There are a number of techniques for detecting genotoxicity in the marine environment, and many are applicable to large-scale field assessments. Certain tests can be used to evaluate responses in target organisms in situ while others utilize surrogate organisms exposed to field samples in short-term laboratory bioassays. Genotoxicity endpoints appear distinct from traditional toxicity endpoints...

PSAMP Long-term Sediment Monitoring As part of the Puget Sound Ambient Monitoring Program (PSAMP), the Washington State Department of Ecology sampled sediments at ten fixed stations each spring from 1989 through 2000 (Figure 1). Stations were chosen from a variety of habitats and geographic locations in Puget Sound. Sediments from each station were analyzed for particle size, organic carbon con...

Significant warming has been observed in every ocean, yet our ability to predict the consequences of oceanic warming on marine biodiversity remains poor. Experiments have been severely limited because, until now, it has not been possible to manipulate seawater temperature in a consistent manner across a range of marine habitats. We constructed a "hot-plate" system to directly examine ecological...

Introduced marine species are a major environmental and economic problem. The rate of these biological invasions has substantially increased in recent years due to the globalization of the world's economies. The damage caused by invasive species is often a result of the higher densities and larger sizes they attain compared to where they are native. A prominent hypothesis explaining the success...

Although the prevailing paradigm has held that the polar night is a period of biological quiescence, recent studies have detected noticeable activity levels in marine organisms. In this study, we investigated the circadian rhythm of the scallop Chlamys islandica by continuously recording the animal's behaviour over 3 years in the Arctic (Svalbard). Our results showed that a circadian rhythm per...

BACKGROUND Correct identification and cryptic biodiversity revelation for marine organisms are pressing since the marine life is important in maintaining the balance of ecological system and is facing the problem of biodiversity crisis or food safety. DNA barcoding has been proved successful to provide resolution beyond the boundaries of morphological information. Nassarius, the common mudsnail...

The synthesis of (-)-complanine, an inflammatory substance of Eurythoe complanata, was accomplished by a "chiral synthon" approach. The absolute configuration of this molecule was determined to be R.

We computationally study the transport of active, self-propelled particles suspended in a two-dimensional chaotic flow. The pointlike, spherical particles have their own intrinsic swimming velocity, which modifies the dynamical system so that the particles can break the transport barriers present in the carrier flow. Surprisingly, we find that swimming does not necessarily lead to enhanced part...