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To understand the acoustic and physical properties of piston core samples collected from the Sunda continental shelf and analyze their distribution patterns, the samples were analyzed in laboratory, from which three provinces were divided in sound speed, sound speed ratio, porosity, wet bulk density, and maximum shear strength. Province I had lower sound speed and sound speed ratio (<1.04), high porosity, and low wet bulk density. Province II had higher sound speed and sound speed ratio (>1.04), low porosity, and high wet bulk density. Province III had the lowest sound speed and sound speed ratio (0.99), highest porosity (81%), and lowest wet bulk density (1.34 g/cm3). The distribution pattern indicates that sediment movement, sediment source, topography, and hydrodynamic conditions influenced the distribution of acoustic and physical properties. Furthermore, we investigated the relationship of the maximum shear strength to the porosity and wet bulk density, and found that the maximum shear strength was proportional to both the porosity and wet bulk density. This finding has significant implications for ocean engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytoplankton play important roles in marine ecosystems and have major impacts on the global biogeochemical cycles, yet the knowledge of the processes for oceanic environments controlling the phytoplankton dynamics still needs to be improved, particularly in the coastal ecosystems. Monitoring diversity of phytoplankton communities, including micro/nano- and pico-forms, as well as their dynamics in relation to environmental factors, is thus of critical significance. Here, we conducted two cruises in the southern Sunda Shelf during spring and fall 2016 to investigate the community structure and dynamics of phytoplankton assemblages in relation to environmental factors combining microscopy and flow cytometry. Micro/nanophytoplankton communities changed from Trichodesmium spp. and diatoms co-dominance in spring to communities dominated by Trichodesmium spp. in fall. Diatoms were a highly diverse group, with 78 species, followed by dinoflagellates (35 species). Differences in average abundance of micro/nanophytoplankton between spring and fall might be attributed to the shift in dominance of Trichodesmium spp. and diatoms. Picophytoplankton characterized by a great abundance of picocyanobacteria were dominated by Synechococcus. The dynamics of picophytoplankton during spring and fall might be associated with the differences in dominant Synechococcus strains. Environmental variables had significant influence on the dynamics of phytoplankton communities, especially nitrate and silicate. Silicate was a major driver responsible for the variations of micro/nanophytoplankton. Low silicate potentially limited the diatom growth during fall, leading to the overwhelming dominance of Trichodesmium spp. Picophytoplankton showed positive correlations with nitrate and silicate, suggesting that these nutrients collectively controlled variations in picophytoplankton communities during spring and fall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the phylogeny, population structure, and demographic history of Scolopsis taenioptera in the western Pacific Ocean. Using the 80 samples collected from four locations, we obtained the nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and cytochrome b genes. We identified two distinct lineages showing a clear phylogeographic break that was possibly due to the Pleistocene sea-level change. One lineage was distributed in Iloilo (Philippines) and the other in Terengganu (Malaysia), Rayong (Thailand), and Ha Long Bay (Vietnam). The Terengganu and Rayong populations showed clear signs of demographic expansion; the Iloilo and Ha Long Bay populations were relatively stable or spatially expanded as geographically subdivided populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Being a small low-lying island nation, Singapore has a high density population, recreational and industrial facilities along the coast. It is thus highly vulnerable to weather extremes including storm surges. Strong sea level surges due to the northeast monsoon when coinciding with spring tides may lead to coastal floods in the southwest regions of the South China Sea including Singapore Strait, with the heights of about 0.3-0.5 m observed from tidal records and satellite altimetry. We developed an operational system codenamed 'Stormy' to provide storm surge forecasts for the Sunda Shelf with focus on the Singapore Strait for a lead time of 6-7 days. Stormy has been working operationally since February 2013, successfully capturing storm surge events on 19-30 December 2013 and 14-23 February 2014. Stormy's web-based portal has an intuitive visual user interface which conveniently offers forecast products, including evolutional plan-view and time-series of storm surge heights compared with historical anomalies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three short sediment cores from inner continental shelf of the southern South China Sea (5-50 km) off Terengganu were analyzed for lipid contents (i.e., homologous aliphatic compounds and sterols) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The concentrations of the total aliphatic hydrocarbons (TAHs) ranged from 0.152 to 6.91 μg/g dry weight. The n-alkane distribution was from nC to nC, with a carbon preference index (CPI) from 1.08 to 4.28 and a carbon number maximum (C), depending on a sample, at 31 or 18. In addition, a strong odd-to-even carbon number predominance was observed in nC- nC range. The distribution of the n-alkanoic acids and n-alkanols in all samples exhibited an even-to-odd carbon number predominance and ranged from C to C and from C to C, respectively. The n-alkanols were dominated by the long-chain homologs with C at 22; on the other hand, the n-alkanoic acid distributions showed a predominance of short-chain homologs with a C at 16. The total sterol concentrations ranged from 0.41 to 3.57 μg/g dry weight. Cholesterol was most abundant at the offshore stations, whereas sitosterol was dominant at near-shore station. Pentacyclic triterpenoids such as friedelin and taraxerol α- and β-amyrins, which are known biomarkers for higher plants, were detected at all stations with a dilution trend offshore. In conclusion, the marine sediments off southern Terengganu can still be considered uncontaminated, where the compound sources are biogenic from terrestrial plants superimposed with a marine productivity input. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Members of the mangrove genus Rhizophora represent the most commonly occurring and highly valued species in the Indo-West Pacific region. However, to date, few studies have been directed towards the understanding of their genetic variation. The levels and patterns of genetic variation at chloroplast and nuclear gene regions were studied in R. apiculata, R. mucronata, and R. stylosa sampled from Southeast Asia and Japan. All three species were characterized by low intraspecific genetic variation and a deficiency of heterozygotes in populations within the region, consistent with findings in studies on other mangrove species. Rhizophora mucronata and R. stylosa were also found to be more closely related than any of them with R. apiculata. During the Last Glacial Maximum, sea levels dropped to 120 m below the current levels, exposing part of the Sunda Shelf that became a barrier that limited gene flow between marine species living in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Today, the Malay Peninsula is thought to still serve as a barrier to gene flow between populations occurring on its coasts. The pattern of genetic differentiation of R. apiculata supports the hypothesis of the land barrier effect of the Malay Peninsula, but such patterns were not found in R. mucronata and R. stylosa. Our findings suggest that R. apiculata, R. mucronata, and R. stylosa have different demographic histories despite being closely related and having sympatric distributions today. Furthermore, all three species appear to have high levels of inbreeding due to limited pollen and propagule dispersal, and that both these factors contributed to population differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the semi-enclosed basins of the world ocean, the South China Sea (SCS) is unique in its configuration as it lies under the main southwest-northeast pathway of the seasonal monsoons. The northeast (NE) monsoon (November-February) and southwest (SW) monsoon (June-August) dominate the large-scale sea level dynamics of the SCS. Sunda Shelf at the southwest part of SCS tends to amplify Sea Level Anomalies (SLAs) generated by winds over the sea. The entire region, bounded by Gulf of Thailand on the north, Karimata Strait on the south, east cost of Peninsular Malaysia on the west, and break of Sunda Shelf on the east, could experience positive or negative SLAs depending on the wind direction and speed. Strong sea level surges during NE monsoon, if coincide with spring tide, usually lead to coastal floods in the region. To understand the phenomena, we analyzed the wind-driven sea level anomalies focusing on Singapore Strait (SS), laying at the most southwest point of the region. An analysis of Tanjong Pagar tide gauge data in the SS, as well as satellite altimetry and reanalyzed wind in the region, reveals that the wind over central part of SCS is arguably the most important factor determining the observed variability of SLAs at hourly to monthly scales. Climatological SLAs in SS are found to be positive, and of the order of 30 cm during NE monsoon, but negative, and of the order of 20 cm during SW monsoon. The largest anomalies are associated with intensified winds during NE monsoon, with historical highs exceeding 50 cm. At the hourly and daily time-scales, SLA magnitude is correlated with the NE wind speed over central part of SCS with an average time lag of 36-42 h. An exact solution is derived by approximating the elongated SCS shape with one-dimensional two-step channel. The solution is utilized to derive simple model connecting SLAs in SS with the wind speeds over central part of SCS. Due to delay of sea level anomaly in SS with respect to the remote source at SCS, the simplified solutions could be used for storm surge forecast, with a lead time exceeding 1 day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a 40000-year-long high-resolution mangrove record from sediments of Core 18300, 18302 and 18323 on the continental shelf of the southern South China Sea and reconstructs the coastline changes on Sunda Shelf since the last 40000 years. In the period Marine Isotope 3, the old Sunda Shelf had low sea level, and it was partly exposed. Flourishing vegetations grew on the exposed old land. Mangroves developed along the coastline. On the Last Glacial Maximum, the sea level dropped greatly, coastline moved from inner shelf to outer shelf, the Old Sunda Land exposed further, and the lowering sea level induced the gradual disappearing of mangroves from the inner Sunda Shelf to the outer Sunda Shelf. And pioneer vegetation ferns covered the broadly exposed old land immediately. At the time of the last Deglaciation, sea level rose greatly, the coastline moved to the sea and the Sunda Shelf was drown again. Mangroves were emergent again from outer shelf to inner shelf and developed quickly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To the origins and evolution of Indomalayan shrews, we investigated the chromosomal variations of 14 species of Crocidura from SE Asia. Intraspecific polymorphism was mainly due to variation in the number of short chromosomal arms but C. lepidura and C. hutanis showed a polymorphism due to a centric fusion. The undifferentially stained karyotypes were similar in 9 species, all possessing 2n=38 and FN=54-56 (68); C. fuliginosa had 2n=40 and FN=54-58. These karyotypes are close to the presumed ancestral state for the genus Crocidura. Four species from Sulawesi had a reduced diploid number (2n=30-34), a trend not observed among other SE Asian species but present in few Palaearctic taxa. Compared to the apparent stasis of karyotypic evolution observed among other SE Asian species, the high degree of interspecific differences reported among Sulawesian shrews is unusual and needs further investigation. Stasis and reduction in diploid number found in both Indomalayan and Palaearctic species suggest that these two groups share a common ancestry. This is in sharp contrast to most Afrotropical species which evolved towards higher diploid and fundamental numbers. The zoogeographical implications of these results are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]