Marine Ecosystem Connections: essential indicators of healthy, productive and biologically diverse seas

Painting, S. J.; Forster, Rodney M.

doi:10.1007/s10533-013-9838-0

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Nitrate levels are high in the southern North Sea, reflecting the riverine delivery of (isotopically-enriched) nitrate from the continental mainland (Voss et al 1997). In this region, strong tides and currents advect and re-suspend sediments and nutrient regeneration occurs in pore waters (Painting and Forster 2013). d 15 N values of sedimented PON will be relatively enriched due to both derivation from higher trophic level organisms, and microbial metabolism within the sediment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…d 15 N values of sedimented PON will be relatively enriched due to both derivation from higher trophic level organisms, and microbial metabolism within the sediment. North of Dogger Bank, water depth generally exceeds 80 m, and the water column is seasonally stratified in the upper 15-20 m (Holligan et al 1989;Painting and Forster 2013). Nitrate in this northern zone is largely derived from isotopically-depleted marine-fixed nitrogen from the north Atlantic.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Testing the long-term stability of marine isoscapes in shelf seas using jellyfish tissues

et al. 2014

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Maps of the spatial distribution of stable isotope ratios across wide geographic areas (isoscapes) are increasingly used to study mechanisms of nutrient flux, movements of animals, and to improve trophic information derived from stable isotope analyses. Isoscapes are usually constructed from reference samples collected from known geographic positions, a time consuming and costly process. In this study, we test the temporal stability of isoscapes of carbon and nitrogen isotopes across the North Sea over a ten-year period. Using jellyfish tissues as reference organisms, we show that hydrodynamic and biogeochemical processes controlling the distribution of carbon and nitrogen isotope values, and thus that the underlying isoscapes, are temporally stable. Remarkably, broad geographic variations in stable carbon and nitrogen isotope distributions across the North Sea are consistent with previously published variations seen in archaeological cod bones from the ninth to seventeenth centuries, despite dramatic changes in land use in the past 1,000 years. Stable isotope-based studies of trophic interactions or movements in animals with lifespans of a year or more in shelf ecosystems can consequently be referenced to previously published isoscape models, and do not require construction of temporally explicit isotope baseline corrections. Scyphomedusan jellyfish are excellent reference organisms for ecological stable isotope analyses in pelagic ecosystems, due to their widespread distributions, well-defined life histories, and fast tissue growth.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing the long-term stability of marine isoscapes in shelf seas using jellyfish tissues

et al. 2014

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“…In addition, the biological activity of macro-organisms causes localized changes in pH that can be in excess of 1 pH unit within a few cm, in any direction within the sediment (Aller, 1982;Stahl et al, 2006;Zhu et al, 2006). In response to these environmental conditions benthic communities are strongly heterogeneously distributed, with different species and functional groups characteristically occupying different sediment fractions according to local pH conditions, reflecting also gradual variability in redox environments with sediment depth (Aller et al, 2001;Pearson and Rosenberg, 1978;Painting et al, 2010). The uppermost oxygen-rich surface sediment layer is the most densely inhabited region, containing the majority of taxa.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of sub-seabed CO 2 leakage on macrobenthic community structure and diversity

Widdicombe

McNeill

Ståhl

et al. 2015

International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control

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“…The correlation between the long-term data on environmental conditions, such as temperature and turbidity, in relation to the distribution of colony densities and damage among E. singularis and E. cavolinii shows that these species could be potential indicators of environmental variations (Painting & Forster 2013). Hence, analyses of the spatial and temporal evolution of these species could be applied within the framework of Marine Strategy Framework Directive as an indicator of anthropogenic impacts as well as the influence of climate change.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gorgonian disease outbreak in the Gulf of Naples: pathology reveals cyanobacterial infection linked to elevated sea temperatures

Carella

Aceto²,

Saggiomo³

et al. 2014

Dis. Aquat. Org.

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In recent years, mass mortality events of benthic invertebrates in the Mediterranean Sea have been documented to coincide with the increased seawater temperatures associated with global climate change. Following a disease outbreak in gorgonians during the summer seasons of 2008 and 2009 in the Gulf of Naples (Tyrrhenian Sea), we conducted gross and microscopic analyses of healthy and diseased specimens of Eunicella cavolinii and E. singularis using both light and electron microscopy (SEM). Macroscopically, diseased colonies exhibited evident tissue thinning, and dead colonies showed a complete loss of polyps and coenenchyme, exposing their skeletons to settlement by fouling organisms. Histopathology revealed chronic inflammatory lesions at the polyp and axial level, characterized by amoebocyte infiltration of tissue accompanied by new apposition of melanin/gorgonin sheets. We interpreted this response as a defense against different kinds of pathogens-identified as mainly a heterogeneous consortium of filamentous cyanobacteria-and which gradually led to enlargement and hardening of the coral axis, which resembled a wood-like structure at the final stage of the disease. These processes elicited the formation of multiple inflammatory nodules and capsules, some of which were macroscopically visible. A parallel 16S rRNA and ITS analysis of the diseased tissue identified Synechococcus, Arthrospira and other uncultured cyanobacteria grouped within the Oscillatoriales. These results suggest that a cyanobacterial consortium is involved in the pathogenesis of the inflammatory disease leading to the mortality of Gorgoniaceae in the area. Finally, there were anomalously high temperatures (up to 25°C) between 10 and 20 m depth during the sampling period, particularly in June 2009. This supports the hypothesis that the coral skeleton may serve as a reservoir for the pathogens in cooler seasons, with warmer conditions leading to pathogen reactivation and recurring mortality events.

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Marine Ecosystem Connections: essential indicators of healthy, productive and biologically diverse seas

Cited by 9 publications

References 22 publications

Testing the long-term stability of marine isoscapes in shelf seas using jellyfish tissues

Testing the long-term stability of marine isoscapes in shelf seas using jellyfish tissues

Impact of sub-seabed CO 2 leakage on macrobenthic community structure and diversity

Gorgonian disease outbreak in the Gulf of Naples: pathology reveals cyanobacterial infection linked to elevated sea temperatures

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