Search

Symbiont-bearing larger benthic foraminifera (LBF) are ubiquitous components of tropical and subtropical carbonate-rich shallow-water habitats and contribute substantially to coral reef accretion and stability. More than 60 species of LBF are currently described from the Indo-Pacific Ocean with the Philippines being recently identified as their potential center of maximum species richness. The Palawan archipelago, also known as the “last ecological frontier” of the Philippines and a hotspot of biodiversity, attracts a growing number of tourists due to its comparatively intact marine environments and picturesque landscapes. Here, we document and illustrate the species-rich fauna of modern LBF from shallow nearshore habitats in northern Palawan. Sampling covered the northernmost part of Palawan's South China and Sulu Sea coasts including the Calamian Islands group. A total of 24 samples were taken from fore-reef slopes, inter-reef areas, a back-reef, seagrass leaves with a nearby mangrove swamp, and a WW2 shipwreck at depths between 0 to 25 m. We recorded a total of 44 LBF morphospecies, a number that is among the highest reported so far. Heterostegina depressa and Calcarina mayori were identified as the most widely distributed taxa in the study area. We further describe Peneroplis hoheneggeri nov. sp. as a new species of Peneroplis de Montfort. The newly described peneroplid is characterized by single rows of large pits and was previously also documented from Micronesia. Our survey supports the designation of northern Palawan as an exceptionally biodiverse ecoregion with high priority for marine conservation efforts.

The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 has created a pathway of migration for biota from the Red Sea into the Mediterranean Sea. This has a substantial impact on the marine ecology, endangering many local and endemic taxa. Larger foraminifera of the genus Amphistegina are among the most successful invaders, as evidenced by their abundance, ubiquity and wide extension in the Aegean and Ionian Sea. Because global climate change will amplify the entry and range expansion of tropical species in the Mediterranean, the interest in predicting species ranges and forecasting potentially negative impacts on ecosystems has grown substantially. We modeled the potential distribution of Amphistegina spp. and projected the result on future climate scenarios for 2050 and 2100, to predict range extensions of the taxon in future and compare these to range expansions under warm climate as documented in the fossil record. Results indicate that further warming is likely to cause a continued range extension, and predicts dispersal along the central Mediterranean coasts. The average range expansion rates were computed between 11.76 and 13.82 km per year, and are projected to lead to a total range expansion of 525 km (4.71° latitude) and 1035 km (11.87° longitude) in the year 2100. The results corroborate findings from the fossil record showing that some larger symbiont-bearing foraminifera cope well with rising water temperatures and are beneficiaries of warmer climate. It is anticipated that the ongoing warming trend will convey the northwestward migration of Mediterranean amphisteginids, implicating substantial consequences for marine ecosystems.

Larger symbiont-bearing foraminifers of the genus Amphistegina are currently expanding their biogeographic range in the Mediterranean Sea. They are rapidly progressing northwestward, closely approaching the Adriatic and the Tyrrhenian seas. The shift in range locally leads to profound ecological changes where amphisteginids have become the dominant species along entire stretches of coastline. Mass deposits of amphisteginids reflect an increased carbonate production and reduced assemblage diversity, and these are likely to trigger major changes in ecosystem functioning. It is anticipated that the ongoing warming trend will convey the northwestward migration of amphisteginid foraminifers. To project future species distributions we applied a species-distribution model (SDM) that is based on ecological niche constraints of current distribution ranges. Our model indicates that further warming is likely to cause a northwest-ward range extension and predicts dispersal through the straits of Sicily, Messina, and Otranto into the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic seas. Our results corroborate reports that show a remarkable increase and range expansion of tropical species, indicating a continued meridionalization of the Mediterranean Sea.

Consider the semi-direct product Zn⋊ρZ/m. A conjecture of Adem–Ge–Pan–Petrosyan predicts that the associated Lyndon–Hochschild–Serre spectral sequence collapses. We prove this conjecture provided that the Z/m-action on Zn is free outside the origin. We disprove the conjecture in general, namely, we give an example with n=6 and m=4, where the second differential does not vanish.

We compute the topological K-theory of the group C*-algebra [Formula: see text] for a group extension 1 → ℤn → Γ → ℤ/m → 1 provided that the conjugation action of ℤ/m on ℤn is free outside the origin.

Benthic foraminifera are increasingly used as environmental indicators of natural and/ or anthropogenic stress in coastal and marginal marine settings. A study of both living (Rose Bengal stained) and dead foraminifera was carried on 317 sediment samples collected in the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer (France). Here we present an initial status report on the port ecosystem as recorded from a selected set of sediment samples that cover the full range of habitats within the port. A surprisingly high diversity assemblage of benthic foraminifera was recovered, reflecting the varied habitats within the port. Among the total of 82 species recorded, 34 were found alive (rose Bengal stained). Four key species were identified as potential bioindicators and analyzed with regard to their distribution and correspondence with environmental parameters (sediment grain size, organic carbon content and heavy metal concentration, Cr, Cu and Zn). The benthic foraminifera Haynesina germanica and Bolivina pseudoplicata were found to live particularly well within the innermost parts of the port basins where the highest concentrations of organic carbon and heavy metals occur. Elphidium excavatum and E. magellanicum are well represented in the external parts of the port and can be considered as indicators that tolerate certain threshold values of pollution and environmental stress. As the port is located in an estuarine setting, the relationship between the key indicator taxa for pollution and natural environment is discussed. This study emphasizes the need to address the anthropogenic impact on coastal environments by screening the ubiquitous record of foraminiferal protists as precision tools for bio-monitoring.

The biserial agglutinated foraminifer Textularia hauerii d’Orbigny frequently occurs at shallow depths in reefal habitats off Bazaruto Island, Mozambique. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron- and light microscopy analyses show the enhanced concentration of the titanium-bearing mineral ilmenite (FeTiO3) in the agglutinated tests of this species. The mineral constitutes an insignificant component in the surrounding sediment (

Large populations of the living benthic foraminifera Haynesina germanica (Ehrenberg 1840) are reported for the first time from marsh and intertidal mud flat sediments of the Bahia Blanca estuary (Argentina). Maximum abundance of living specimens was recorded in shallow intertidal environments. The species was previously recorded from many European and North American shallow-water coastal settings, but has not been documented from Argentina. Comparative faunal assemblage analysis from dated core sample material from within the Bahia Blanca estuary shows that the species has not been present for at least the last 8,200 years. This supports the hypothesis that the species has been accidentally introduced outside its natural range as a probable result of ballast water and/or shipping activities. This study is the first report of a successful invasion of non-indigenous benthic foraminifera to the South Atlantic coast of Argentina. The introduction of nonnative foraminiferal species provides new evidence that human-mediated breaching of biogeographic barriers, will ultimately result in the biotic homogenization of foraminiferal intertidal faunal assemblages.

Fully calcified megalospheric juveniles were found to be closely packed within a brood chamber of the larger symbiont-bearing foraminifer Peneroplis sp. (d’Orbigny) from Chuuk Island (Micronesia). The juveniles exhibit a notable variation in size of the proloculi and various forms of test deformations. Both the size variation of the megalospheric proloculi and the test deformations are indicative of asynchronous calcification and are a potential source of natural polymorphism in Peneroplis. The results of this study have implications for the interpretation of abnormal shell forms as bioindicators and place constraints on the classic definition of three size classes in Peneroplis.

Larger symbiont-bearing foraminifera are prominent and important producers of calcium carbonate in modern tropical environments. With an estimated production of at least 130 million tons of CaCO(3) per year, they contribute almost 5% of the annual present-day carbonate production in the world's reef and shelf areas (0-200 m) and approximately 2.5% of the CaCO(3) of all oceans. Together with non-symbiont-bearing smaller foraminifera, all benthic foraminifera are estimated to annually produce 200 million tons of calcium carbonate worldwide. The majority of foraminiferal calcite in modern oceans is produced by planktic foraminifera. With an estimated annual production of at least 1.2 billion tons, planktic foraminifera contribute more than 21% of the annual global ocean carbonate production. Total CaCO(3) of benthic and planktic foraminifera together amounts to 1.4 billion tons of calcium carbonate per year. This accounts to almost 25% of the present-day carbonate production of the oceans, and highlights the importance of foraminifera within the CaCO(3) budget of the world's oceans.

WOS: 000422633100002, The European Alien Species Information Network (EASIN) aims to facilitate the exploration of alien species information in Europe, and is recognized as the information system supporting European Union Member States in the implementation of the recently published Invasive Alien Species Regulation. In this paper, we present the role and activities of the EASIN Editorial Board (EB), which is responsible for the quality assurance, safeguarding and constant improvement of EASIN. The EB is supported by a web platform that facilitates online discussions about alien species. This platform creates a virtual community by providing a forum-like interface that is moderated by the EB Members but is freely accessible to the scientific community and the general public. It allows all registered users to make comments, raise questions and share experience and expertise on alien species in Europe. Moreover, it provides a means for exchanging opinions and solving disputes in a transparent way. The overall EB activity is commonly agreed upon procedures and standards., European Commission's Directorate-General for Environment (DG ENV), The authors wish to thank the European Commission's Directorate-General for Environment (DG ENV) for their support. We thank also the anonymous reviewers for their useful comments and corrections.

Coral reefs are now subject to global threats and influences from numerous anthropogenic sources. Foraminifera, a group of unicellular shelled organisms, are excellent indicators of water quality and reef health. Thus we studied a set of samples taken in 1992 to provide a foraminiferal baseline for future studies of environmental change. Our study provides the first island-wide analysis of shallow benthic foraminifera from around Moorea (Society Archipelago). We analyzed the composition, species richness, patterns of distribution and abundance of unstained foraminiferal assemblages from bays, fringing reefs, nearshore and back- and fore-reef environments. A total of 380 taxa of foraminifera were recorded, a number that almost doubles previous species counts. Spatial patterns of foraminiferal assemblages are characterized by numerical abundances of individual taxa, cluster groups and gradients of species richness, as documented by cluster, Fisher α, ternary plot and Principal Component Analyses (PCA). The inner bay inlets are dominated by stress-tolerant, mostly thin-shelled taxa of Bolivina, Bolivinella, Nonionoides, Elongobula, and Ammonia preferring low-oxygen and/or nutrient-rich habitats influenced by coastal factors such as fresh-water runoff and overhanging mangroves. The larger symbiont-bearing foraminifera (Borelis, Amphistegina, Heterostegina, Peneroplis) generally live in the oligotrophic, well-lit back- and fore-reef environments. Amphisteginids and peneroplids were among the few taxa found in the bay environments, probably due to their preferences for phytal substrates and tolerance to moderate levels of eutrophication. The fringing reef environments along the outer bay are characterized by Borelis schlumbergeri, Heterostegina depressa, Textularia spp. and various miliolids which represent a hotspot of diversity within the complex reef-lagoon system of Moorea. The high foraminiferal Fisher α and species richness diversity in outer bay fringing reefs is consistent with the disturbance-mosaic (microhabitat heterogeneity) hypothesis. Calculations of the FORAM Index (FI), a single metric index to assess reef vitality, indicate that all fore- and most back-reef environments support active carbonate accretion and provide habitat suitability for carbonate producers dependent on algal symbiosis. Lowest suitability values were recorded within the innermost bays, an area where natural and increasing anthropogenic influences continue to impact the reefs. The presence of habitat specific assemblages and numerical abundance values of individual taxa show that benthic foraminifera are excellent recorders of environmental perturbations and good indicators useful in modern and ancient ecological and environmental studies.

Foraminifera inhabiting the muddy substrata within the coastal mangrove forests ( Rhizophora stylosa Griff.) on Moorea, French Polynesia, are distinct from other near shore foraminiferal assemblages around the island. Yet the mangroves were introduced from New Caledonia only in 1937 at Vaianahe Bay; they have since spread to many other sites around Moorea. They invade and occupy mud substrata below Paspalum marshes, the marshes themselves and mud under overhanging Hibiscus stands. The mangrove foraminifera cluster uniquely among themselves when compared to other lagoonal habitats, including those invaded by the mangroves. Thus, the introduction of mangroves has apparently allowed the development of a new community or assemblage of foraminifera. Mangrove foraminifera include Ammoastuta salsa, Ammotium tepida, Paratrochammina stoeni, Reophax cf. R. bacillaris, Trichohylus aguayoi, Trochammina inflata, and other subsidiary species of Ammonia, Elphidium, Quinqueloculina, Cornuspira, and Rosalina. Arenoparrellla mexicana , a characteristic species in mangroves elsewhere, is absent from Moorea, perhaps because it was never there like the mangroves themselves. The mangrove species cluster midway between those of shallow-water lagoonal mud, salt grass Paspalum marshes, and the muddy habitats below Hibiscus trees, even when they occur at similar elevations above or below sea level. The foraminifera in the unique cluster in the mangroves were not introduced with the initial mangrove trees, as the trees were established from propagules carried to the site by humans. The cluster is also found in other newer stands on the island that were colonized by floating propagules. The foraminiferal mangrove assemblage at Moorea is a more recent amalgamation of taxa recruited from the species pools in the associated salt grass Paspalum, Hibiscus and shallow-water lagoonal mud habitats. This recruitment happened quickly, most likely as soon as the mangroves grew to sufficient size to trap fine sediment and organic material, as these species are constantly transported about the lagoon chiefly by birds, rafts of algae or foam, and turbidity created by winds and storms. Some but not all foraminiferal species from these environments were able to occupy the new mangrove habitat. This indicates that the unique clusters of foraminifera have no biologic unity, but are simply associations of species that tolerate slightly different but similar environments at different elevations and with increased organic content, and with decreased wave action caused by mangrove roots. Previous studies of foraminiferal and other associations also indicate that in many situations marine organisms are not necessarily dependent on other specific species. Even in seemingly structured reef and rocky-shore communities with geologic histories of similar communities over thousands of years, the rapidity with which dispersal of larvae, eggs, or adult organisms takes place, and similar environmental conditions maintain this similarity of community, not principally any biologic dependence of species upon one another.

Detritivorous macroorganisms have important functions in nutrient remineralization and may exert significant predation pressure on meiofaunal communities. We have examined food excrements of detritus grazing holothuroids off Elba Island (Mediterranean Sea) to investigate whether ingested foraminifera survive the passage through the digestive tract. Our findings provide evidence that some benthic foraminifera pass through the complete digestive tract without being harmed by its predators. Sediment-feeding holothurians may thus affect microdistributional processes ultimately resulting in an allochthonous redistribution of foraminifera within the environment.

Lukas Hottinger, micropaleontologist and longtime professor for geology and paleontology at the University of Basel passed away peacefully on September 4, 2011 in Allschwil, Switzerland. He was born in Dusseldorf (Germany) on February 25, 1933, into a family of medical doctors as son of Prof. Adolf Hottinger, pediatrist, and Dr. Greta Hottinger-Cahn, a chemist of Swiss nationality. Because of Nazi oppression, the family decided early to move back to Allschwil, Switzerland. Lukas attended primary and secondary school in Basel with summer courses in Neuchâtel (Switzerland) and Exeter (England). In 1952, he received his Matura (university entrance qualification) from the Humanistische Gymnasium (classical Greek and Latin). His early interest in fossils and geology was awakened by an uncle, who offered him his fossil and mineral collection without labels, obviously requiring some detective work. A few years later, his father handed Lukas a letter of recommendation to introduce him to August Buxtorf, an oil geologist and later professor and head of the Geological and Paleontological Institute in Basel. Buxtorf, sitting behind the typical large and heavy dark desk of a professor of that time, welcomed Lukas by reciting the famous poem of Oswald Heer on Miocene fossils from Oeningen—an experience that Lukas described as his first contact with fossil communities and their significance. This attracted his interest in earth sciences and in 1952 he entered the University of Basel to study geology and paleontology with additional courses in zoology, comparative anatomy, botany, and marine biology. For him, the study of earth sciences opened up the potential to travel and explore the world. In 1956, his future doctoral advisor, professor Manfred Reichel, offered him a thesis topic where he was asked to develop a high-resolution biostratigraphy for species of the larger benthic foraminiferal genus Alveolina by means of biometry. At this time, the …

Fagus (beech) is among the most abundant and economically important genera of broad-leaved trees in northern hemisphere temperate forests. The number of modern taxa present in Europe and Asia Minor has long been a matter of debate and up to five species have been recognised. To resolve taxonomic and phylogenetic relationships we conducted morphological and molecular genetic analyses in western Eurasiatic taxa and evaluated palaeontological evidence. To place our findings from western Eurasiatic populations in a broader context additional East Asiatic and North American species of the same subgenus Fagus as well as two species of the subgenus Engleriana were included in our study.

Although coral reefs occupy only 0.17% of the ocean surface, they contribute 900 million tons, or roughly one sixth of the carbonate produced in the world's oceans each year. Corals, coralline algae and foraminifera are by far the most important producers of sediment on reefs. In order to understand the role of foraminifera in reef and global carbonate production cycles, we estimated carbonate production rates of reef foraminifera from more than 70 sites in all oceanic regions. Our first order production estimate shows that reef foraminifera contribute approximately 43 million tons of CaCO 3 per year, 34 million tons of which accumulate in reef sediments. Eighty percent of the global foraminiferal reef carbonate is estimated to be produced by larger symbiont-bearing species alone. The annual production of 43 million tons represents roughly 0.76 percent of the present-day CaCO 3 production in the world's oceans and approximately 4.8 percent of the global carbonate reef budget. Given an average weight of 0.5 mg for the typical reef foraminifer, the production of 43 million tons translates into a yearly turnover rate of approximately 86X10 15 individuals. The biochemical production of calcium carbonate in the ocean leads to the release of the greenhouse gas CO 2 which can be discharged into the atmosphere. Using our first order approximation, the annual production of 43 million tons of foraminiferal reef carbonate results in the release of 11.4 million tons of CO 2 . This represents only 0.05 percent of anthropogenic CO 2 emission in 1991. On a global scale, both carbonate and CO 2 production of reef foraminifera are comparatively small. In present-day reef complexes foraminifera do, however, play an essential role in the production of reef carbonates.

Species-range expansions are a predicted and realized consequence of global climate change. Climate warming and the poleward widening of the tropical belt have induced range shifts in a variety of marine and terrestrial species. Range expansions may have broad implications on native biota and ecosystem functioning as shifting species may perturb recipient communities. Larger symbiont-bearing foraminifera constitute ubiquitous and prominent components of shallow water ecosystems, and range shifts of these important protists are likely to trigger changes in ecosystem functioning. We have used historical and newly acquired occurrence records to compute current range shifts of Amphistegina spp., a larger symbiont-bearing foraminifera, along the eastern coastline of Africa and compare them to analogous range shifts currently observed in the Mediterranean Sea. The study provides new evidence that amphisteginid foraminifera are rapidly progressing southwestward, closely approaching Port Edward (South Africa) at 31°S. To project future species distributions, we applied a species distribution model (SDM) based on ecological niche constraints of current distribution ranges. Our model indicates that further warming is likely to cause a continued range extension, and predicts dispersal along nearly the entire southeastern coast of Africa. The average rates of amphisteginid range shift were computed between 8 and 2.7 km year(-1), and are projected to lead to a total southward range expansion of 267 km, or 2.4° latitude, in the year 2100. Our results corroborate findings from the fossil record that some larger symbiont-bearing foraminifera cope well with rising water temperatures and are beneficiaries of global climate change.

Tests of Recent benthic foraminifera from the Madang Lagoon (Papua New Guinea) were analyzed for their oxygen and carbon isotopic composition. Analyses were performed on scuba collected species from backreef and low-oxygenated harbor environments covering a depth range of 0 to 45 m. Both rotaliid and miliolid symbiont-bearing species were found to exhibit increasing δ18O with depth, while only the rotaliids reveal a comparable trend in their δ13C composition. The general trend of depletion in the heavier isotopes, 13C and 18O appears to be depth- and light-dependant. Neither the symbiont type nor the nature of the microhabitat appear to affect the magnitude of 18 O 16 O fractionation in larger foraminifers from this environment. The carbon isotope patterns of symbiont-bearing species revealed distinct differences between rotaliids and miliolids. Consistently lower δ13C values in rotaliid foraminifers may be related to a higher rate of photosynthetic activity. The photosynthetic effect of carbon isotope fractionation may be overprinted by the presence/absence of an internal carbon pool and/or specific modes of biomineralization which may act as isotopic filters. Foraminifera collected from low-oxygenated, organic-rich sediments in harbor inlets at Madang were found to exhibit particularly low δ13C values. Depletion (δ13C) is suggested to be due to oxidative processes in the surrounding organic-rich sediment coupled with preferential incorporation of isotopically lighter 12C.

Phototrophic dinoflagellate zooxanthellae commonly occur as endosymbionts in many planktic and certain benthic foraminifera (soritids). Many taxonomic issues and specific identities of foraminiferal dinoflagellates are not yet resolved. To assess taxonomic affinities among other dinoflagellates, we have determined the complete nucleotide sequence of the small-subunit rRNA coding region from Symbiodinium sp., an endosymbiotic dinoflagellate of the larger foraminifer Sorites orbiculus . The poly merase chain reaction was adopted for the in vitro amplification of ribosomal DNA, utilizing primers complementary to conserved regions. PCR-amplified DNA was directly sequenced and the sequence was aligned to all complete 18S-rDNA dinoflagellate sequences currently available through GenBank. Apicomplexan, ciliate, chromistacean, and rhodophycean sequences were added to infer across-kingdom phylogenetic relationships. Phylogenetic analysis of aligned nucleotide sequences produced a single most parsimonious tree (generated by the branch and bound method of PAUP). The inferred phylogeny indicates that the dinoflagellate extracted from the foraminifer Sorites orbiculus is a sister taxon to the symbiont present in the larger foraminifera Marginopora kudakajimaensis , but only distantly related to the dinoflagellate isolated from the soritid Amphisorus hemprichii . The sequence heterogeneity demonstrates a high degree of genetic diversity among Symbiodinium -like zooxanthellae and re-emphasizes that they are a variety of distinct entities. The inferred molecular phylogenetic relationships among symbiotic dinoflagellates are not congruent with the foraminiferal phylogeny based on cladistic methodology. The lack of correlation between the evolutionary history of dinoflagellate symbionts and their foraminiferal hosts argues against co-evolution. This lack of co-evolution implies that flexible recombinations among hosts and symbionts are evolutionarily favorable over permanently associated lineages, at least in these benthic foraminifera.

The dentaliid scaphopod Fissidentalium megathyris, collected from Pacific deep-sea sites off central California, was dissected and examined for prey items. Gut contents revealed that it takes almost exclusively benthic foraminifera, thus indicating that foraminiferal cytoplasm is an important component in the diet. Individual scaphopods contained up to 188 and averaged 33 foraminiferal specimens. On average 73.6% of ingested foraminifera tests had mechanical and/or chemical test damage. Mechanical damage was inflicted chiefly on the last three or so chambers. The mechanical manipulation of the tests by the radula alone could result in damage to the last chambers. Test destruction may result from selective chamber destruction, weaker construction of the last chambers than of the rest of the test, mechanically more vulnerable last chambers, or a combination of all three of these. The high number of ingested tests indicates that deep-sea scaphopods may exert significant predation pressure on benthic foraminifera, which may also lead to preferential destruction during taphonomic and diagenetic processes.

Reticulopods of benthic and planktic foraminifera have been periodically reported to possess the ability to narcotize, paralyze or even kill larger prey organisms by means of toxins. This paper critically examines the historical development of the idea of toxicity in foraminifera and provides new observational data on prey capture in the benthic species Glabratella ornatissima. Data presently available provide only minimal evidence for the presence of toxins in foraminifera. Most available evidence suggests that foraminiferal prey capture is in large part mediated by molecular cell-surface receptors (e.g. carbohydrates, glycoproteins) present in the extracellular matrix of adhesive pseudopodia. A survey of available data indicates that the majority of experimentally studied foraminifera exhibit the capability to effectively capture motile prey organisms, including in at least some cases organisms that exceed the predator body size. This suggests that the reticulopodial networks of many foraminiferal species may function as effective traps for a variety of motile organisms and that carnivory in foraminifera may be more widespread than previously assumed.

The analysis of ubiquitous material of individual growth stages of the foraminifer Buccella from the Bahía Blanca estuary reveals a wide range of morphogenetic expressions. The observations of morphological changes expressed during ontogeny display a continuous record of transitional stages that are reflected in juvenile, adolescent, and adult test shapes. The morphological features of individual growth stages were found to match specifications that were previously used to delineate individual species of Buccella from around South America. This indicates that juvenile, adolescent, and adult morphotypes of Buccella do not represent end members of individual species, subspecies, forms, or varieties. In fact, they constitute a continuous sequence of ontogenetic stages that ultimately result in the morphotype that was originally described and depicted by d'Orbigny, in the first half of the nineteenth century, under the name Rotalina peruviana (currently known as Buccella peruviana). The morphological expressions of juvenile, adolescent, and adult forms have potential applications for paleoecological studies in South American waters. A análise das diferentes fases de crescimento do foraminífero Buccella, com base em rico material recuperado do Estuário de Bahia Blanca, revelou uma vasta gama de expressões morfogenéticas. As observações de alterações morfológicas durante a ontogenia estão expressas num registo contínuo de estágios transicionais que estão refletidos nas diferentes fases de crescimento, i.e., nos juvenis, adolescentes e adultos. As características morfológicas das fases individuais de crescimento coincidem com as especificações utilizadas anteriormente no delineamento individual das espécies de Buccella originárias da América do Sul. Isto significa que os diferentes morfotipos correspondentes às fases juvenil, adolescente e adulto no gênero Buccella não representam membros finais de espécie, subespécie, forma ou variedade. Na verdade, eles constituem uma sequência contínua de fases ontogénicas que, em última análise, resultam no morfotipo originalmente descrito e retratado por d’Orbigny, na primeira metade do século dezenove, sob o nome Rotalina peruviana (atualmente denominada Buccellaperuviana). As expressões morfológicas de formas juvenis, adolescentes e adultas têm aplicações potenciais para estudos paleoecológicos em águas sul-americanas. Fil: Calvo Marcilese, María Lydia Valentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina Fil: Langer, Martin R.. Universitat Bonn; Alemania

Weltweit erleben Autofahrer im Moment fast jeden Tag ihr blaues Wunder: Die Spritpreise an den Tankstellen steigen immer weiter – ein Ende dieser Entwicklung ist nicht in Sicht. Neben dem nahezu unstillbaren Energiehunger der rapide wachsenden Weltbevolkerung, Spekulationen von Hedgefonds oder Forderbeschrankungen der OPEC sind vor allem die schwindenden Erdolreserven dafur verantwortlich, dass die fossilen Kohlenwasserstoffe regelmasig teurer werden. Um bisher unbekannten Lagerstatten auf die Spur zu kommen, setzen Bonner Mikropalaontologen sehr effiziente Untersuchungsmethoden ein. Dabei kommen auch kleinste Mikrofossilien zum Einsatz, die sich als wahre Spurnasen fur Erdol und Erdgas erweisen.

In southern Mali, lateritic nodular duricrusts have been formed under subtropical climates. The duricrusts are massive and consist of nodules set in a hematitic porous matrix. Ferriferous, coccoidal, filamentous and rod-like, hollow encrustations were found in the matrix. Encrustations are interpreted to be of bacterial origin, possibly replicas of the iron-bacteria Arthrobacter. Their genesis is explained schematically by an accumulation of ferric oxides on extracellular surfaces in an environment with changing redox conditions created by seasonal fluctuation of the water table.

A new fossil hydroid is reported as an organic impression on a calcareous gastropod steinkern from the Prairie Bluff Chalk (Maastrichtian), Oktibbeha County, Mississippi. This is the first such hydroid reported from the Upper Cretaceous of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The fossil organism consists of anastomosing hydrorhizae forming a holdfast, a fascicled hydrocaulus, and elongated, crenulated and ribbed hydrothecae. The fossil is unlike other Mesozoic hydroids that have been reported from Europe and North America; it is described as Mesodendrium oktibbehaensis gen. et sp. nov. and tentiatively referred to an extant family, the Campanulariidae (Calyptoblastina). The complete preservation of the holdfast, hydrocaulus and hydrothecae suggests that this hydroid lived inside gastropod shells. In analogy with Recent symbiotic hydroids inhabiting mollusc shells, the new specimen described here possibly represents the oldest known example of a symbiotic relationship between hydroids and hermit crabs.

Let k be the field with p>0 elements, and let G be a finite group. By exhibiting an E-infinity-operad action on Hom(P,k) for a complete projective resolution P of the trivial kG-module k, we obtain power operations of Dyer-Lashof type on Tate cohomology H*(G; k). Our operations agree with the usual Steenrod operations on ordinary cohomology. We show that they are compatible (in a suitable sense) with products of groups, and (in certain cases) with the Evens norm map. These theorems provide tools for explicit computations of the operations for small groups G. We also show that the operations in negative degree are non-trivial. As an application, we prove that at the prime 2 these operations can be used to determine whether a Tate cohomology class is productive (in the sense of Carlson) or not., 24 pages

Organic matrix deposits in the tests of benthic and planktic foraminifera contain glycosaminoglycans as a major component. They are present in organic linings, organic cements and secretion products. Following cytological, autoradiographic, and molecular cell biological studies in plants and animals, the intracellular process for glycosaminoglycan production is choreographed by ribosomes, the endoplasmatic reticulum and the Golgi complex. Synthesized proteins released from the ribosomes on the granular endoplasmic reticulum are glycosylated and sulfated in a multistage process within the Golgi compartments. The completed glycosylated proteins are shed as vesicles (secretory vesicles?) into the cytoplasm. Along microtubular strands the vesicles are transported to the cell membrane and either formed into organic linings or organic cements or are secreted. As indicated by their composition both the secretion of organic material by foraminifera as well as the production of organic linings and organic cements are caused by the same intracellular mechanism. Some aspects of the relation between macromolecular preorganization of the glycosaminoglycan-rich template and patterns of biomineralization are discussed.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) represent not only the major driver for quality-restricted and lost life years; NCDs and their related medical treatment costs also pose a substantial economic burden on healthcare and intra-generational tax distribution systems. The main objective of this study was therefore to quantify the economic burden of unbalanced nutrition in Germany--in particular the effects of an excessive consumption of fat, salt and sugar--and to examine different reduction scenarios on this basis. In this study, the avoidable direct cost savings in the German healthcare system attributable to an adequate intake of saturated fatty acids (SFA), salt and sugar (mono- & disaccharides, MDS) were calculated. To this end, disease-specific healthcare cost data from the official Federal Health Monitoring for the years 2002-2008 and disease-related risk factors, obtained by thoroughly searching the literature, were used. A total of 22 clinical endpoints with 48 risk-outcome pairs were considered. Direct healthcare costs attributable to an unbalanced intake of fat, salt and sugar are calculated to be 16.8 billion EUR (CI95%: 6.3-24.1 billion EUR) in the year 2008, which represents 7% (CI95% 2%-10%) of the total treatment costs in Germany (254 billion EUR). This is equal to 205 EUR per person annually. The excessive consumption of sugar poses the highest burden, at 8.6 billion EUR (CI95%: 3.0-12.1); salt ranks 2nd at 5.3 billion EUR (CI95%: 3.2-7.3) and saturated fat ranks 3rd at 2.9 billion EUR (CI95%: 32 million-4.7 billion). Predicted direct healthcare cost savings by means of a balanced intake of sugars, salt and saturated fat are substantial. However, as this study solely considered direct medical treatment costs regarding an adequate consumption of fat, salt and sugars, the actual societal and economic gains, resulting both from direct and indirect cost savings, may easily exceed 16.8 billion EUR.

We report nuclear small-subunit rDNA sequences for two species of the benthic foraminifer Ammonia. Because of their abundance in present and past seas, the foraminifera are a very important group of organisms used in a wide range of geologic studies; however, the ancestry of this group was, until now, unknown. Difficulties in purifying foraminiferal DNA and avoiding PCR contamination led us to develop DNA.DNA in situ hybridization techniques to verify our sequence data. Phylogenetic analysis of verified foraminiferal DNA sequence indicates these taxa are a divergent, "alveolate" lineage, within the major eukaryotic radiation. Our findings cast doubt upon the assumption that all foraminifera are derived from an amoebalike ancestor. Cytological features and the DNA sequences presented herein suggest that the foraminifera were derived from a heterokaryotic flagellated marine protist, probably sometime in the later Proterozoic.

Comparative studies on DNA nucleotide sequences have revolutionized our understanding of the phylogenetic relationships of many organisms and have become an important tool in evolutionary, ecological and palaeobiological inquiry. We have analysed partial small-subunit 18S sequences (srDNA) of Elphidium williamsoni (Haynes, 1973), a common intertidal benthic foraminiferid from the North Sea. The molecular phylogenetic analysis of the ribosomal rDNA sequence data indicate that E. williamsoni constitutes a well-defined genetic entity that is closely related to Elphidium aculeatum . Elphidium williamsoni is a prominent and frequently encountered foraminiferid in the North Sea and other tidal flats. It was originally described by Williamson (1858) as Polystomella umbilicata and subsequently renamed by Haynes (1973). Because of its phenotypic similarities with other elphidiids, this species has been frequently confused with, for example E. excavatum or Cribrononion alvarezianum (see Haynes for discussion). The molecular data provided here, and their direct comparison to other benthic foraminifera including one elphidiid, may therefore provide additional insight into the taxonomic status and the validity of this species. Individuals of the foraminiferid Elphidium williamsoni were collected in October 1997 from the intertidal mud flats of the Crildumersiel at the outer Jade Bay near Wilhelmshaven, North Sea (see Langer et al ., 1989 for details). The mud flats are characterized by fine-grained, muddy sediments containing high contents of organic material. In the laboratory, specimens were transferred into petri dishes, examined and cleaned under a stereo microscope. Living specimens of E. williamsoni were picked out separately and placed into clean glass dishes containing filtered. . . Assistance during the collection of the material by the staff of the Senckenberg Institute at Wilhelmshaven is gratefully acknowledged. Prof. Vera Hemleben and the Department of Genetics (Tubingen University) kindly provided access to the laboratory and the sequencing facilities. Samuel S. Bowser commented on a previous version of the manuscript.

Foraminifera occur in the peculiar, meromictic Jellyfish Lake on Mecherchar Island in the Palau Archipelago (Western Caroline Islands). The lake is marine, 30 m deep, and characterized by both oxic and anoxic water layers separated by a distinct chemo-and thermocline. Above 15 m, the lake is well lighted, oxic, and with normal marine salinity and temperatures. Below that, the lake is dark and anoxic with high sulfide content in the water and sediment. Sediment surface samples, collected by SCUBA from sites within both layers, contain few foraminifera. The foraminiferal fauna is characterized by a particularly low-diversity and thin-shelled assemblage and is devoid of typical diverse reef and lagoonal species commonly present in South Pacific reef complexes, including those surrounding Mecherchar Island just 100 m or so from Jellyfish Lake. A total of 15 species was recovered from surface sediments in the upper oxic zone of the lake, but no foraminifera were found in those samples collected in the deeper, anoxic water of the lake. Two species, Helenina sp. and Ammonia sp., dominate in the shallow-water lake habitats (0-10 m), while the agglutinated species Glomospira fijiensis and Rheophax scorpiurus appear to be most tolerant to decreasing oxygen conditions at the anoxic/oxic interface. The foraminiferal faunal association most closely resembles assemblages that have been described from mangrove environments of the South Pacific. The specific distribution pattern and the absence of foraminifera within the anoxic zone is consistent with findings from volcanic sulfide-rich environments. The physico-chemical properties of this stratified lake, in particular the lack of dissolved oxygen and the high concentration of hydrogen sulfide within the anoxic water layer, appear to control this particular presence/absence pattern of benthic foraminifera.

Associations of epizoic foraminifera and invertebrates are widespread and have been reported from polar to tropical and shallow to bathyal environments (Zumwalt & DeLaca, 1980). Their fossil record stretches far back into Palaeozoic times as documented by agglutinated foraminifera attached to crinoids in Silurian and Devonian reef deposits of Morocco and Gotland (Franzen, 1974). Strong preferences for filter-feeding hosts suggest that epizoic foraminifera benefit from increased nutritional resources accumulated in the immediate flow microhabitat (Langer & Long, 1994).In the course of a broader study on foraminifera/invertebrate associations, several hundred foraminifera attached to the outer wall of agglutinated tubes of various polychaetes (e.g. Sabella sp., Potamilla sp.) were collected from sediment samples dredged at 61 m depth off the University of California, Moss Landing Marine Laboratory (NW Pacific). Attached foraminifera display a remarkable mode to obtain and differentially cement grains from the host tube that previously has not been reported. Agglutinated polychaete tubes and fragments thereof may reach 2 cm or more in length and are composed of fine sand, silt and micas cemented together by secreted organic material (Fig. 1). Tubes are typically orientated vertically in the mud and project above the sediment surface into the water column.NEW OBSERVATIONSExamination of agglutinated polychaete tubes revealed that their outer walls were commonly colonized by one to three foraminiferans (Figs 1–3, tube diameter 1.5–2.0 mm). The epizoic foraminiferal fauna comprised exclusively agglutinated taxa and included the following species: Alveophragmium advenum (Cushman), Textularia abbreviata Lalicker & McCulloch, Textularia schencki . . .

Molecular biological techniques are used to reveal or confirm phylogenies and biogeographic and ecologic histories of fossilizable organisms with great success. Using the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) technique, we have successfully amplified and sequenced ribosomal DNA (1 8S-rDNA) from benthic and planktic foraminifera. DNA is first extracted from single living specimens and DNA templates are prepared. The DNA is then amplified using PCR for single and double strands. The direct methods using primers developed for protists and fungi allow amplification of the 18S-rRNA gene, a relatively conservative gene useful in phylogenetic analyses. The amplified DNA is sequenced on acrylomide gels using the chain-terminaton method. The 18S-rDNA nucleotide sequences may then be analyzed using standard phylogenetic analytical techniques such as PAUP (Phylogenetic Analysis Using Parsimony) or PHYLIP (Phylogeny Inference Package)..