Constraints on the availability of freshwater and land plants and animals to feed the 9.2 billion humans projected lo inhabit Earth by 2050 can be ovircome by enhancing the contribution the ocean itiakes lofoorl production. Catches from ocean fisheries arc unlikely to recover without adeijuate conservation measures, so the greater contribution of the oceam to feeding humanity must be derived largely frotn niaricuUurc. For the effort lo be successful, inariculturc must dose the production cycle to almidón its current ilepcndetice on fiilierics ciUchey. enhance the production of edible macwalgiie and filter-feeder orgdnisms; minimize cnvironnicnial impacts; and increase integration with food production on ¡and, tnmsferring water-intensi-r contponcuts of the human diet (i.e., production of animal pwtàu] lo ihc ocean. Acconimoilating these changes will enable the oceans to become a major source oj fooil, which we believe will constitute ihe uext food revolution in human history.
The European Union-funded ECASA project (Ecosystem Approach for Sustainable Aquaculture) studied the impacts from aquaculture on ecosystems from northern Norway to Greece. The objectives of this investigation were to identify quantitative indicators of the effects of aquaculture on marine communities, and to assess their applicability over a range of ecosystems and aquaculture production systems. The study included 6 Mediterranean and 4 Atlantic sites, 7 of which produced finfish (seabream, seabass, tuna, salmon and cod), and 2 bivalve molluscs (oysters, mussels, and clams); one site produced both fish and bivalves. Cultivation methods included finfish cages, long-lines and trestles. Similar sampling methodologies were employed at the 10 study sites, obtaining sediment, hydrodynamic, and benthic faunal data. The horizontal impact from organic enrichment extended 50 m from the farms, with contradictory responses in several indicators (individual abundance, biomass) and a more consistent response of the Infaunal Trophic Index (ITI) and AZTI's Marine Biotic Index (AMBI). By means of Partial Redundancy Analysis, it was demonstrated that the environmental variables explained 53.2% of the variability in the macrofaunal variables (individual abundance, species richness, diversity, AMBI and ITI), whilst the explained variance was partialled out within three groups of variables: (i) 'hydrography' (depth, distance to farm, average current speed), which explained 11.5% of the variance; (ii) 'sediment' (Eh and percentages of silt and total organic matter), which explained 5.4%; and (iii) 'cages' (years of production and annual production), which explained 15.2%. The shared variance explained by interactions among these groups was 21.1%. These results, together with multiple regression analysis, provide an accurate assessment of the degree of impact from aquaculture. In conclusion, the use of several benthic indicators, in assessing farm impacts, together with the investigation of dynamics of the studied location, water depth, years of farm activity, and total annual production, must be included when interpreting the response of benthic communities to organic enrichment from aquaculture.
Despite its importance as an ecological engineer, little is known about the feeding ecology of the widespread reef framework-forming cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa. This is the first study to compare lipid signatures of L. pertusa from different areas in the North Atlantic using samples from 2 sites in the eastern Atlantic and 2 seamounts in the western Atlantic. Lipid samples were collected in February, May, July and November from the Mingulay reef complex off western Scotland, but no clear seasonal pattern was observed. High lipid content and large wax ester fractions were recorded from all sites, with the highest values recorded at the shallowest site (Mingulay). Here the prevalence of copepod lipid biomarkers-monounsaturated fatty acids 20:1(n-9) and 22:1(n-11) and their fatty alcohols-indicates L. pertusa feeds predominantly on calanoid copepods. At deeper offshore sites, the abundance of the fatty acid 18:1(n-9) and fatty alcohol 16:0 suggest a significant dietary input from non-calanoid copepods. Our results imply that the shallow Mingulay site is likely to receive a greater input of fresh surficial material and a higher abundance of herbivorous calanoid copepods, while at the deeper sites, carnivorous or omnivorous non-calanoid copepods are likely to be more abundant. L. pertusa therefore appears to be an opportunistic feeder capable of taking a variety of zooplankton prey. Further investigation is required to assess site-specific dependence on prey sources.
In this study, we describe the isolation and characterization of a new exopolymer that exhibits high emulsifying activities against a range of oil substrates and demonstrates a differential capacity to desorb various mono-, di-, and trivalent metal species from marine sediment under nonionic and seawater ionicstrength conditions. This polymer, PE12, was produced by a new isolate, Pseudoalteromonas sp. strain TG12 (accession number EF685033), during growth in a modified Zobell's 2216 medium amended with 1% glucose. Chemical and chromatographic analysis showed it to be a high-molecular-mass (>2,000 kDa) glycoprotein composed of carbohydrate (32.3%) and protein (8.2%). PE12 was notable in that it contained xylose as the major sugar component at unusually high levels (27.7%) not previously reported for a Pseudoalteromonas exopolymer. The polymer was shown to desorb various metal species from marine sediment-a function putatively conferred by its high content of uronic acids (28.7%). Seawater ionic strength (simulated using 0.6 M NaCl), however, caused a significant reduction in PE12's ability to desorb the sediment-adsorbed metals. These results demonstrate the importance of electrolytes, a physical parameter intrinsic of seawater, in influencing the interaction of microbial exopolymers with metal ions. In summary, PE12 may represent a new class of Pseudoalteromonas exopolymer with a potential for use in biotechnological applications as an emulsifying or metal-chelating agent. In addition to the biotechnological potential of these findings, the ecological aspects of this and related bacterial exopolymers in marine environments are also discussed.
, et al.. The inhibition of TNF-α induced NF-κB activation by marine natural products. Biochemical Pharmacology, Elsevier, 2009, 78 (6) This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 AbstractThe deregulated activation of NF-B is associated with cancer development and inflammatory diseases. With the aim to find new NF-B inhibitors, we purified and characterized compounds from extracts of the Fijian sponge Rhabdastrella globostellata, the crinoid Comanthus parvicirrus, the soft corals Sarcophyton sp. nov. and Sinularia sp., and the gorgonian Subergorgia sp. after an initial screening of 266 extracts from different marine origins.Results obtained show that selected purified compounds had a cytotoxic effect on the human leukaemia cell line K562, inhibited both TNF--induced NF-B-DNA binding as well as TNF- induced IB degradation and nuclear translocation of p50/p65. Furthermore, we observed inhibition of NF-B activation induced by an overexpression of TNFR1, TRAF2, TRADD, or IKK Interestingly, natural products inhibited IKK kinase as well as the 26S proteasome proteolytic activity.
The influence of caged mariculture on the early development of sublittoral fouling communities: a pan-European study. e ICES Journal of Marine Science, 63: 637e649.The development of fouling communities was assessed to investigate the influence of caged mariculture on sublittoral epibiota. Artificial structures were deployed within 10 m of caged mariculture and at a ''reference'' location between 150 and 500 m of the study site at four coastal locations (Oban, Scotland; Sitia, Crete; Piran, Slovenia; and Eilat, Israel). The fouling community on the artificial structures was measured both quantitatively and qualitatively bi-monthly between June 2001 and December 2001. Multivariate statistical analysis was used to compare community structure between the study sites and locations. Artificial structures deployed at the mariculture site supported a higher epibiotic biomass than at the reference site at Oban and Eilat. Community composition was significantly different between the mariculture and reference site at Eilat. The biological succession on the structures changed from an autotrophic to a heterotrophic mode over the experimental period at all locations with the exception of Oban, where negligible quantities of macroalgae were observed on the structures. Differences in community biomass and succession observed between artificial structures deployed at mariculture and reference sites, particularly in oligotrophic environments, may be caused by enhanced larval settlement and an elevated supply of particulate material and dissolved nutrients to structures adjacent to the fish cages.
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