS), Mike Bolshaw (NOCS), Andrew Roberts (NOCS), Mark Siddall (University of Bristol), Christoph Hemleben (University of Tübingen) and Michal Kucera (University of Tübingen).
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Journal reference:
Rohling et al. Antarctic temperature and global sea level closely coupled over the past five glacial cycles. Nature Geoscience, June 21, 2009; DOI: 10.1038/ngeo557
Adapted from materials provided by National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (UK).National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (UK) (2009, July 7). Close Relationship Between Past Warming And Sea-level Rise. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 8, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/06/090622103833.htm

Mangrove-dependent Animals Globally Threatened

Substantial numbers of terrestrial vertebrates are restricted to mangrove forests. Many of these specialized species are listed as threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Prospects for mangrove-restricted animals are bleak, because more than two percent of mangrove forests are lost each year.

More than 40 percent of a sample of amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds that are restricted to mangrove ecosystems are globally threatened with extinction, according to an assessment published in the July/August issue of BioScience. The study, by David A. Luther of the University of Maryland and Russell Greenberg of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, was based on an extensive literature search and expert consultations.
The conclusions emphasize the vulnerability of animals that are dependent on a habitat rapidly being lost or degraded through coastal development, overexploitation, pollution, and changes in sea level and salinity.
Mangroves, which are salt-tolerant woody plants concentrated along coastal margins, generally in warm regions, have long been known to support many species of animals. Hundreds of vertebrates are sometimes found in mangroves, but Luther and Greenberg concentrated on the 69 terrestrial vertebrate species and subspecies that seem restricted to mangroves: 48 birds, 14 reptiles, 6 mammals, and 1 amphibian. These include several species with striking adaptations, such as specialized glands to excrete salt. The ground foragers among them feed primarily on crabs, but many of the birds feed on insects. For unclear reasons, mangrove-restricted species and subspecies are concentrated in Asia and Australia.
Between the early 1980s and 2001, between 19 and 35 percent of the world's mangrove forest area was lost. At this rate of loss--about 2 percent each year--mangroves could be extinct in 100 years. Only 27 of the terrestrial vertebrates that are dependent on mangroves have been assessed by the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature), and 13 of those are classified as threatened on the IUCN Red List, Luther and Greenberg report. They urge research aimed at predicting how continuing changes to mangrove forests are likely to affect the species found there: such information could guide attempts to conserve these specialized ecosystems.
Journal reference:
David A. Luther and Russell Greenberg. Mangroves: A Global Perspective on the Evolution and Conservation of Their Terrestrial Vertebrates. BioScience, July/August
Adapted from materials provided by American Institute of Biological Sciences, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.American Institute of Biological Sciences (2009, July 7). Mangrove-dependent Animals Globally Threatened. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 8, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/07/090701082905.htm

Male Seahorses Like Big Mates

Male seahorses have a clear agenda when it comes to selecting a mating partner: to increase their reproductive success. By being choosy and preferring large females, they are likely to have more and bigger eggs, as well as bigger offspring, according to Beat Mattle and Tony Wilson from the Zoological Museum at the University of Zurich in Switzerland.

Seahorses have a unique mode of reproduction: male pregnancy. Male seahorses provide all post-fertilization parental care, yet despite the high levels of paternal investment, they have long been thought to have conventional sex roles, with females choosing mating partners and males competing for their attention. However, clutch, egg and offspring size all increase with female body size in seahorses, suggesting that males may obtain fecundity benefits by mating with large-bodied females.
Mattle and Wilson investigated the mating behavior of the pot-bellied seahorse (Hippocampus abdominalis), concentrating on the importance of partner body size in mate selection. A total of 10 female and 16 male sexually mature seahorses, obtained from a captive breeding facility in
Tasmania, took part in the experiment. Individuals of both sexes were presented with potential mating partners of different sizes. Mating preferences were quantified in terms of time spent courting each potential partner.
Mattle and Wilson found striking differences in courtship behavior between male and female seahorses, with choosy males and indiscriminate females.
Male seahorses were highly active and showed a clear preference for larger partners. In contrast, females were significantly less active and showed ambiguous mating preferences.
The authors conclude: "The strong male preferences for large females demonstrated here suggest that sexual selection may act strongly on female body size in wild populations of H. abdominalis, consistent with predictions on the importance of female body size for reproductive output in this species."
Their findings have just been published online in Springer's journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.
Adapted from materials provided by Springer Science+Business Media, via AlphaGalileo.

Many Antarctic Species Ill Prepared To Cope With Warmer Ocean

A group of researchers from the British Antarctic Survey have collected individuals from a wide range of species commonly found in Antarctic waters and subjected them to increasing levels of water temperature to learn how each species is prepared to cope with the conditions that they are likely to experience in the future.

The study showed that several of these species are already living really close to their upper temperature range, and that further increases caused by global warming could easily provoke serious ecological imbalances in this region.
These results will be presented by Dr. Lloyd S. Peck at the Society of Experimental Biology Annual Meeting in Glasgow on the 30th of June 2009.
The researchers found that, for a given species, smaller individuals were able to tolerate higher temperatures compared to larger ones. Since larger individuals are the ones more likely to have reached sexual maturity, their vulnerability to temperature change could seriously damage population levels within a few generations.
In addition, since active species such as predators fared better than sessile ones when dealing with temperature increase, a disruption in the food chain could add up to the direct effect of global warming to cause disruptions earlier and to greater extents in the Antarctic marine ecosystem.
Adapted from materials provided by Society for Experimental Biology, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.Society for Experimental Biology (2009, July 6). Many Antarctic Species Ill Prepared To Cope With Warmer Ocean. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 8, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/06/090630074951.htm

Blue And Orange Lobsters Surface In Manomet

A blue lobster and six orange lobsters have surfaced in Manomet. The rare crustaceans were discovered at the Lobster Pound. Jessica Barry, the Pound's shipping and receiving manager, told the Patriot Ledger the lobsters came from Maine and the South Shore.The colorful creatures will be donated to the Woods Hole Science Aquarium and the New England Aquarium.Experts say blue lobsters are about one in a million. Orange lobsters, which look like they've already been cooked, are unusual but not extremely rare. Linked to this site http://wbztv.com/seenon/Blue.Lobster.Orange.2.580463.html (© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Disappearing Seagrass Threatening Future Of Coastal Ecosystems Globally

An international team of scientists warns that accelerating losses of seagrasses across the globe threaten the immediate health and long-term sustainability of coastal ecosystems. The team has compiled and analyzed the first comprehensive global assessment of seagrass observations and found that 58 percent of world's seagrass meadows are currently declining.

The assessment, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows an acceleration of annual seagrass loss from less than 1 percent per year before 1940 to 7 percent per year since 1990. Based on more than 215 studies and 1,800 observations dating back to 1879, the assessment shows that seagrasses are disappearing at rates similar to coral reefs and tropical rainforests.
The team estimates that seagrasses have been disappearing at the rate of 110 square-kilometers (42.4 square-miles) per year since 1980 and cites two primary causes for the decline: direct impacts from coastal development and dredging activities, and indirect impacts of declining water quality.
"A recurring case of 'coastal syndrome' is causing the loss of seagrasses worldwide," said co-author Dr. William Dennison of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. "The combination of growing urban centers, artificially hardened shorelines and declining natural resources has pushed coastal ecosystems out of balance. Globally, we lose a seagrass meadow the size of a soccer field every thirty minutes."
"While the loss of seagrasses in coastal ecosystems is daunting, the rate of this loss is even more so," said co-author Dr. Robert Orth of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science of the College of William and Mary. "With the loss of each meadow, we also lose the ecosystem services they provide to the fish and shellfish relying on these areas for nursery habitat. The consequences of continuing losses also extend far beyond the areas where seagrasses grow, as they export energy in the form of biomass and animals to other ecosystems including marshes and coral reefs."
"With 45 percent of the world's population living on the 5 percent of land adjacent to the coast, pressures on remaining coastal seagrass meadows are extremely intense," said co-author Dr. Tim Carruthers of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. "As more and more people move to coastal areas, conditions only get tougher for seagrass meadows that remain."
Seagrasses profoundly influence the physical, chemical and biological environments of coastal waters. A unique group of submerged flowering plants, seagrasses provide critical habitat for aquatic life, alter water flow and can help mitigate the impact of nutrient and sediment pollution.
The assessment was conducted as a part of the Global Seagrass Trajectories Working Group, supported by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) in Santa Barbara, California, through the National Science Foundation.
Journal reference:
Michelle Waycott, Carlos Duarte, Tim Carruthers, Bob Orth, Bill Dennison, Suzanne Olyarnik, Ainsley Calladine, Jim Fourqurean, Ken Heck, Randall Hughes, Gary Kendrick, Jud Kenworthy, Fred Short, and Susan Williams. Accelerating loss of seagrasses across the globe threatens coastal ecosystems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, June 29, 2009
Adapted from materials provided by University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.

Biomedical Research Profits From Exploration Of Deep Sea

A new study highlights how the exploration of the ocean depths can benefit humankind. This is the story of a voyage of discovery, starting with marine animals that glow, the identification of the molecules responsible and their application as marker in living cells.

Many marine organisms such as sea anemones and corals produce fluorescent proteins, which come in a variety of dazzling hues. Fluorescent proteins have revolutionized biomedical research by enabling the imaging of processes within living cells and tissues. The impact of this technology is considered so high that the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was most recently awarded to scientists that discovered and further developed the first green fluorescent protein that was applied as cellular marker.
Many useful fluorescent proteins have been found in species that live in the sun-drenched tropical coral reefs. But much less is known about species living in the darkness of the deep sea.
An international team of scientists led by Jörg Wiedenmann of the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, Mikhail Matz of the University of Texas in Austin and Charles Mazel from the company NightSea have explored the Gulf of Mexico using a submarine, the US Johnson-Sea-Link II, equipped with a system designed to detect fluorescence.
They discovered a species of a sea anemone-like animal (a ceriantharian, or tube anemone) – possibly a new species –that emits bright green fluorescence. They went on to identify a novel green fluorescent protein.
Although isolated from an animal that lives in essentially complete darkness at depths between 500 and 600 metres and at low temperatures (below 10 °C), the new fluorescent protein, named cerFP505, can be well applied as marker protein in mammalian cells at normal body temperature (37 °C).
The brightness and stability of cerFP505 are similar to other fluorescent proteins used in biomedical research. The fluorescence can be switched on and off in a controlled way by alternating blue and near-ultra violet light. These properties make cerFP505 an ideal lead structure for the development of marker proteins for super-resolution microscopy, say the researchers.
Further useful properties can potentially be built into the fluorescent protein by genetic engineering. "Moreover", they say, "the discovery of photoswitchable cerFP505 from a deep sea animal reveals the lightless depths of the oceans as a new reservoir of proteins with novel and highly desirable properties for imaging applications".
The authors of the paper are Alexander Vogt, Cecilia D'Angelo, Franz Oswald, Andrew Denzel, Charles Mazel. Mikhail Matz, Sergey Ivanchenko, Ulrich Nienhaus and Jörg Wiedenmann. This study was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and the NOAA Ocean Exploration Program ('Operation Deep Scope).
Journal reference:
Vogt A, D'Angelo C, Oswald F, Denzel A, Mazel CH, et al. A Green Fluorescent Protein with Photoswitchable Emission from the Deep Sea. PLoS ONE, 3(11): e3766 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0003766
Adapted from materials provided by Public Library of Science, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Innovative Technology Shatters The Barriers Of Modern Light Microscopy

Researchers at the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Technische Universität München are using a combination of light and ultrasound to visualize fluorescent proteins that are seated several centimeters deep into living tissue. In the past, even modern technologies have failed to produce high-resolution fluorescence images from this depth because of the strong scattering of light.

In the Nature Photonics journal, the Munich researchers describe how they can reveal genetic expression within live fly larvae and fish by “listening to light”. In the future this technology may facilitate the examination of tumors or coronary vessels in humans.
Since the dawn of the microscope scientists have been using light to scrutinize thin sections of tissue to ascertain whether they are healthy or diseased or to investigate cell function. However, the penetration limits for this kind of examination lie between half a millimeter and one millimeter of tissue. In thicker layers light is diffused so strongly that all useful details are obscured.
Together with his research team, Professor Vasilis Ntziachristos, director of the Institute of Biological and Medical Imaging of the Helmholtz Zentrum München – German Research Center for Environmental Health and chair for biological imaging at the Technische Universität München, has now broken through this barrier and rendered three-dimensional images through at least six millimeters of tissue, allowing whole-body visualization of adult zebra fish.
To achieve this feat, Prof. Ntziachristos and his team made light audible. They illuminated the fish from multiple angles using flashes of laser light that are absorbed by fluorescent pigments in the tissue of the genetically modified fish. The fluorescent pigments absorb the light, a process that causes slight local increases temperature, which in turn result in tiny local volume expansions. This happens very quickly and creates small shock waves. In effect, the short laser pulse gives rise to an ultrasound wave that the researchers pick up with an ultrasound microphone.
The real power of the technique, however, lies in specially developed mathematical formulas used to analyze the resulting acoustic patterns. An attached computer uses these formulas to evaluate and interpret the specific distortions caused by scales, muscles, bones and internal organs to generate a three-dimensional image.
The result of this “multi-spectral opto-acoustic tomography”, or MSOT, is an image with a striking spatial resolution better than 40 micrometers (four hundredths of a millimeter). And best of all, the sedated fish wakes up and recovers without harm following the procedure.
Dr. Daniel Razansky, who played a pivotal role in developing the method, says, "This opens the door to a whole new universe of research. For the first time, biologists will be able to optically follow the development of organs, cellular function and genetic expression through several millimeters to centimeters of tissue.”
In the past, understanding the evolution of development or of disease required numerous animals to be sacrificed. With a plethora of fluorochrome pigments to choose from – including pigments using the fluorescence protein technology for which a Nobel Prize was awarded in 2008 and clinically approved fluorescent agents – observing metabolic and molecular processes in all kinds of living organisms, from fish to mice and humans, will be possible. The fruits of pharmaceutical research can also be harvested faster since the molecular effects of new treatments can be observed in the same animals over an extended period of time.
Bio-engineer Ntziachristos is convinced that, “MSOT can truly revolutionize biomedical research, drug discovery and healthcare. Since MSOT allows optical and fluorescence imaging of tissue to a depth of several centimeters, it could become the method of choice for imaging cellular and subcellular processes throughout entire living tissues.”
Journal reference:
Razansky et al. Multispectral opto-acoustic tomography of deep-seated fluorescent proteins in vivo. Nature Photonics, 2009; 3 (7): 412 DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2009.98
Adapted from materials provided by Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health.

King Crabs Go Deep To Avoid Hot Water

Researchers from the University of Southampton have drawn together 200 years' worth of oceanographic knowledge to investigate the distribution of a notorious deep-sea giant - the king crab. The results, published this week in the Journal of Biogeography, reveal temperature as a driving force behind the divergence of a major seafloor predator; globally, and over tens of millions of years of Earth's history.In deep seas all over the world, around 100 species of king crabs live largely undiscovered. The fraction that have been found includes some weird and wonderful examples - Paralomis seagrantii has its eight walking legs and claws entirely covered in long fur-like setae; while related group Lithodes megacanthus grows to lengths of 1.5 metres, and has 15-20-cm long defensive spines covering its body. At temperatures of around 1- 4ºC, these crabs thrive in some of the colder waters on Earth; living and growing very slowly, probably to very old ages. Only in the cooler water towards the poles are king crabs found near the water surface - though temperatures found around some parts of the Antarctic (below 1ºC) are too extreme for their survival.A paper, published 15 years ago in Nature is thought to show that king crabs evolved from shell-bound hermit crabs - similar to the familiar shoreline animals. Soft-bodied, but shell-free intermediate forms are found only in the shallow waters off Japan, Alaska, and Western Canada.By looking at 200 years' worth of records from scientific cruises and museum collections, Sally Hall and Dr Sven Thatje from the University of Southampton's School of Ocean and Earth Science at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton discovered that the soft-bodied forms can live at temperatures about ten degrees higher than the hard-bodied forms, but that both groups can only reproduce when temperature is between 1ºC up to 13-15ºC."It seems that most shallow-water representatives of this family are trapped in the coastal regions of the North Pacific because the higher sea surface temperatures further south prevent them from reproducing successfully and spreading," said Dr Thatje.In order to leave this geographic bottleneck and spread around the world, the shallow water ancestors of current deep-sea groups had to go deep and adapt to the challenges of life in the deep sea. The process of adaptation to constant low temperatures (1-4ºC) prevailing in the deep sea seems to have narrowed the temperature tolerance range of the crabs where they have emerged to the surface waters in the Southern Hemisphere. With differences of only a couple of degrees in temperature affecting the distribution of the king crab, it is difficult to predict the consequences of range expansion in the warming waters around the Antarctic Peninsular region.King crabs are of great commercial value, and fisheries are established in high latitude regions of both hemispheres. "Understanding their evolutionary history and ecology is key to supporting sustainable fisheries of these creatures," said research student Sally Hall. She adds: "Recent range extensions of king crabs into Antarctica, as well as that of the red king crab Paralithodes camtchaticus in the Barents Sea and along the coast off Norway emphasise the responsiveness of this group to rapid climate change."This study reveals temperature as a driving force behind the speciation and radiation of a major seafloor predator globally and over tens of millions of years of Earth's history.The study has been supported by the National Environment Research Council (UK) through a PhD studentship to Sally Hall, and a Research Grant from the Royal Society awarded to Dr Thatje.University of Southampton

A new subspecies of Blind Cave Fish

A new subspecies of Blind Cave Fish of the genus Garra (Teleostei:Cyprinidae) from Wadi Al Wurayah pools, Emirate of Fujairah, United ArabEmirates is described. This subspecies is distinguished from the other threesubspecies of Garra barreimiae living in Bahrain, Oman and United Arab Emirates,by its distinctive body colouration and the small size. It is morphologicallyand geographically distinct from the other subspecies. The new subspecies wasnamed Garra barreimiae wurayahi Khalaf, 2009.During a field trip to Wadi Al Wurayah, the U.A.E.'s first mountain protectedarea, located in Al Hajar Mountains, Emirate of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates,on Friday the 26th June 2009, accompanied with my wife Ola and my daughter Nora,I inspected Wadi Al Wurayah pools and waterfall, and saw many blind cave fish(Garra barreimiae Fowler and Steinitz, 1956) swimming in the pool waters. Thesefish were observed, examined and measured.Description and Distinctive Features:After examining Garra barreimiae at the pools of Wadi Al Wurayah, I begancomparing between the different Arabian Blind Cave Fish subspecies. There arethree Garra barreimiae subspecies living in the Arabian Peninsula: The two OmaniBlind Cave Fish subspecies Garra barreimiae barreimiae Fowler & Steinitz, 1956,from Al Buraimi Oasis; and Garra barreimiae gallagheri Krupp, 1988, from Seeqand Wadi Bani Khalid north of Muqal; and the Emirati Blind Cave Fish subspeciesGarra barreimiae shawkahensis Banister and Clarke, 1977, from Wadi Shawkah,Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah.Garra barreimiae, named after the Al Buraimi Oasis, Oman, is by far the mostcommon native freshwater fish species found in the United Arab Emirates. In manywadis Garra barreimiae is the only fish present. The Wadi Al Wurayah subspeciesGarra barreimiae wurayahi Khalaf, 2009, have a small size. Young specimens are1-4 centimeters, and adults are 4.5–7 centimeters. They are mottled brown incolour, typically dark but varying somewhat with the surroundings. Larger adultssometimes show more colourful red, white or blue markings, probably related tobreeding status.Distribution:Garra barreimiae is endemic to Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and northern Oman.Separate subspecies have been recognized on the east and west flanks of theHajar Mountains, respectively, but these cannot be distinguished by fieldobservation alone. The subspecies Garra barreimiae wurayahi is endemic to WadiAl Wurayah, Emirate of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. The genus Garra is knownfrom East Africa to South Asia and several other Garra species are endemic tothe mountains of south-western Arabia, but the closest relatives of Garrabarreimiae is thought to be the newly discovered Omani Garra smarti, and theIrani Garra persica, which is widespread in southern Iran.Natural History and Habitat:Garra barreimiae has a behavioural tendency to explore upstream, which probablyfacilitates dispersal when the wadis flow. Smaller adults have been observed toclimb several meters up waterfalls, using the wet surface of the splash zoneadjacent to the main flow of water, sometimes wriggling, sometimes jettingforward, resting periodically with pectoral fins spread, the mouth plate engagedfor suction, and the tail twisted and pressed flat against the rock.They feed on detritus and algae and have a specialized mouth plate thatfunctions as a suction device. They resemble aquarium catfish as they nuzzletheir way over gravel and rock surfaces, but they dart about frantically whenapproached in shallow pools where they are vulnerable to terrestrial and avianpredators.Little is known about the life history of G. barreimiae in the wild. Severalanecdotal reports exist of the release of eggs and sperm during transport ofspecimens, provoking speculation that spawning may be triggered by turbulence,mimicking that of a wadi in spate. G. barreimiae will cannibalize its own eggsif conditions permit. Experiments have shown that G. barreimiae can toleratewater temperatures up to ca. 40ºC (104ºF) and salinity up to one-third that ofsea water, but they usually live in water temperature between 18°C - 24°C, andpH range: 6.5 - 7.5; and dH range: 10 – 20.Garra and Locals:Garra barreimiae is caught and eaten by human residents of the Hajar Mountains,even today. The normal technique employs a V-shaped stone dam to channel thefish onto a portable sieve-like platform made from palm ribs, wire mesh or nylonnetting. This can be very effective, eliminating all but the very smallest fishin the area, but only G. barreimiae is taken for food, even when other speciesare present.Status:Vulnerable (IUCN).Conclusion:After examining the Garra barreimiae at Wadi Al Wurayah shallow pools, andcomparing the different Arabian Blind Cave Fish subspecies, and referring tomany zoological references, and searching the Internet, I came finally to aconclusion that we are in front of a new subspecies of the Blind Cave Fish fromWadi Al Wurayah pools, Emirate of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates.I gave it the scientific name Garra barreimiae wurayahi, new subspecies. Thesubspecies name "wurayahi" is Latin for Wadi Al Wurayah.Garra barreimiae wurayahi, new subspecies:Scientific trinomial name: Garra barreimiae wurayahi Khalaf, 2009.Common Name: Emirati Blind Cave Fish, Wadi Al Wurayah Blind Cave Fish.Location: Wadi Al Wurayah pools, Emirate of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates.Date of capture: 26th June, 2009.

Little-known Marine Decomposers Attract The Attention Of Genome Sequencers

The Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute (JGI) announced today that they will sequence the genomes of four species of labyrinthulomycetes. These little-known marine species were selected for sequencing as the result of a proposal submitted to the competitive JGI Community Sequencing Program by a team of microbiologists led by Dr. Jackie Collier, assistant professor at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) at Stony Brook University."Labyrinthulomycetes are a huge group of organisms that behave ecologically like fungi," said Dr. Collier. "But we know so little about them and there is more diversity among this group than among all the animals you can think of."Labyrinthulomycetes are single-celled marine decomposers that eat non-living plant, algal, and animal matter. They are ubiquitous and abundant—particularly on dead vegetation and in salt marshes and mangrove swamps. Although most labyrinthulomycetes species are not pathogens, the organisms responsible for eelgrass wasting disease and QPX disease in hard clams are part of this group.In some regions, labyrinthulomycetes may be as important as bacteria in degrading organic matter. In coastal systems, the abundance of bacteria is tied to levels of organic matter from marine sources, while the abundance of labyrinthulomycetes is more closely tied to levels of particulate organic matter from land sources. This suggests that labyrinthulomycetes may play an important role in the marine carbon cycle by breaking down material that is difficult to degrade. Because labyrinthulomycetes—unlike bacteria—make long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), they are also thought to improve the nutritional value of poor quality organic detritus."The genome sequences will provide a quantum leap in our understanding of the physiological capacity of these organisms," said Dr. Collier. "The genes can tell us which enzymes a species is capable of producing, which in turn tells us what kinds of material they can potentially degrade and what role they play in a marine ecosystem's food web."In addition, genomic information might suggest ways to exploit labyrinthulomycetes in novel biotechnological applications. Labyrinthulomycetes produce a wide array of enzymes and some species can degrade crude oil. Also, some labyrinthulomycetes are currently cultured for nutritional supplements. If PUFAs derived from labyrinthulomycetes were to replace fish oils and meal used in aquaculture and animal farming, it would likely reduce the number of fish caught for use as animal feed and have a positive impact on the health of the world's oceans.Stony Brook University

Japanese scientists to breed 'super tuna'

Tokyo.....Japanese scientists will have bred a new "super-tuna" within a decade that will be stronger, more resistant to disease and taste better than the bluefin presently in the oceans. Stocks of tuna have declined by as much as 90 per cent in some waters. The tuna - stocks of which are in global decline - would be raised in farms to meet surging demand around the world for the traditional Japanese delicacy. A team from Japan's Fisheries Research Agency, The University of Tokyo and Kyushu University is close to completing the genome sequence of the bluefin tuna to unravel the secrets of the chemical building blocks of the fish and expects to be able to start a breeding programme next year. Oceans becoming acidic 'at fastest rate for 65 million years'"We have already completed two computer sequencing runs and have around 60 per cent of the tuna genome," said Dr. Kazumasa Ikuta, director of research at the Yokohama-based Fisheries Research Agency. "We plan to use the sequence to establish a breeding programme for bluefin tuna as most aquaculture farmers presently use wild juveniles," he said. "We want to establish a complete aquaculture system that will produce fish that have good strength, are resistant to disease, grow quickly and taste delicious." Stocks of tuna have declined by as much as 90 per cent in some waters and the World Wildlife Fund has warned that the Atlantic bluefin will have been wiped out within three years unless radical measures are taken to protect stocks. In June, celebrities including Sting, Jemima Khan and Elle Macpherson signed a letter to Japanese chef Nobu, operator of the upmarket restaurant that is part-owned by Robert De Niro, vowing to boycott the chain. "It is astounding lunacy to serve up endangered species for sushi," wrote Stephen Fry. "There is no justification for peddling extinction, yet that is exactly what Nobu is doing in restaurants around the world." Discussions are presently under way in the Spanish city of San Sebastian on how to protect tuna species, with environmental groups demanding tougher quotas and the European Union proposing reducing tuna fleets. Nine of the 23 tuna species are officially listed as under threat from overfishing, with the global annual catch of tuna at around 4.5 million tons.

Seal's close call with killer whale in Patagonia

A killer whale, or orca, narrowly missed out on catching a young seal off the coast of Patagonia.

An astonishing sequence of images showed the orca emerging from shallow icy waters towards the shore in an attempt to feed on the seal pup. Rob Lott , a photographer and conservationist, travelled to Patagonia to study and photograph the foraging behaviour of a pod of 18 orcas. "We spent a month watching this pod of 18 orcas near Ponte Note in Patagonia," he said. "Despite their numbers only seven of the Orcas have mastered the stranding behaviour where the orca enters the shallow surf to feed on seal pups. "On one occasion we spotted Mel, a 50 year-old who had previously been studied by David Attenborough in his "Trials of Life" documentary. We identified him due to his large two metre dorsal fin ad it was great to see him in action." Orcas are the largest member of the dolphin family. Growing to a length of up to 27 feet, adults weigh as much as 10 tons. They are known to be opportunistic feeders, preying on virtually any large marine animal. Aside from hunting in the waters, orcas are known to leave the water to grab seals and sea lions from the shore. "Seal pups are often born in January of each year and as they grow older they become more brave and courageous and head down towards the shallow surf," said Mr Lott. "Over the years the orcas have figured this out and it is not uncommon for the orcas to feed on the tiny seal pups. Mel is known to be an expert hunter and he will often take a seal from the shore before taking it back to the pod for feeding. "On this occasion, however, the pup got away, but it made for some spectacular images." Telegraph.co.uk

Coalition of Conservation Organizations, Scientists Calls on White House and Congress to Protect Corals

The Coral Reef Alliance, Greenpeace USA, WWF, Sierra Club, and SeaWeb are among a large coalition of 44 conservation organizations and more than 100 marine scientists urging the White House and U.S. Congress to undertake strong coral protection. San Francisco, California (PRWEB) July 2, 2009 -- The Coral Reef Alliance (http://www.coral.org) has created a coalition of 44 marine conservation and stakeholder groups and 117 marine scientists to ask the White House and U.S. Congress to undertake the following measures for coral reef protection: Reauthorization of the U.S. Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000; Enactment of meaningful reductions in carbon dioxide emissions; Effective conservation of at least 30 percent of coral reef and reef-associated coastal resources in U.S. states and territories using marine protected areas; and Support for ocean education and citizen-science programs to create an educated public that understands and is committed to ocean conservation.Leading scientists and conservationists across the nation have joined the coalition, which has sent signed letters to the White House and the U.S. Congress, urging them to act. The coalition includes groups such as The Ocean Foundation, Center for Biological Diversity, World Wildlife Fund, Reef Check Foundation, NAUI and PADI Worldwide, Fugro Earth Data, Surfrider Foundation, and Sierra Club. "The major threats to coral reefs are well known and the Coral Reef Conservation Act is an opportunity to address them," said Brian Huse, Executive Director of the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL). "Through this important legislation, Congress has a fantastic opportunity to advance the protection of these important and irreplaceable marine ecosystems." Despite their appearances, corals are neither rocks nor plants. Corals are animals that provide marine species with food, fertile habitat for reproduction, and safe havens from predators. Reefs provide more than $15 billion in fisheries and tourism services around the world, and one billion people in Asia alone depend on fish caught in coral reef waters. Coral reefs are in decline around the world. A report issued last month states that the overall live coral cover for reefs in the Florida Keys has diminished by 50 to 80 percent in the past ten years. Many factors have influenced the decline of coral reefs, including climate change, overfishing, nutrient pollution, vessel impacts, invasive species, and disease. Scientists say that 20 percent of the world's coral reefs have already been destroyed, and another 24 percent may be lost within our lifetime if human impacts on corals are not reduced."Global action is needed to reduce greenhouse gasses and ensure the future of coral reefs," said Dr. Andrew Baker of the University of Miami--one of the 117 scientists who signed the letters. The U.S. Coral Reef Conservation Act is currently awaiting reauthorization in Congress. The legislation is sponsored by Representative Madeleine Bordallo of Guam, and was marked up by the House Committee on Natural Resources in April 2009. Similar legislation awaits introduction in the Senate. "Movement in the Senate is needed now for timely passage of this important legislation," said Brian Huse. "We are urging constituents to contact their congressional representatives and ask them to make corals legislation a priority in the 111th Congress." The Act currently authorizes grants for coral reef conservation activities. New provisions include increasing the status of protection for corals in all U.S. waters; supporting community-based approaches to coral reef stewardship; strengthening U.S. international coral reef conservation efforts; and authorizing increased funding to protect these threatened habitats. The Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) unites and empowers communities to save coral reefs. It provides tools, education, and inspiration to residents of coral reef destinations to support local projects that benefit both reefs and people.