Iron‐related P forms directly influence the amount of phosphate released from soils and sediments, particularly when subjected to reduction. In this work, we examined such P forms in 12 overfertilized, widely different European soils by using various single and sequential extraction techniques, including the use of a mild and a strong reductant (ascorbate and dithionite, respectively). Reductant‐soluble P (defined as the amount of P released by the specific action of a strong reductant) ranged from 2 to 63% of the total amount of P extracted by the sequential extraction procedure of Olsen and Sommers. More than 50% of reductant‐soluble P was released by the specific effect of ascorbate in most of the soils studied. The results of the sequential extractions suggest that, on average, about one‐half of the reductant‐soluble P was occluded in Fe oxides. Poorly crystalline and crystalline Fe oxides generally contained similar amounts of occluded P in absolute terms. However, P/Fe mole ratios were higher in poorly crystalline than in crystalline Fe oxides (X̄ = 5.9 and 1.7 × 10−2, respectively). We suggest that fertilizer P may have been occluded in Fe oxides, particularly in the poorly crystalline forms. The contribution of the parent material, pedogenesis, and fertilization to occluded P build‐up is difficult to assess. Though obtained in vitro, our results suggest that reduction of overfertilized soil materials in aquatic environments can release significant amounts of P; these in turn increase saturation of reduction‐resistant P‐adsorbing surfaces and thus help increase the P equilibrium concentration in solution.

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Estimates of the average distances by which marine larvae disperse are generally poorly described, despite the central role that larval dispersal plays in the demographic connectivity of populations across geographic space. Here, we describe the population genetic structure and average dispersal distance of the netted dog whelk Nassarius reticulatus (L.) (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Prosobranchia), a widespread member of European intertidal communities, using DNA sequence variation in a fragment of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI). An analysis of 156 individuals from 6 locations spread across approximately 1700 km of the European Atlantic coastline revealed weak and nonsignificant population structure (overall Phi(ST) = 0.00013). However, pairwise Phi(ST) values revealed a slight but significant increase in genetic isolation with geographic distance (IBD), suggesting that populations are not panmictic across the sampled geographic range. If we assume that the isolation by distance is maintained by a stable, stepping stone model of gene flow, then the slope of the IBD is consistent with an average larval dispersal distance of approximately 70 km per generation. The spatial scale of larval dispersal in N. reticulatus is consistent with the life cycle of the species (planktotrophic veliger lasting 30-60 days before competent to settle). A mismatch analysis of the COI sequences revealed a signature of an ancient demographic expansion that began 61 500-160,000 years ago, well before the most recent Pleistocene glaciation event. The greatest levels of genetic diversity occur within the middle latitudes of the whelk's geographic range, consistent with the notion that historic populations of N. reticulatus might have expanded northward and southward from the centrally located Bay of Biscay.

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