Andrew J. Gooday

Bio: Andrew J. Gooday is an academic researcher from National Oceanography Centre. The author has contributed to research in topics: Foraminifera & Benthic zone. The author has an hindex of 59, co-authored 221 publications receiving 14737 citations. Previous affiliations of Andrew J. Gooday include National Oceanography Centre, Southampton & University of Geneva.

Biological structures as a source of habitat heterogeneity and biodiversity on the deep ocean margins

Abstract: Biological structures exert a major influence on species diversity at both local and regional scales on deep continental margins. Some organisms use other species as substrates for attachment, shelter, feeding or parasitism, but there may also be mutual benefits from the association. Here, we highlight the structural attributes and biotic effects of the habitats that corals, sea pens, sponges and xenophyophores offer other organisms. The environmental setting of the biological structures influences their species composition. The importance of benthic species as substrates seems to increase with depth as the complexity of the surrounding geological substrate and food supply decline. There are marked differences in the degree of mutualistic relationships between habitat-forming taxa. This is especially evident for scleractinian corals, which have high numbers of facultative associates (commensals) and few obligate associates (mutualists), and gorgonians, with their few commensals and many obligate associates. Size, flexibility and architectural complexity of the habitat-forming organism are positively related to species diversity for both sessile and mobile species. This is mainly evident for commensal species sharing a facultative relationship with their host. Habitat complexity is enhanced by the architecture of biological structures, as well as by biological interactions. Colony morphology has a great influence on feeding efficiency for suspension feeders. Suspension feeding, habitat-forming organisms modify the environment to optimize their food uptake. This environmental advantage is also passed on to associated filter-feeding species. These effects are poorly understood but represent key points for understanding ecosystems and biodiversity on continental margins. In this paper we explore the contributions of organisms and the biotic structures they create (rather than physical modifications) to habitat heterogeneity and diversity on the deep continental margins.

First insights into the biodiversity and biogeography of the Southern Ocean deep sea

Abstract: Shallow marine benthic communities around Antarctica show high levels of endemism, gigantism, slow growth, longevity and late maturity, as well as adaptive radiations that have generated considerable biodiversity in some taxa. The deeper parts of the Southern Ocean exhibit some unique environmental features, including a very deep continental shelf and a weakly stratified water column, and are the source for much of the deep water in the world ocean. These features suggest that deep-sea faunas around the Antarctic may be related both to adjacent shelf communities and to those in other oceans. Unlike shallow-water Antarctic benthic communities, however, little is known about life in this vast deep-sea region. Here, we report new data from recent sampling expeditions in the deep Weddell Sea and adjacent areas (748-6,348 m water depth) that reveal high levels of new biodiversity; for example, 674 isopods species, of which 585 were new to science. Bathymetric and biogeographic trends varied between taxa. In groups such as the isopods and polychaetes, slope assemblages included species that have invaded from the shelf. In other taxa, the shelf and slope assemblages were more distinct. Abyssal faunas tended to have stronger links to other oceans, particularly the Atlantic, but mainly in taxa with good dispersal capabilities, such as the Foraminifera. The isopods, ostracods and nematodes, which are poor dispersers, include many species currently known only from the Southern Ocean. Our findings challenge suggestions that deep-sea diversity is depressed in the Southern Ocean and provide a basis for exploring the evolutionary significance of the varied biogeographic patterns observed in this remote environment.

Benthic foraminifera (Protista) as tools in deep-water palaeoceanography: environmental influences on faunal characteristics.

Abstract: Foraminiferal research lies at the border between geology and biology. Benthic foraminifera are a major component of marine communities, highly sensitive to environmental influences, and the most abundant benthic organisms preserved in the deep-sea fossil record. These characteristics make them important tools for reconstructing ancient oceans. Much of the recent work concerns the search for palaeoceanographic proxies, particularly for the key parameters of surface primary productivity and bottom-water oxygenation. At small spatial scales, organic flux and pore-water oxygen profiles are believed to control the depths at which species live within the sediment (their 'microhabitats'). Epifaunal/shallow infaunal species require oxygen and labile food and prefer relatively oligotrophic settings. Some deep infaunal species can tolerate anoxia and are closely linked to redox fronts within the sediment; they consume more refractory organic matter, and flourish in relatively eutrophic environments. Food and oxygen availability are also key factors at large (i.e. regional) spatial scales. Organic flux to the sea floor, and its seasonality, strongly influences faunal densities, species compositions and diversity parameters. Species tend to be associated with higher or lower flux rates and the annual flux range of 2-3 g Corg m-2 appears to mark an important faunal boundary. The oxygen requirements of benthic foraminifera are not well understood. It has been proposed that species distributions reflect oxygen concentrations up to fairly high values (3 ml l-1 or more). Other evidence suggests that oxygen only begins to affect community parameters at concentrations < 0.5 ml l-1. Different species clearly have different thresholds, however, creating species successions along oxygen gradients. Other factors such as sediment type, hydrostatic pressure and attributes of bottom-water masses (particularly carbonate undersaturation and current flow) influence foraminiferal distributions, particularly on continental margins where strong seafloor environmental gradients exist. Epifaunal species living on elevated substrata are directly exposed to bottom-water masses and flourish where suspended food particles are advected by strong currents. Biological interactions, e.g. predation and competition, must also play a role, although this is poorly understood and difficult to quantify. Despite often clear qualitative links between environmental and faunal parameters, the development of quantitative foraminiferal proxies remains problematic. Many of these difficulties arise because species can tolerate a wide range of non-optimal conditions and do not exhibit simple relationships with particular parameters. Some progress has been made, however, in formulating proxies for organic fluxes and bottom-water oxygenation. Flux proxies are based on the Benthic Foraminiferal Accumulation Rate and multivariate analyses of species data. Oxygen proxies utilise the relative proportions of epifaunal (oxyphilic) and deep infaunal (low-oxygen tolerant) species. Yet many problems remain, particularly those concerning the calibration of proxies, the closely interwoven effects of oxygen and food availability, and the relationship between living assemblages and those preserved in the permanent sediment record.

Natural and human-induced hypoxia and consequences for coastal areas: synthesis and future development

Abstract: Hypoxia has become a world-wide phenomenon in the global coastal ocean and causes a deterioration of the structure and function of ecosystems. Based on the collective contributions of members of SCOR Working Group #128, the present study provides an overview of the major aspects of coastal hypoxia in different biogeochemical provinces, in- cluding estuaries, coastal waters, upwelling areas, fjords and semi-enclosed basins, with various external forcings, ecosys-

The Theory of Island Biogeography

Abstract: Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols Used xiii 1. The Importance of Islands 3 2. Area and Number of Speicies 8 3. Further Explanations of the Area-Diversity Pattern 19 4. The Strategy of Colonization 68 5. Invasibility and the Variable Niche 94 6. Stepping Stones and Biotic Exchange 123 7. Evolutionary Changes Following Colonization 145 8. Prospect 181 Glossary 185 References 193 Index 201

Influence of Diet On the Distribtion of Nitrogen Isotopes in Animals

Abstract: The influence of diet on the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in animals was investigated by analyzing animals grown in the laboratory on diets of constant nitrogen isotopic composition. The isotopic composition of the nitrogen in an animal reflects the nitrogen isotopic composition of its diet. The δ^(15)N values of the whole bodies of animals are usually more positive than those of their diets. Different individuals of a species raised on the same diet can have significantly different δ^(15)N values. The variability of the relationship between the δ^(15)N values of animals and their diets is greater for different species raised on the same diet than for the same species raised on different diets. Different tissues of mice are also enriched in ^(15)N relative to the diet, with the difference between the δ^(15)N values of a tissue and the diet depending on both the kind of tissue and the diet involved. The δ^(15)N values of collagen and chitin, biochemical components that are often preserved in fossil animal remains, are also related to the δ^(15)N value of the diet. The dependence of the δ^(15)N values of whole animals and their tissues and biochemical components on the δ^(15)N value of diet indicates that the isotopic composition of animal nitrogen can be used to obtain information about an animal's diet if its potential food sources had different δ^(15)N values. The nitrogen isotopic method of dietary analysis probably can be used to estimate the relative use of legumes vs non-legumes or of aquatic vs terrestrial organisms as food sources for extant and fossil animals. However, the method probably will not be applicable in those modern ecosystems in which the use of chemical fertilizers has influenced the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in food sources. The isotopic method of dietary analysis was used to reconstruct changes in the diet of the human population that occupied the Tehuacan Valley of Mexico over a 7000 yr span. Variations in the δ^(15)C and δ^(15)N values of bone collagen suggest that C_4 and/or CAM plants (presumably mostly corn) and legumes (presumably mostly beans) were introduced into the diet much earlier than suggested by conventional archaeological analysis.

Global pollinator declines: trends, impacts and drivers.

Abstract: Pollinators are a key component of global biodiversity, providing vital ecosystem services to crops and wild plants. There is clear evidence of recent declines in both wild and domesticated pollinators, and parallel declines in the plants that rely upon them. Here we describe the nature and extent of reported declines, and review the potential drivers of pollinator loss, including habitat loss and fragmentation, agrochemicals, pathogens, alien species, climate change and the interactions between them. Pollinator declines can result in loss of pollination services which have important negative ecological and economic impacts that could significantly affect the maintenance of wild plant diversity, wider ecosystem stability, crop production, food security and human welfare.

Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis.

Abstract: Cause, conseguenze e strategie di mitigazione Proponiamo il primo di una serie di articoli in cui affronteremo l’attuale problema dei mutamenti climatici. Presentiamo il documento redatto, votato e pubblicato dall’Ipcc - Comitato intergovernativo sui cambiamenti climatici - che illustra la sintesi delle ricerche svolte su questo tema rilevante.

Streams in the Urban Landscape

Abstract: The world’s population is concentrated in urban areas. This change in demography has brought landscape transformations that have a number of documented effects on stream ecosystems. The most consistent and pervasive effect is an increase in impervious surface cover within urban catchments, which alters the hydrology and geomorphology of streams. This results in predictable changes in stream habitat. In addition to imperviousness, runoff from urbanized surfaces as well as municipal and industrial discharges result in increased loading of nutrients, metals, pesticides, and other contaminants to streams. These changes result in consistent declines in the richness of algal, invertebrate, and fish communities in urban streams. Although understudied in urban streams, ecosystem processes are also affected by urbanization. Urban streams represent opportunities for ecologists interested in studying disturbance and contributing to more effective landscape management.