Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

A survey of the gastropod Nucella lapillus around the south-west peninsula of England has revealed that the incidence of ‘imposex’, the induction of male sex characters in the female, is widespread, that all populations are affected to some degree and that the phenomenon is most prevalent along the south (Channel) coast. Populations close to centres of boating and shipping activity show the highest degrees of imposex, especially those within the vicinities of the Helford, Fal, Salcombe and Dart estuaries and in Plymouth Sound and Tor Bay. Within Plymouth Sound the degree of imposex increased markedly between 1969 and 1985, coinciding with the introduction and increasing usage of antifouling paints containing tributyltin (TBT) compounds.

Much speculation and some evidence suggest that jellyfish and ctenophore populations have increased in recent decades. Unfortunately, few past records exist with which to compare current populations, and our knowledge of how environmental factors affect jellyfish population size is meagre. Human enterprise has wrought many changes in the ocean that are hypothesized to favour jellyfish, including eutrophication, reduction of fish stocks, and global warming. In addition to anthropogenic changes, natural climate cycles may affect jellyfish populations. Records of jellyfish and ctenophore abundance that appear to be related to indices of climate variations (temperature, salinity, North Atlantic Oscillation, North Pacific Decadal Oscillation, El Niño Southern Oscillation) are reviewed. In eleven species studied from subtropical, temperate and subarctic environments, warm temperatures were related to large population sizes; three scyphozoan species in the North Sea, and one mesopelagic hydromedusan were exceptions to that trend. One tropical scyphomedusan species was decimated by unusually warm, salty El Niño conditions in Palau. Because climate changes have complex ecosystem-level effects, the proximate causes of jellyfish increases are difficult to deduce. Therefore, the effects of temperature, salinity and prey on asexual production of new medusae from the benthic polyps of scyphomedusae and hydromedusae also are reviewed. Experiments on temperate species show greater and more rapid production of medusae at warmer temperatures. Salinity also had significant effects, and was especially important for estuarine species. Temperature and salinity affect asexual reproduction rates directly through metabolism, and indirectly through prey capture. Ocean warming may shift the distributions, expand the seasonal occurrence, and increase the abundances of temperate-boreal species. Populations living near their thermal maximum may suffer negative consequences of warming.

Breedingin marine animals has long been recognised in a vague way as being in some degree dependent upon sea-temperature. This attitude is well shown in Lo Bianco's last valuable contribution to our knowledge of the breeding periods of practically the whole fauna of the Gulf of Naples. In the Introduction to this work Lo Bianco (1, p. 531) gives tables of temperature observations for a number of years, but does not attempt to correlate them with the breeding periods observed. There are in the literature some observations of reproduction in particular animals being dependent upon particular temperatures, notably by Schmidt (2); but no attempt has been made, so far as I know, to show in a general way the connexion between breeding and temperature in marine animals. It is clear, however, from the writings of Appellöf that this naturalist had anticipated in his mind some of the results obtained from the experimental observations described briefly in the following pages and of the deductions made therefrom. It is believed that these experimental observations have afforded a clue which gives an insight into the way in which breeding may be correlated with temperature in a large number of marine animals, but owing to the inadequacies of breeding records and of observations on physical conditions in the sea only a brief survey has been attempted here, and a fuller discussion of the phenomena is reserved for a later work. In the following pages the extrusion of ripe ova, or the fertilisability of eggs with subsequent development, is taken as the criterion of breeding.

A range of 27 marine phytoplankton species, representative of several of the principal classes, has been grown under similar conditions in Erd-Schreiber medium with abundant nutrients. Harvesting was carried out 20 days after inoculation while vigorous growth was proceeding. The component fatty acids of the lipids extractable with chloroform-methanol were determined by gas-liquid chromatography. In all, 40 fatty acids were determined. It is likely that the component fatty-acid distribution may be valuable for taxonomic purposes. Thus, specific fatty-acid assemblages may characterize particular Phyla or even classes. For example, the Bacillariophyceae are differentiated from the other organisms examined by the virtual absence of 18:2, 18:3 and 1814; the Cryptophyta are distinguished by their high content of 20:1. The fatty-acid arrays of species belonging to the same genus are frequently very similar, e.g.Dunaliella primolectaandD. tertiolecta.

Slope currents in the Bay of Biscay show a consistent poleward transport but seasonal trends and vertical current structure appear more variable. Indeed more long term records are required to establish seasonal trends firmly.

In the south of the region (Spanish slopes, mooring 118), the upper-slope (water depth 1005 m) flow exhibited a strong vertical structure with the maximum surface inflow occurring in the winter period, and this effect may be wind induced. Satellite imagery shows that this flow originates from the Iberian slope and that a decreasing along-slope surface transport occurs along the north Spanish slopes at this time of year.

In the north of the region (Porcupine Seabight slopes) vertical structure was again evident in the upper slope (~1000–m depth) flow. At mooring 114 the flow at mid–depth showed a weakening along-slope flow and an on-slope tendency in the March/April period; a complete reversal in the slope current occurred at mid–depths at the position of mooring 112 during March.

In the central region (Celtic and -Armorican slopes) seasonal variations in the upper layers on the slopes were also present. In this region, the upper–slope transport (2500m depth) reached maximum values of 3–5 Sv in late summer. Upper flows at the rise (mooring 8002) were directed on-slope during the period of maximum upper–slope transport but changed direction in the March/April period.

In this region on the Celtic shelf (DB1), the surface flow is in a counter–current sense and wind-induced and so the seasonal variations here reflect seasonality in the wind stress.

The rate of water filtration by bivalves has long excited interest, but it has in practice proved difficult to measure in conditions where the animal is relatively free from constraint. Its estimation is important from a number of aspects: feeding studies; as an indicator of the animal's reaction to its environment; and for predicting the flow of water required for the culture of economically important species. The work reported in this paper started as part of the general programme on shellfish culture in progress at this laboratory. During the development of a suitable method for studying the water requirements it became clear that one factor, water current, had a more important influence than has been generally recognized.

In a previous paper Bayne & Thompson (1970) showed that temperature and nutritive stress resulted in a decline in body condition of mussels, Mytilus edulis, when kept in the laboratory. Both carbohydrate and protein were lost from the body tissues but the losses (as a percentage of the initial values) were greater from the germinal (mantle) than from the somatic (non-mantle) tissues. In spite of the loss of body reserves, M. edulis was able to continue maturation of the gonad during the autumn to spring period. In the early summer, however, when the gametes were fully ripe, stress resulted in a recession of the gonad and a rapid loss of protein from the mantle tissues. A similar decline in condition index and loss of glycogen and protein has been reported for adult oysters, Ostrea edulis, when maintained under hatchery conditions (Gabbott & Walker, 1971).

In experiments on four species of barnacles and four species of top-shells, the barnacles were found to be more resistant to high or low temperatures than the top-shells. Among each group of animals the degree of tolerance was related to the geographical distribution of the species and their zonation on the shore. Thus most tolerance of high temperature was shown by species of southern distribution, especially by those occurring at the upper limit of the midlittoral zone, and most tolerance of low temperature by species of northern distribution. Least tolerance of high and low temperatures was shown by species found only in the infralittoral fringe or below low water.

Field measurements of the body temperatures of barnacles and limpets while exposed to the air were made with thermocouples. Under many weather conditions the body temperatures were higher than would be expected from local meteorological values of air temperature. This difference was due to retention of sea temperature by the animals and the rocks and to the heating effects of sunlight.

The results of the laboratory experiments and of the field measurements are discussed together in relation to weather and geographical distribution. It is clear that the temperatures experienced on the shore are well within the tolerance limits of most of the animals, and even exceptional extremes of temperature may have little direct influence on the distribution of adult intertidal animals. Evidence for a causal relation between temperature and distribution must be sought in non-lethal terms such as debilitating effects, or indirectly through competition between species, or in combination with other factors.

A non-linear numerical model is used to derive both the maximum bottom stress and the mean stress on the shelf sea-bed around Britain, due to tidal streaming. It is shown that these two vector distributions will be important in sand transport studies. It is further expected that the results will be relevant to other benthic studies.

The filtering rate of four species of marine planktonic copepods was measured by estimating the rate at which they consumed cultures of Chlamydomonas.

The filtering rate was independent of the concentration of the food organism and it is concluded that the copepods were acting as filter feeders.

The filtering rates were much greater than those reported by Fuller & Clarke (1936) and Fuller (1937), but agreed with those reported by Harvey (1937).

Some evidence was obtained that grazing was restricted to some only of the 24 hr., most probably to the hours of darkness.

The filtering rates were approximately proportional to the square of the linear dimensions of the copepod.

The purely mechanical selection suggested by Fuller (1937) to account for differences in filtering rates obtained with different species of diatoms cannot account for all the differences which have been observed.

It is probable that the copepods could obtain sufficient particulate food in the sea by filtering a daily volume of water corresponding to the filtering rates found.