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BIOLOGY INTERNATIONAL The Official Journal of the International Union of Biological Sciences Editor: John R. Jungck, University of Delaware, 118 Wolf Hall, Newark, DE 19716, USA, e-mail: [email protected] Associate Editor: Lorna Holtman, Deputy Dean, Zoology Department, University of the Western Cape (UWC), Private Bag X17, Bellville 7535, Republic of South Africa, e-mail: [email protected] Managing Editor: Sue Risseeuw, Beloit College, 700 College Street, Beloit , WI 53511, USA, e-mail:[email protected] Editorial Board John Buckeridge, RMIT University School of Civil, Nicholas Mascie Taylor, Department of Biological Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Building 10, Anthropology, University of Cambridge level 12, 376-392 Swanston Street Melbourne Trinity Lane, Cambridge CB2 1TN, UK GPO Box 2476V, Melbourne VIC 3001 Australia e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] Ralf Reski, Head, Plant Biotechnology, Faculty of Zhibin Zhang, Director, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Biology, University of Freiburg, Schaenzlestrasse 1 Acadmey of Sciences, Beijing 100080, P.R. China D-79104 Freiburg Germany e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] Jean-Marc Jallon, Institut de Biologie Animale Lily Rodriguez, Sede Servicio Nacional de Areas Intégrative et Cellulaire (IBAIC), Bât. 446, UPS-Orsay, Naturales Protegidas, Ministerio del Ambiente, Lima 27, 91405 Orsay, France Peru e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] Annelies Pierrot-Bults, Institute for Biodiversity and Hussein Samir Salama, National Research Centre, Ecosystems Dynamics, Zoological Museum, University of Plant Protection Department, Tahrir Street, Dokki, Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94766, 1090 GT Amsterdam 12311 Cairo, Egypt The Netherlands e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] Nils Christian Senseth, Centre for Ecological & Peter Birò, Balaton Limnological Research Institute Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biology, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Tihany 8237, Hungary University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1050, Blindern, N-0316 Oslo, e-mail: [email protected] Norway e-mail: [email protected] Yury Degbuadze, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, 33 Leninsky Hiroyuki Takeda, Department of Biological Sciences, Prospect, 119071 Moscow V-71, Russia Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Hongo e-mail: [email protected] 7-3-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033 Japan e-mail: [email protected] Raghavendra Gadakar, Center for Ecological Science, Bangalore 560 012, India Jen-Leih Wu, Academia Sinica, n°128, Sec 2, Academia e-mail: [email protected] rd, Taipei, Taiwan e-mail: [email protected] Peter G. Kevan, Department of Environmental Biology University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N3C 2B7, Canada Nathalie Fomproix, IUBS, Bat 442, Université Paris-Sud e-mail: [email protected] 11, 91 405 Orsay Cedex, France e-mail: [email protected] Signed articles express the opinion of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Editors of Biology International. Prospective authors should send an outline of the proposed article to the Editors, with a letter explaining why the subject might be of interest to readers. © 2012 International Union of Biological Sciences ISSN 02532069 Biology International No. 51 (June 2012) Marine Biodiversity Introduction: Carol Mankiewicz. Marine Biodiversity. 3 Pierrot-Bults, Annelies C. and Martin V. Angel. Pelagic The Netherlands 9 Biodiversity and Biogeography of the Oceans. Fautin, Daphne Gail. Marine Biodiversity: The Benthos. USA 36 Cover: The cover art was generated by artist Erika Moen, Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin USA Marine Biodiversity Carol Mankiewicz Department of Biology Beloit College Beloit, WI 53511 Biodiversity of marine systems is a huge limited distribution of photosynthesizers. and challenging topic given the size of Regarding the scope of the problem, oceans (about 70% of the Earth’s surface knowledge of diversity distribution area and 98% of its habitable space) and trends at finer than the phylum level is severe under-sampling. Documenting spotty at best, as Fautin and Pierrot- and understanding marine biodiversity Bults and Angel lament. Though the are important for many of the same importance of marine microbes has been reasons it is important to know about a major focus in the past decades, little is terrestrial biodiversity including known regarding diversity and establishing a baseline so that we can distribution (Sogin et al, 2006). If the recognize change and supporting goals of the International Census of ecosystem functions such as providing Marine Microbes (http://icomm.mbl.edu) food and medicinal resources. Knowing are attained, a clearer picture of microbe the distribution and diversity of biodiversity will emerge. Photo- organisms allows us to better propose synthesizers are confined to sun-lit and test hypotheses regarding physical waters, restricting them to shallower and chemical barriers to migration (such parts of continental shelf areas for as horizontal and vertical circulation and benthic and the upper 100 m or so of salinity variations), evolutionary history neritic and pelagic realms; this of the organisms, and the geologic distribution represents only a small history of ocean basin formation. fraction of the benthic area and ocean volume. The following two articles summarize some aspects of marine biodiversity and Oceans are Different provide background to understand some Some ocean characteristics seem to physical, chemical, and geological suggest low diversity and broad aspects of marine systems that affect distributions of organisms. For example, diversity. Fautin addresses biodiversity oceans are presently interconnected, in benthic marine environments whereas which could produce wide distributions Pierrot-Bults and Angel tackle of organisms. In addition, large areas of biodiversity in pelagic realms. Both oceans (deep pelagic areas and the narrow the focus to animals, and address abyssal plains for the benthos) are stable at the phylum level, but provide many with respect to temperature, salinity, and examples to elucidate spatial trends in light. The combination of species biodiversity. interconnectedness and environmental stability suggested low diversity, which These authors are justified in narrowing was borne out through deep-sea the topic to animal phyla due to the shear dredging during the Challenger scope of including all organisms at a Expedition (Moseley 1879). When finer taxonomic level and the relatively predictions regarding low diversity have Biology International Vol. 51 3 Mankiewicz since been tested, however, many have species diversity (as discussed in been surprised at the results. Cressey 2012). For example, using box cores, Grassle Results of ocean exploration and some and Maciolek (1992) found high diversity studies repeatedly demonstrate macrofaunal species diversity in deep- the need for thinking differently about water benthos (about 2000 m) off the marine systems (Crist et al. 2009) and eastern coast of the United States and the Census of Marine Life suggested that small-scale patchiness in (http://www.coml.org). Some aspects of disturbance (e.g., food availability) this difference are highlighted below. could explain the enhanced richness. The lack of stability with regards to food 1. Ocean currents have a greater ability thus overrides the extreme stability with to deliver food and disperse respect to physical environment. organisms than wind currents on Nicholls (2007) surveys a recent voyage land. Even though photosynthesizers that confirmed such small-scale patches. occupy a small area and volume of the oceans, they still can be the As an observer (as opposed to an active ultimate source of food for deeper researcher) of marine biodiversity organisms. Additionally, many studies, it seems that surprise regarding mesopelagic organisms migrate findings rather than confirmation of vertically towards food-rich, surface predictions is very much the norm. For waters on a daily basis as discussed example, three science news items by Pierrot-Bults and Angel (this flooded the internet as I wrote this volume). introductory piece. Baba and 2. Long-lived and large organisms on Macpherson (2012) reported finding a land tend to be producers, whereas new species of deep-sea crustacean. they tend to be consumers in marine Surprisingly, it was discovered off the settings; short-lived, single-celled Spanish coast, one of the better-studied photosynthesizers particularly areas of the ocean and the new species dominate in open-ocean environ- seems to be more related to western ments. Possibly these differences in Atlantic members of the genus rather size and/or lifespan facilitate than the four other species of the eastern relatively rapid response to change Atlantic. The second item has more to (Steele 1991). do with ocean productivity, which can 3. Though some marine food chains affect biodiversity. Arrigo et al. (2012) may follow the simple model of unexpectedly discovered a phyto- photosynthesizer → herbivore → plankton bloom under the Arctic pack carnivore, two other trophic systems ice, which was not predicted due to low- are recognized in oceans, one based light conditions. Finally, a yet on chemosynthesizers and the other unpublished tome by Naylor et al. based on dissolved organic carbon reportedly suggests up to 79 new species (DOC); and both of which highlight of sharks and rays identified through the