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Differences in habitat and diet between species are often associated with morphological differences. Habitat and trophic adaptation have therefore been proposed as important drivers of speciation and adaptive radiation. Importantly, habitat and diet shifts likely impose changes in exposure to different parasites and infection risk. As strong selective agents influencing survival and mate choice, parasites might play an important role in host diversification. We explore this possibility for the adaptive radiation of Lake Tanganyika (LT) cichlids. We first compare metazoan macroparasites infection levels between cichlid tribes. We then describe the cichlids' genetic diversity at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), which plays a key role in vertebrate immunity. Finally, we evaluate to what extent trophic ecology and morphology explain variation in infection levels and MHC, accounting for phylogenetic relationships. We show that different cichlid tribes in LT feature partially non-overlapping parasite communities and partially non-overlapping MHC diversity. While morphology explained 15% of the variation in mean parasite abundance, trophic ecology accounted for 16% and 22% of the MHC variation at the nucleotide and at the amino acid level, respectively. Parasitism and immunogenetic adaptation may thus add additional dimensions to the LT cichlid radiation.

The perception of ocean areas by policy-makers or by people, living or not on the coast, has significantly varied over centuries. Due to its vastness and complexity, the sea has been studied within distinct academic disciplines. However, the current issues related to the sea, such as climate change, marine pollution or coastal tourism, require an integrated vision of the assets and drawbacks in order to meet the challenges arising from human activities both at sea and onshore. In this study, a group of foresight officers from the French network of public research institutes decided to cross-check and compare several science approaches (biology, sociology, economics, etc) about oceans. Thus, 11 sectors of maritime activity (transportation, fisheries, energy, etc.) were cross-tabulated with 9 basic social functions (providing food, housing, learning, etc.). In this matrix, the main challenges and issues projected for 2030 were sought, in the frame of a baseline scenario. Results were clustered through 4 criteria, leading to 9 major challenges, each of them broken down into two important issues for research. The outcomes were used to create a survey, allowing the ranking of the research priorities. Most of the 9 challenges tally with the research and development objectives of great maritime states, except for governance and monitoring, which remain underscored. As a result, maritime powers still show more interest on securing national resources rather than on promoting international cooperation for secure trade and sustainable exploitation of marine resources. But foresight in this field could help changing the mentalities notably because oceans show clearly now to be a vital common good for mankind.

The extending record of ocean colour derived information, an important asset for the study of marine ecosystems and biogeochemistry, presently relies on individual satellite missions launched by several space agencies with differences in sensor design, calibration strategies and algorithms. In this study we present an extensive comparative analysis of standard products obtained from operational global ocean colour sensors (SeaWiFS, MERIS, MODIS-Aqua, MODIS-Terra), on both global and regional scales. The analysis is based on monthly mean chlorophyll a (Chl-a) sea surface concentration between 2002 and 2009. Based on global statistics, the Chl-a records appear relatively consistent. The root mean square (RMS) difference Δ between (log-transformed) Chl-a from SeaWiFS and MODIS Aqua amounts to 0.137, with a bias of 0.074 (SeaWiFS Chl-a higher). The difference between these two products and MERIS Chl-a is approximately 0.15. Restricting the analysis to 2007 only, Δ between MODIS Aqua and Terra is 0.142. This global convergence is significantly modulated regionally. Statistics for biogeographic provinces representing a partition of the global ocean, show Δ values varying between 0.08 and 0.3. High latitude regions, as well as coastal and shelf provinces are generally the areas with the largest differences. Moreover, RMS differences and biases are modulated in time, with a coefficient of variation of Δ varying between 10% and 40%, with clear seasonal patterns in some provinces. The comparison of the province-averaged time series obtained from the various satellite products also shows a level of agreement that is geographically variable. Overall, the Chl-a SeaWiFS and MODIS Aqua series appear to have similar levels of variance and display high correlation coefficients, an agreement likely favoured by the common elements shared by the two missions. These results are degraded if the MERIS series is compared to either SeaWiFS or MODIS Aqua. An important outcome of the study is that the results of the inter-comparison analysis are variable with time and location, and therefore globally averaged statistics are not necessarily applicable on a seasonal or regional basis.

This study examines the stable water isotope signal (δ18O) of three ice cores drilled on the Renland peninsula (East Greenland coast). While ice core δ18O measurements qualitatively are a measure of the local temperature history, the δ18O variability actually reflects the integrated hydrological activity that the deposited ice experienced from the evaporation source to the condensation site. Thus, as Renland is located next to a fluctuating sea ice cover, the transfer function used to infer past temperatures from the δ18O variability is potentially influenced by variations in the local moisture conditions. The objective of this study is therefore to evaluate the δ18O variability of ice cores drilled on Renland and examine what amount that can be attributed to regional temperature variations. In the analysis, three ice cores are utilized to create stacked summer, winter and annually averaged δ18O signals (AD 1801–2014). The imprint of temperature on δ18O is first examined by correlating the δ18O stacks with instrumental temperature records from East Greenland (AD 1895–2014) and Iceland (AD 1830–2014) and with the regional climate model HIRHAM5 (AD 1980–2014). The results show that the δ18O variability correlates with regional temperatures on both a seasonal and an annual scale between 1910–2014 while δ18O is uncorrelated with Iceland temperatures between 1830–1909. Our analysis indicates that the unstable regional δ18O-temperature correlation does not result from changes in weather patterns through respectively strengthening and weakening of the North Atlantic Oscillation. Instead, the results imply that the varying δ18O-temperature relation is connected with the volume flux of sea ice exported through Fram Strait (and south along the coast of East Greenland). Notably, the δ18O variability only reflects the variations in regional temperature when the temperature anomaly is positive and the sea ice export anomaly is negative. It is hypothesized that this could be caused by a larger sea ice volume flux during cold years which suppresses the Iceland temperature signature in the Renland δ18O signal. However, more isotope-enabled modeling studies with emphasis on coastal ice caps are needed in order to quantify the mechanisms behind this observation. As the amount of Renland δ18O variability that reflects regional temperature varies with time, the results have implications for studies performing regression-based δ18O-temperature reconstructions based on ice cores drilled in the vicinity of a fluctuating sea ice cover.

These datasets were used to describe the diversity, ecology and role of non-scleractinian corals on scleractinian cold-water coral carbonate mounds in the Logachev Mound Province, Rockall Bank, NE Atlantic. Cold-water coral carbonate mounds, created by framework-building scleractinian corals, are also important habitats for non-scleractinian corals, whose ecology and role are understudied in deep-sea environments. In total ten non-scleractinian species were identified, which were mapped out along eight ROV video transects. Eight species were identified as black corals (three belonging to the family Schizopathidae, one each to the Leiopathidae, Cladopathidae, and Antipathidae and two to an unknown family) and two as gorgonians (Isididae and Plexauridae). The most abundant species were Leiopathes sp. and Parantipathes sp. 2. Areas with a high diversity of non-scleractinian corals are interpreted to offer sufficient food, weak inter-species competition and the presence of heterogeneous and hard settlement substrates. A difference in the density and occurrence of small vs. large colonies of Leiopathes sp. was also observed, which is likely related to a difference in the stability of the substrate they choose for settlement. Non-scleractinian corals, especially black corals, are an important habitat for crabs, crinoids, and shrimps in the Logachev Mound Province.

Cable bacteria are multicellular, filamentous microorganisms that are capable of transporting electrons over centimeter-scale distances. Although recently discovered, these bacteria appear to be widely present in the seafloor, and when active they exert a strong imprint on the local geochemistry. In particular, their electrogenic metabolism induces unusually strong pH excursions in aquatic sediments, which induces considerable mineral dissolution, and subsequent mineral reprecipitation. However, at present, it is unknown whether and how cable bacteria play an active or direct role in the mineral reprecipitation process. To this end we present an explorative study of the formation of sedimentary minerals in and near filamentous cable bacteria using a combined approach of electron microscopy and spectroscopic techniques. Our observations reveal the formation of polyphosphate granules within the cells and two different types of biomineral formation directly associated with multicellular filaments of these cable bacteria: (i) the attachment and incorporation of clay particles in a coating surrounding the bacteria and (ii) encrustation of the cell envelope by iron minerals. These findings suggest a complex interaction between cable bacteria and the surrounding sediment matrix, and a substantial imprint of the electrogenic metabolism on mineral diagenesis and sedimentary biogeochemical cycling. In particular, the encrustation process leaves many open questions for further research. For example, we hypothesize that the complete encrustation of filaments might create a diffusion barrier and negatively impact the metabolism of the cable bacteria.

Large organic food falls to the deep sea - such as whale carcasses and wood logs - support the development of reduced, sulfidic niches in an otherwise oxygenated, oligotrophic deep-sea environment. These transient hot spot ecosystems may serve the dispersal of highly adapted chemosynthetic organisms such as thiotrophic bivalves and siboglinid worms. Here we investigated the biogeochemical and microbiological processes leading to the development of sulfidic niches. Wood colonization experiments were carried out for the duration of one year in the vicinity of a cold seep area in the Nile deep-sea fan (Eastern Mediterranean) at depths of 1690 m. Wood logs were deployed in 2006 during the BIONIL cruise (RV Meteor M70/2 with ROV Quest, Marum, Germany) and sampled in 2007 during the Medeco-2 cruise (RV Pourquoi Pas? with ROV Victor 6000, Ifremer, France). Wood-boring bivalves played a key role in the initial degradation of the wood, the dispersal of wood chips and fecal matter around the wood log, and the provision of colonization surfaces to other organisms. Total oxygen uptake measured with a ROV-operated benthic chamber module was higher at the wood (0.5 m away) in contrast to 10 m away at a reference site (25 mmol m-2 d-1 and 1 mmol m-2 d-1, respectively), indicating an increased activity of sedimentary communities around the wood falls. Bacterial cell numbers associated with wood increased substantially from freshly submerged wood to the wood chip/fecal matter layer next to the wood experiments, as determined with Acridine Orange Direct Counts (AODC) and DAPI-stained counts. Microsensor measurements of sulfide, oxygen and pH were conducted ex situ. Sulfide fluxes were higher at the wood experiments when compared to reference measurements (19 and 32 mmol m-2 d-1 vs. 0 and 16 mmol -2 d-1, respectively). Sulfate reduction (SR) rates at the wood experiments were determined in ex situ incubations (1.3 and 2.0 mmol m-2 d-1) and fell into the lower range of SR rates previously observed from other chemosynthetic habitats at cold seeps. There was no influence of wood deposition on phosphate, silicate and nitrate concentrations, but ammonium concentrations were elevated at the wood chip-sediment boundary layer. Concentrations of dissolved organic carbon were much higher at the wood experiments (wood chip-sediment boundary layer) in comparison to measurements at the reference sites, which may indicate that cellulose degradation was highest under anoxic conditions and hence enabled by anaerobic benthic bacteria, e.g. fermenters and sulfate reducers. Our observations demonstrate that, after one year, the presence of wood at the seafloor had led to the creation of sulfidic niches, comparable to what has been observed at whale falls, albeit at lower rates.

The development of phosphate sensors suitable for long-term in situ deployments in natural waters, is essential to improve our understanding of the distribution, fluxes, and biogeochemical role of this key nutrient in a changing ocean. Here, we describe the optimization of the molybdenum blue method for in situ work using a lab-on-chip (LOC) analyzer and evaluate its performance in the laboratory and at two contrasting field sites. The in situ performance of the LOC sensor is evaluated using hourly time-series data from a 56-day trial in Southampton Water (UK), as well as a month-long deployment in the subtropical oligotrophic waters of Kaneohe Bay (Hawaii, USA). In Kaneohe Bay, where phosphate concentrations were characteristic of the dry season (0.13 ± 0.03 μM, n = 704), the in situ sensor accuracy was 16 ± 12% and a potential diurnal cycle in phosphate concentrations was observed. In Southampton Water, the sensor data (1.02 ± 0.40 μM, n = 1,267) were accurate to ±0.10 μM relative to discrete reference samples. Hourly in situ monitoring revealed striking tidal and storm derived fluctuations in phosphate concentrations in Southampton Water that would not have been captured via discrete sampling. We show the impact of storms on phosphate concentrations in Southampton Water is modulated by the spring-neap tidal cycle and that the 10-fold decline in phosphate concentrations observed during the later stages of the deployment was consistent with the timing of a spring phytoplankton bloom in the English Channel. Under controlled laboratory conditions in a 250 L tank, the sensor demonstrated an accuracy and precision better than 10% irrespective of the salinity (0–30), turbidity (0–100 NTU), colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) concentration (0–10mg/L), and temperature (5–20◦C) of the water (0.3–13 μM phosphate) being analyzed. This work demonstrates that the LOC technology is mature enough to quantify the influence of stochastic events on nutrient budgets and to elucidate the role of phosphate in regulating phytoplankton productivity and community composition in estuarine and coastal regimes. Refereed 14.A Nutrients TRL 8 Actual system completed and "mission qualified" through test and demonstration in an operational environment (ground or space) Manual (incl. handbook, guide, cookbook etc) Standard Operating Procedure

It has been suggested that climate change might modify the occurrence rate and magnitude of large ocean-wave and wind storms. The hypothesised reason is the increase of available energy in the atmosphere–ocean system. Forecasting models are commonly used to assess these effects, given that good-quality data series are often too short. However, forecasting systems are often tuned to reproduce the average behaviour, and there are concerns on their relevance for extremal regimes. We present a methodology of simultaneous analysis of observed and hindcast data with the aim of extracting potential time drifts as well as systematic regime discrepancies between the two data sources. The method is based on the peak-over-threshold (POT) approach and the generalized Pareto distribution (GPD) within a Bayesian estimation framework. In this context, storm events are considered points in time, and modelled as a Poisson process. Storm magnitude over a reference threshold is modelled with a GPD, a flexible model that captures the tail behaviour of the magnitude distribution. All model parameters, i.e. shape and location of the magnitude GPD and the Poisson occurrence rate, are affected by a trend in time. Moreover, a systematic difference between parameters of hindcast and observed series is considered. Finally, the posterior joint distribution of all these trend parameters is studied using a conventional Gibbs sampler. This method is applied to compare hindcast and observed series of average wind speed at a deep buoy location off the Catalan coast (NE Spain, western Mediterranean; buoy data from 2001; REMO wind hindcasting from 1958 on). Appropriate scale and domain of attraction are discussed, and the reliability of trends in time is addressed.

Despite being an abundant group of significant ecological importance the phylogenetic relationships of the Octocorallia remain poorly understood and very much understudied. We used 1132 bp of two mitochondrial protein-coding genes, nad2 and mtMutS (previously referred to as msh1), to construct a phylogeny for 161 octocoral specimens from the Atlantic, including both Isididae and non-Isididae species. We found that four clades were supported using a concatenated alignment. Two of these (A and B) were in general agreement with the of Holaxonia–Alcyoniina and Anthomastus–Corallium clades identified by previous work. The third and fourth clades represent a split of the Calcaxonia–Pennatulacea clade resulting in a clade containing the Pennatulacea and a small number of Isididae specimens and a second clade containing the remaining Calcaxonia. When individual genes were considered nad2 largely agreed with previous work with MtMutS also producing a fourth clade corresponding to a split of Isididae species from the Calcaxonia–Pennatulacea clade. It is expected these difference are a consequence of the inclusion of Isisdae species that have undergone a gene inversion in the mtMutS gene causing their separation in the MtMutS only tree. The fourth clade in the concatenated tree is also suspected to be a result of this gene inversion, as there were very few Isidiae species included in previous work tree and thus this separation would not be clearly resolved. A~larger phylogeny including both Isididae and non Isididae species is required to further resolve these clades.