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ABSTRACT. Since the pioneering attempts to obtain quantitative soft-bottom sediment samples at the beginning of this century, many different devices for sampling soft bottoms have been presented. Most techniques, however, yield semi-quantitative samples only. For studies dealing with certain aspects of microlayering, freezing in situ seems to be a good method. In more general studies, quantitative samples appear to be best obtained using instruments based on the coring principle. Improper handling or faulty design of the conng device, however, results in unrepresentative samples. Major factors in b~a s are (1) loss of surficial sediments. ( 2 ) redistribution, resuspension and loss of enclosed sediment, ( 3 ) core shortening, and ( 4 ) repenetratlon. Frictional drag and consequent smearing against the coring tube is also a potential source of error General design features improving the reliability of sampling are a supporting stand and, when dealing with open corers, a n unimpeded water flow through the sample compartment. Box corers appear best suited for sampling certain macrofauna and sediments of coherent and silty/sandy character. Adequately designed and properly operated tube corers are the most versatile instruments at present. A general concern, however, is that coring tubes enter and penetrate the sediment carefully and slowly. Under favourable conditions, a n open-barrel gravity corer can b e used for sampling the unshortened upper layer, in combination with a larger box corer and subsequent piston-coring technique for sampling the underlying layers. When sampling under less favourable conditions, or when extreme care is required, the corer must be based on a structure with a supporting stand, which permits the device to settle on the bottom before the coring tubes enter the sediment. Mounting an underwater video camera as a standard on such devices is recommended since lt enables visual inspection and recording of each sampling. Other tested means and promising improvements in instrument design to improve sampling reliability are also discussed.

The bird-lemming hypothesis postulates that breeding success of tundra-nesting geese and waders in Siberia follows the cyclic pattern of lemming populations, as a result of predators switching from lemmings to birds when the lemming population crashes. We present 50 years of data on constant-effort catches of red knot Calidris canutus and curlew sandpiper C. ferruginea at an autumn migratory stopover site (Ottenby) at the Baltic Sea, supplemented with literature data on winter censuses of dark-bellied brent goose Branta b. bernicla and white-fronted goose Anser albifrons in northwestern Europe, and waders in Germany and Southern Africa. Number and proportion of juveniles in these bird populations (both our own and literature data) were compared with an index of predation pressure (calculated from the abundance of lemmings on the Taimyr peninsula), and climate indices for the North Eurasia and the North Atlantic regions. The index of predation pressure correlated significantly with the number of juveniles of red knot and curlew sandpiper, but not with number of adults. Also, this index correlated with the reproductive performance of geese and waders reported in the literature. Fourier analysis revealed a significant deviation from random noise with the maximum spectral density at the period length of 3 years for number of juvenile red knots and curlew sandpipers captured at Ottenby, abundance of lemmings, reproduction in arctic fox Alopex lagopus, and reproductive performance in geese on the Siberian tundra. Also, the date of passage at Ottenby for adult red knot and curlew sandpiper showed a spectral density peak at a period length of 3 years, the latter species also showing a peak at a period length of 5-6 years. Passage dates for adult red knot and curlew sandpiper were earlier in years of high predation pressure compared with years of low predation pressure. The fluctuations in reproductive success of the studied Siberian goose and wader species appear to be primarily influenced by biotic factors in the breeding area, rather than by abiotic factors, such as climate oscillations. Annual variations in migratory arctic bird populations may have far reaching effects in habitats along their migration routes and in their wintering areas. We suggest a link between lemming cyclicity in the Northern Hemisphere and predation pressure on Southern Hemisphere benthos, in which the signal is carried between continents by long distance migrating waders.

Comparison of bottom-water chemistry in the marine-limnic habitat gradient shows greater phosphorus availability in marine waters, primarily because of enhanced iron sequestration by sulfide. In the oxidative hydrolysis of iron and the concomitant precipitation of phosphate, a minimum of two iron atoms are needed to precipitate one phosphate molecule (Fe : P ϭ 2). However, dissolved Fe : P Ͻ 2 predominates in anoxic marine waters, therefore leaving some phosphate in solution after oxygenation because of a shortage of dissolved iron for phosphate coprecipitation by iron oxyhydroxide. In contrast, anoxic bottom waters in most freshwater lakes show Fe : P Ͼ 2, allowing almost complete phosphate removal on oxygenation. This difference is a consequence of the high sulfate content of sea salt, and a main reason why nitrogen normally limits net primary production in temperate coastal waters, in contrast to the predominant phosphorus limitation of near-neutral lakes.

We examined the hypothesis that the extent of vegetation cover governs the fluxes of nutrients from boreal and subarctic river catchments to the sea. Fluxes of total organic carbon (TOC) and dissolved inorganic nitrogen, phosphorus, and dissolved silicate (DIN, DIP, and DSi, respectively) are described from 19 river catchments and subcatchments (ranging in size from 34 to 40,000 km2) in northern Sweden with a detailed analysis of the rivers Luleälven and Kalix%lven. Fluxes of TOC, DIP, and DSi increase by an order of magnitude with increasing proportion of forest and wetland area, whereas DIN did not follow this pattern but remained constantly low. Principal component analysis on landscape variables showed the importance of almost all land cover and soil type variables associated with vegetation, periglacial environment, soil and bedrock with slow weathering rates, boundary of upper tree line, and percentage of lake area. A cluster analysis of the principal components showed that the river systems could be separated into mountainous headwaters and forest and wetland catchments. This clustering was also valid in relation to river chemistry (TOC, DIP, and DSi) and was confirmed with a redundancy analysis, including river chemistry and principal components as environmental variables. The first axis explains 89% of the variance in river chemistry and almost 100% of the variance in the relation between river chemistry and landscape variables. These results suggest that vegetation change during interglacial periods is likely to have had a major effect on inputs of TOC, DIP, and DSi into the past ocean.

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The performances of four light‐weight, open sampling devices intended for use in soft sediments, the Axelsson‐Håkanson gravity corer, the Kajak gravity corer, the Jenkin bottom sampler and the Ekman grab (box corer), were examined in situ by direct observation, measurement and photographic documentation by a SCUBA diver. Restrictions on the reliability of the sediment samples obtained with these devices and sediment coring instruments in general are evaluated. Separate studies of core shortening show: (1) a positive linear relationship between sediment penetration depth at which shortening of cores starts and coring tube inner diameter, (2) a tube size related shift of curve pattern in the regressions of the core shortening versus sediment depth, and (3) a negative non‐linear relationship of shortening intensity versus increasing coring tube inner diameter. These findings show the great risk, when sampling soft sediments, of obtaining a sample quantitatively unrepresentative of the in situ stratification. An accurate correction factor for the degree of core shortening requires a knowledge of: (1) the sediment depth at which core shortening commences, and (2) the curve describing the relationship of shortening to depth of penetration.