Reduced Salinities (reduced + salinity)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Effects of reduced salinities on growth, food conversion efficiency and osmoregulatory status in the spotted wolffish

JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2001
A. Foss
No significant differences in mean mass between groups were found at any time in spotted wolffish Anarhichas minor, mean (±S.D.) initial mass 76 (±21) g, reared at salinities of 12, 17, 25 and 34, for 12 weeks at 8° C. Salinity did not have a significant effect on daily feeding rates, total food consumption, food conversion efficiency and protein efficiency ratio. Growth trajectories varied between groups, but no overall difference in growth was found. Plasma osmolality and plasma chloride levels decreased with salinity in a 48 h abrupt exposure trial, and in the growth experiment the low salinity groups (12 and 17,) exhibited significantly lower values compared with 25 and 34,. The decrease was moderate and concentrations were well within the range described for other marine species. The results indicate that the spotted wolffish is a strong osmoregulator which could be reared at various salinity levels. [source]


Deglaciation of the Irish Sea Basin: a critique of the glaciomarine hypothesis

JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE, Issue 5 2001
Danny McCarroll
Abstract The glaciomarine model for deglaciation of the Irish Sea basin suggests that the weight of ice at the last glacial maximum was sufficient to raise relative sea-levels far above their present height, destabilising the ice margin and causing rapid deglaciation. Glacigenic deposits throughout the basin have been interpreted as glaciomarine. The six main lines of evidence on which the hypothesis rests (sedimentology, deformation structures, delta deposits, marine fauna, amino-acid ratios and radiocarbon dates) are reviewed critically. The sedimentological interpretation of many sections has been challenged and it is argued that subglacial sediments are common rather than rare and that there is widespread evidence of glaciotectonism. Density-driven deformation associated with waterlain sediments is rare and occurs where water was ponded locally. Sand and gravel deposits interpreted as Gilbert-type deltas are similarly the result of local ponding or occur where glaciers from different source areas uncoupled. They do not record past sea-levels and the ad hoc theory of ,piano-key tectonics' is not required to explain the irregular pattern of altitudes. The cold-water foraminifers interpreted as in situ are regarded as reworked from Irish Sea sediments that accumulated during much of the late Quaternary, when the basin was cold and shallow with reduced salinities. Amino-acid age estimates used in support of the glaciomarine model are regarded as unreliable. Radiocarbon dates from distinctive foraminiferal assemblages in northeast Ireland show that glaciomarine sediments do occur above present sea-level, but they are restricted to low altitudes in the north of the basin and record a rise rather than a fall in sea-level. It is suggested here that the oldest dates, around 17 000 yr BP, record the first Late Devensian (Weichselian) marine inundation above present sea-level. This accords with the pattern but not the detail of recent models of sea-level change. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Acute tolerance of juvenile Florida pompano, Trachinotus carolinus L., to ammonia and nitrite at various salinities

AQUACULTURE RESEARCH, Issue 9 2006
Charles R Weirich
Abstract The acute tolerance of juvenile Florida pompano Trachinotus carolinus L. (mean weight±SE=8.1±0.5 g) to environmental unionized ammonia-nitrogen (NH3 -N) and nitrite-nitrogen (NO2 -N) at various salinities was determined via a series of static exposure trials. Median-lethal concentrations (LC50 values) of NH3 -N and NO2 -N at 24, 48, and 96 h of exposure were calculated at salinities of 6.3, 12.5 and 25.0 g L,1 at 28 °C (pH=8.23,8.36). Tolerance of pompano to acute NH3 -N exposure was not affected by salinity, with 24, 48 and 96 h LC50 values ranging from 1.05 to 1.12, 1.00 to 1.08 and 0.95 to 1.01 mg NH3 -N L,1 respectively. Regarding NO2 -N, tolerance of pompano to this environmental toxicant was compromised at reduced salinities. Median-lethal concentrations of NO2 -N to pompano at 24, 48 and 96 h of exposure ranged from 67.4 to 220.1, 56.9 to 140.7 and 16.7 to 34.2 mg NO2 -N L,1 respectively. The results of this study indicate that juvenile Florida pompano are relatively sensitive to acute NH3 -N and NO2 -N exposure, and in the case of the latter, especially at lower salinities. [source]


Tolerance to metals and assessment of energy reserves in the polychaete Nereis diversicolor in clean and contaminated estuaries

ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY, Issue 1 2005
C. Durou
Abstract Estuaries are subject to anthropogenic activities. Because the intrasedimentary worm Nereis diversicolor has ecological characteristics and bioindicator abilities, its use was pertinent in investigating the concepts and cost of tolerance to heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Zn). In this context, two approaches were carried out, performing toxicity tests and estimating energy reserves (glycogen and lipids), in populations originating from a contaminated site (Seine estuary) compared with those from a clean site (Authie estuary). Mean lethal times (LT50s) of organisms exposed to zinc from the Seine estuary were higher than those from the Authie estuary, but not of organisms exposed to Cd or Cu. The influence of animal weight and salinity on the sensitivity of worms also was studied. The biggest worms were more tolerant to zinc than the smallest ones, and worms survived longer at a reduced salinity (15,). Concentrations of glycogen and lipids in each sampling season were higher in specimens from the Authie estuary than in worms from the Seine estuary. No influence of salinity on glycogen and lipid levels was observed. Glycogen concentrations were not influenced by the weight of specimens, whereas lipid concentrations were significantly and positively correlated with weight. In conclusion, worms from the Seine estuary exhibited tolerance to Zn, and the depletion of energy reserves observed in this population could be interpreted as a cost of tolerance. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 20: 23,31, 2005. [source]


Ecological Consequences of Ground Water Discharge to Delaware Bay, United States

GROUND WATER, Issue 7 2004
Douglas C. Miller
Submarine ground water discharge to the ocean has the potential to create estuarine conditions near the point of discharge, thereby dramatically altering local benthic habitats and ecology. Aerial thermal infrared imaging along the southwestern margin of Delaware Bay indicated abundant discharge at Cape Henlopen, Delaware, adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean. On the sandflat there, we have documented low salinity in sedimentary pore waters within 20 m of the beachface that are associated with dense assemblages (in thousands per square meter) of a deep, burrow-dwelling polychaete worm, Marenzelleria viridis, otherwise regarded as a species characteristic of fresher, oligohaline conditions. Where present, M. viridis is a numerical and biomass dominant in a benthic community strikingly different from that in nearby nonseep locations. At Cape Henlopen, the ecological role of the ground water discharge appears to be a multifaceted one. Seeps are localized regions of significantly reduced salinity, stabilized temperature, increased nutrient flux, high microalgal abundance, and enhanced sediment stability. M. viridis feeds on sediment diatoms and may provide an important trophic linkage between microalgal growth fueled by nutrients associated with the discharging ground water and worm-feeding predators such as bottom fish or shorebirds common on the Cape Henlopen sandflat. Calculations based on our sampling suggest that nutrients supplied by the ground water substantially exceed what is needed to support benthic biomass and productivity estimated for this site. [source]