Distribution of chromophytic phytoplankton in the Western Subarctic Gyre of Pacific Ocean revealed by morphological observation and rbc L gene sequences

Western Subarctic Gyre(WSG),which possesses distinctive differences in oceanographic and biogeochemical processes,is situated in the northwest subarctic Pacific.The WSG is characterized by high nutrient and low chlorophyll.We carried out a field investigation in this area in summer 2020 and performed microscopic observation,cytometric counting,and RuBisCO large subunit(rbc L)gene analysis to understand the community structure and spatial distribution of chromophytic phytoplankton better.Microscopic method revealed that total phytoplankton(>10μm,including Bacillariophyta,Dinoflagellata,Ochrophyta,and Chlorophyta)abundances ranged(0.6×10^(3))-(167.4×10^(3))cells/L with an increasing trend from south to north.Dinoflagellates and Pennatae diatoms dominated the phytoplankton assemblages in the southern and northern stations,respectively.Major chromophytic phytoplankton groups derived from rbc L genes included Haptophyta,Ochrophyta,Bacillariophyta,as well as rarely occurring groups,such as Xanthophyta,Cyanobacteria,Dinoflagellata,Rhodophyta,and Cryptophyta.At the phylum level,Haptophyta was the most abundant phylum,accounting for approximately 30.80%of the total obtained operational taxonomic units in all samples.Ochrophyta and Bacillariophyta were the second and third most abundant phylum,and their relative abundance was 20.26% and 19.60%,respectively.Further,redundancy analysis showed that high proportion of diatoms(e.g.,microscopic and rbc L methods)was positively correlated with nutrients(e.g.,dissolved inorganic nitrogen(DIN),dissolved inorganic phosphorous,and dissolved silicate(DSi))and negatively correlated with temperature and salinity.The proportion of Ochrophyta,Rhodophyta,and Cyanobateria identified by rbc L genes was positively correlated with salinity and temperature and showed negative correlation to nutrients.This work is the first molecular study of phytoplankton accomplished in the WSG,and our results show some discrepancies between morphological observation and rbc L gene sequences,which highlight the necessity of combining the microscopic and molecular methods to reveal the diversity of phytoplankton in marine environment.

Community composition,co-occurrence,and environmental drivers of bacterioplankton community in surface and 50-m water layers in the subarctic North Pacific

The Western Subarctic Gyre(WSG)is one of the two gyre-systems in the subarctic North Pacific known for high nutrient and low-chlorophyll waters.However,the bacterioplankton in marine water of this area,either in terms of the taxonomic composition or functional structure,remains relatively unexplored.A total of 22 sampling sites from two water layers(surface water,SW and 50-m layer water,FW)were collected in this area.The physiochemical parameters of waters,Synechococcus,and bacterial density,as well as the bacterioplankton community composition and distribution pattern,were analyzed.The nutrient concentrations of DIN,DIP,and DSi,Chl-a concentration,and the average abundance of heterobacteria in FW were higher than those in SW.However,temperature and the average abundance of Synechococcus and pico-eukaryotes were higher in SW.A total of 3269 OTUs were assigned,and 2123OTUs were commonly shared;moreover,similar alpha diversity patterns were observed in both SW and FW.The bacterioplankton community showed significantly obvious correlation with salinity,DIP,DIN,and Chl a in both SW and FW.Proteobacteria,Cyanobacteria,Bacteroidota,Actinobacteriota,and Firmicutes were the main phyla while Synechococcus_CC9902,Psychrobacter,and Sulfitobacter were the dominant genera in each sampling site.Most correlations that happened between the OTUs in the cooccurrence network were positive and inter-module.Higher edges and graph density were found in SW,indicating that more correlations occurred,and the community was more complex in SW.This study provided novel knowledge on the bacterioplankton community structure and the correlation characteristics in WSG.

Detection and characteristics analysis of the western subarctic front using the high-resolution SST product

Oceanic front plays a significant role in the ocean vertical mixing and the regulation of air-sea interaction,among others.The western branch of the subarctic front(WSAF)located in the Northwest Pacific has attained lots of attention given its strong intensity and widespread influence on this region.In this study,we take advantage of the merged sea surface temperature(SST)at a high spatial resolution of 0.05°to investigate the characteristics of WSAF.The front detection algorithm that combines the Sobel operator and histogram analysis is adopted.It is advantageous in both preserving the front intensity represented by the SST gradient as well as reducing the detection noise level.We systematically applied this algorithm to the daily SST products for front detection,based on which the WSAF characteristics including its intensity,occurrence of frequency,latitudinal position and coverage area are then extracted.WSAF is mostly located within a small latitude range between 40°N and 41°N with a clear seasonal trend in its intensity that peaks in the winter and troughs in the summer.The seasonal variation of WSAF intensity is almost consistent throughout the temporal period of interest from 2010 to 2018.Similar seasonality is observed for its occurrence of frequency with the winter-summer contrast reaching up to5%.The findings presented here shall help better interpret the WSAF characteristics in the long-term run as well as their impact on the regional weather and climate patterns at high spatial resolution.

Two lineages of bivalve transmissible neoplasia affect the blue mussel Mytilus trossulus Gould in the subarctic Sea of Okhotsk

There are increasing findings of the bivalve transmissible neoplasia derived from the Pacific mussel Mytilus trossulus(MtrBTN)in populations of different Mytilus species worldwide.The Subarctic is an area where this disease has not yet been sought despite the fact that Mytilus spp.are widespread there,and M.trossulus itself is a boreal species.We used flow cytometry of the hemolymph,hemocytology,and histology to diagnose disseminated neoplasia in a sample of M.trossulus from Magadan in the subarctic Sea of Okhotsk.Neoplasia was identified in 11 of 214 mussels studied.Using mtDNA COI sequencing,we revealed genotypes identical or nearly identical to known MtrBTN ones in the hemolymph of most of the diseased mussels.Both MtrBTN evolutionary lineages have been identified,the widespread MtrBTN2,and MtrBTN1,so far only known from M.trossulus in British Columbia on the other side of the Pacific from Magadan.In addition,MtrBTN2 was represented by 2 common diverged mtDNA haplolineages.These conclusions were confirmed for selected cancerous mussels by molecular cloning of COI and additional nuclear and mtDNA genes.On the background of high genetic diversity,different cancers were similar in terms of ploidy(range 4.0–5.8 n)and nuclear-to-cell ratio.Our study provides the first description of neoplasia and MtrBTN in mussels from the Sea of Okhotsk and from the Subarctic,of both MtrBTN1 and MtrBTN2 in the same mussel population,and the first direct comparison between these transmissible cancers.

Oceanic environmental changes of subarctic Bering Sea in recent 100 years: Evidence from molecular fossils

The core sample B2-9 from the seafloor of the subarctic Bering Sea was dated with 210 Pb to obtain a consecutive sequence of oceanic sedimentary environments at an interval of a decade during 1890—1999. A variety of molecular fossils were detected, including n-alkanes, isoprenoids, fatty acids, sterols, etc. By the characteristics of these fine molecules (C27, C28, and C29 sterols) and their molecular indices (Pr/Ph, ∑C+22/∑C?21, CPI and C18∶2/C18∶0) and in con- sideration of the variation of organic carbon content, the 100-year evolution history of subarctic sea paleoenvironment was reestablished. It is indicated that during the past 100 years in the Arctic, there were two events of strong climate warming (1920—1950 and 1980—1999), which resulted in an oxidated sediment environment owing to decreasing terrigenous organic matters and increasing marine-derived organic matters, and two events of transitory climate cooling (1910 and 1970—1980), which resulted in a slightly reduced sediment environment owing to increasing terrigenous organic matters and decreasing marine-derived organic matters. It is re- vealed that the processes of warming/cooling alternated climate are directly related to the Arctic and global climate variations.

Cycladophora davisiana(Radiolarian)in the Bering Sea during the late Quaternary:A stratigraphic tool and proxy of the glacial Subarctic Pacific Intermediate Water

Cycladophora davisiana (Radiolarian) contents are counted in two cores of the Ber-ing Sea and correlated well with the oxygen isotopic records of ice in the deep core obtained by the Greenland Ice Sheet Project II (GISP 2) and deep-sea sediments (SPECMAP) of the world oceans. Millennial scale climatic events, for example, Younge Dryas and B?lling/Aller?d events, Heinrich1 and Dansgaard-Oeschger1events, recorded by C. davisiana percents are distin-guished from Core B4-2. C. davisiana events b, c1, c2, d, e1 and e2, respectively, corresponding to oxygen isotopic 2.0, 3.1, 3.3, 4.0, 5.1 and 5.3, are identified from Core B2-9. High resolution re-cords of C. davisian are tuned to the oxygen isotopic records in GISP 2 and SPECMAP and the depth-age frameworks are established in the two cores, supplying a stratigraphic base for future paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic studies. High C. davisiana during the glacial periods in the two cores indicate that they can serve as a proxy of the glacial Subarctic Pacific Intermediate Water, which verifies the glacial Subarctic Pacific Intermediate Water brought from the Bering Sea.

Sea-salt aerosol transport patterns over the Northern Hemisphere inferred from two subarctic ice core records

Atmospheric circulation reconstruction based on glaciochemical records requires knowledge of chemical concentration controls, such as source, transport pathway and strength. To gain insight into these processes, the relationships between glaciochemical records from two Northern Hemisphere sites (Mt. Logan in Yukon Territory and 20D in southern Greenland) and instrumental sea level pressure (SLP) series are investigated. Calibrations between Mt. Logan sea-salt sodium (ssNa+) concentration and SLP series show that ssNa+ concentrations are closely correlated with the autumntime (SON) Aleutian Low and the summertime (JJA) North Pacific Subtropical High. Both the deepened Aleutian Low and enhanced North Pacific Sub- tropical High strengthen the transport of sea-salt aerosols from the North Pacific to the Mt. Logan region. Calibrations between 20D ssNa+ concentrations and SLP series indicate that ssNa+ concentrations are closely related to the wintertime (Jan.) Icelandic Low. A deepening of the Icelandic Low strengthens winter storms and frequent cyclogenesis over the North Atlantic and pushes more sea-salt laden air masses to the Greenland ice sheet. Therefore, ice core ssNa+ records from the Mt. Logan region can be considered as a proxy for reconstructing the au- tumntime Aleutian Low and summertime North Pacific Subtropical High, and the ssNa+ records from Greenland ice core (20D) may provide a proxy for reconstructing the wintertime Icelandic Low.

Seasonal Dynamics of Male and Female Reproductive Systems in the Siberian Salamander, Salamandrella keyserlingii (Caudata, Hynobiidae)

It is not well known how low temperatures, like a subarctic steppe–tundra climate, influence reproductive traits of ectothermic vertebrates. To begin answering this question, we studied male and female reproductive systems of Salamandrella keyserlingii inhabiting a Tomsk population（southeast of Western Siberia）, Russia, in ecological and physiological terms. In males, before spermiation, the testicular size and weight in late April–early May were greatest of all. Spermiation occurred during breeding immigration in spring when mean air temperature was above 10°С, and at the same time rain fell. After spermiation, the testicular size and weight decreased sharply, and the diameter of the vasa deferentia increased. ＂Spawning＂（i.e., simultaneous extrusion of sperm and oviposition） occurred from late April to late May, and this duration fluctuated in temperature and humidity. The testicular size and weight increased in summer. Sperm mass was detected in the testes by the smear method in April–September, except in June when single fragmented unrealized sperm was detected and in July when spermatids were detected. In females, ovarian weight was greatest in spring before ovulation. From late June, vitellogenesis began in ovarian follicles, in which mint green yolks accumulated. Melanin deposited in the surface of the ovary from July when oviducts were hypertrophying. In contrast, some large-sized females did not show any sexual maturity shortly before hibernation（although these females may be subadults）. These results suggest that low temperatures in Siberia induce early timing of gamete maturation in females, but the females＇ reproductive cycle might also be biennial. A reproductive cycle in males was annual with the completion of the gamete maturation process in August.

The influence of terrain age and altitude on the arthropod communities found on recently deglaciated terrain

Climate warming has been more pronounced in the Arctic than elsewhere, resulting in a recent rapid glacial retreat. Over 85% of the Almajallojekna glacier has disappeared over the last 115 years and it is one of the fastest retreating glaciers in Sweden. In 2011 and 2012, at 18 sites in the vicinity of the remaining glacier network, we sampled arthropods and related the species richness, abundance and proportion of herbivores to altitude （ranging from 824 to 1,524 m.a.s.1.） and the age of the site （ranging from 0 to 〉 115 years）. Temperature was measured at six sites and the average annual air temperature ranged from -3.7℃ to 1.1℃. In total, we recorded 3,705 arthropods from 117 species in nine different taxonomic groups. The most abundant and species-rich group was Coleoptera （1,381 individuals, 41 species） followed by Araneae （1,050 individuals, 15 species） and Macrolepidoptera （732 individuals, 17 species）. Only at lower altitudes did the abundance and species richness of arthropods increase with increasing age of the site. The results were consistent among the studied taxonomic groups and when controlling for sam- piing intensity using two different approaches. The proportion of herbivores decreased with increasing age of the site and with increasing altitude. Clearly, altitude appears more important than the age of the site and, at higher altitudes, abundance, species richness and herbivory are low [Current Zoology 60 （2）： 203-220, 2014].