Scottish Association for Marine Science

About: Scottish Association for Marine Science is a facility organization based out in Oban, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Sea ice & Benthic zone. The organization has 524 authors who have published 1765 publications receiving 70783 citations. The organization is also known as: SAMS & Scottish Marine Station for Scientific Research.

Carbon on the Northwest European Shelf: Contemporary Budget and Future Influences

Abstract: A carbon budget for the northwest European continental shelf seas (NWES) was synthesized using available estimates for coastal, pelagic and benthic carbon stocks and flows. Key uncertainties were identified and the effect of future impacts on the carbon budget were assessed. The water of the shelf seas contains between 210 and 230 Tmol of carbon and absorbs between 1.3 and 3.3 Tmol from the atmosphere annually. Off-shelf transport and burial in the sediments account for 60–100 and 0–40% of carbon outputs from the NWES, respectively. Both of these fluxes remain poorly constrained by observations and resolving their magnitudes and relative importance is a key research priority. Pelagic and benthic carbon stocks are dominated by inorganic carbon. Shelf sediments contain the largest stock of carbon, with between 520 and 1600 Tmol stored in the top 0.1 m of the sea bed. Coastal habitats such as salt marshes and mud flats contain large amounts of carbon per unit area but their total carbon stocks are small compared to pelagic and benthic stocks due to their smaller spatial extent. The large pelagic stock of carbon will continue to increase due to the rising concentration of atmospheric CO2, with associated pH decrease. Pelagic carbon stocks and flows are also likely to be significantly affected by increasing acidity and temperature, and circulation changes but the net impact is uncertain. Benthic carbon stocks will be affected by increasing temperature and acidity, and decreasing oxygen concentrations, although the net impact of these interrelated changes on carbon stocks is uncertain and a major knowledge gap. The impact of bottom trawling on benthic carbon stocks is unique amongst the impacts we consider in that it is widespread and also directly manageable, although its net effect on the carbon budget is uncertain. Coastal habitats are vulnerable to sea level rise and are strongly impacted by management decisions. Local, national and regional actions have the potential to protect or enhance carbon storage, but ultimately global governance, via controls on emissions, has the greatest potential to influence the long-term fate of carbon stocks in the northwestern European continental shelf.

Linking environmental variables with regional-scale variability in ecological structure and standing stock of carbon within UK kelp forests

Abstract: Kelp forests represent some of the most productive and diverse habitats on Earth. Understanding drivers of ecological patterns at large spatial scales is critical for effective management and conservation of marine habitats. We surveyed kelp forests dominated by Laminaria hyperborea (Gunnerus) Foslie 1884 across 9° latitude and >1000 km of coastline and measured a number of physical parameters at multiple scales to link ecological structure and standing stock of carbon with environmental variables. Kelp density, biomass, morphology and age were generally greater in exposed sites within regions, highlighting the importance of wave exposure in structuring L. hyperborea populations. At the regional scale, wave-exposed kelp canopies in the cooler regions (the north and west of Scotland) were greater in biomass, height and age than in warmer regions (southwest Wales and England). The range and maximal values of estimated standing stock of carbon contained within kelp forests was greater than in historical studies, suggesting that this ecosystem property may have been previously undervalued. Kelp canopy density was positively correlated with large-scale wave fetch and fine-scale water motion, whereas kelp canopy biomass and the standing stock of carbon were positively correlated with large-scale wave fetch and light levels and negatively correlated with temperature. As light availability and summer temperature were important drivers of kelp forest biomass, effective management of human activities that may affect coastal water quality is necessary to maintain ecosystem functioning, while increased temperatures related to anthropogenic climate change may impact the structure of kelp forests and the ecosystem services they provide.

Nitrogen uptake by the macro-algae Cladophora coelothrix and Cladophora parriaudii: Influence on growth, nitrogen preference and biochemical composition

Abstract: The capacity of macro-algae to remove nutrients means they have the potential to concomitantly bioremediate polluted waters and generate exploitable biomass. The influence of different nitrogen (N) regimes on growth, biochemical composition and bioremediation capacity was studied for two species of the macro-alga Cladophora . These were incubated in media containing four single N sources, ammonium (NH 4 + ), nitrite (NO 2 − ), nitrate (NO 3 − ) and urea (CO(NH 2 ) 2 ), each with four nitrogen/phosphorous (N/P) ratios, followed by equimolar dual mixtures of these N sources at two selected N/P ratios. There were clear differences in growth between species, depending upon the nutrient regime. In every instance, the daily growth rate (DGR) of Cladophora parriaudii (4.75–11.2%) was higher than that of Cladophora coelothrix (3.98–7.37%) with significance when either NO 2 − ( p = 0.025) or urea ( p = 0.002) were the employed N form. Differences in algal productivity were reflected in the corresponding N-uptake, whereby C. parriaudii consistently removed more N than C. coelothrix . There were significant differences in growth ( p = 0.005) when C. parriaudii was cultivated in a single and multi-N source medium: NH 4 + was preferentially removed from the medium, whereas urea was typically removed secondarily. However, the presence of urea in the medium enhanced the uptake of the other co-existing N forms and resulted in an increased DGR and yielded a biomass rich in carbohydrates. The relative composition of C. parriaudii varied depending upon N/P ratio of the medium, with the final proportion of protein and carbohydrate ranging from 5 to 15% and 36 to 54% per unit dry weight, respectively. Results from this study demonstrated that algal strain selection is key to treating waste-streams with specific N profiles. Additionally, the biochemical profile of the biomass produced is dependent on the alga and the N regime, providing the potential for designing processes with specific properties and products.

Boron binding by a siderophore isolated from marine bacteria associated with the toxic dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum.

Abstract: The known siderophore vibrioferrin has been isolated from species of Marinobacter required for the growth of the toxic, bloom forming dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum. A number of unique attributes of this siderophore, including its ability to bind boron, may provide important clues as to the nature of this and related algal-bacterial relationships.