Surviving mass extinction by bridging the benthic/planktic divide

Via PNAS Early Edition:
Kate F. Darling, et. al. provide evidence for a tychopelagic existence for the planktic foraminifera Streptochilus globigerus citing its relation to the benthic Bolivina variabilis. The evolution from a benthic to planktic existence was generally viewed as a one-time event per clade. This finding shows the possibility that the tychopelagic foraminifera have the capability to quickly recolonize the planktic domain after extinction events.

Evolution of planktic organisms from benthic ancestors is commonly thought to represent unidirectional expansion into new ecological domains, possibly only once per clade. For foraminifera, this evolutionary expansion occurred in the Early–Middle Jurassic, and all living and extinct planktic foraminifera have been placed within 1 clade, the Suborder Globigerinina. The subsequent radiation of planktic foraminifera in the Jurassic and Cretaceous resulted in highly diverse assemblages, which suffered mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous, leaving an impoverished assemblage dominated by microperforate triserial and biserial forms. The few survivor species radiated to form diverse assemblages once again in the Cenozoic. There have, however, long been doubts regarding the monophyletic origin of planktic foraminifera.

We present surprising but conclusive genetic evidence that the Recent biserial planktic Streptochilus globigerus belongs to the same biological species as the benthic Bolivina variabilis, and geochemical evidence that this ecologically flexible species actively grows within the open-ocean surface waters, thus occupying both planktic and benthic domains. Such a lifestyle (tychopelagic) had not been recognized as adapted by foraminifera. Tychopelagic are endowed with great ecological advantage, enabling rapid recolonization of the extinction-susceptible pelagic domain from the benthos. We argue that the existence of such forms must be considered in resolving foraminiferal phylogeny.

Published online before print July 2, 2009, doi: 10.1073/pnas.0902827106

Read the article at PNAS[subscription required].
Read more!

NPDES GP issued for Washington Aquaculture

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access:
Issuance of a Final NPDES General Permit (GP) for Federal Aquaculture Facilities and Aquaculture Facilities Located in Indian Country Within the Boundaries of the State of Washington (Permit Number WAG-13-0000)

On November 12, 2008, the Director, Office of Water and Watersheds, EPA Region 10, proposed to issue a general permit to cover federal aquaculture facilities and aquaculture facilities in Indian Country in the State of Washington that meet minimum size thresholds of 20,000 pounds annual production and 5,000 pounds of feed used in the maximum month of feeding.

During the 47-day comment period, EPA received comments from six people representing four organizations and has prepared a Response to Comments document to explain changes made in the permit and reasons for not making changes that were requested. EPA received certification for the permit under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act from the Lummi Nation, the Makah Tribe, the Spokane Tribe, the Tulalip Tribes, and the Washington Department of Ecology.

DATES: The permit will become effective August 1, 2009 and will expire July 31, 2014. The permit issuance date is July 15, 2009.

Read the entire announcment at the Federal Register.
Read more!

New NOAA Publications

Two new NOAA publications are available:

NOAA Fisheries announces the release of Our Living Oceans: Habitat , Policymakers' Summary. This document summarizes key issues affecting the habitats of NOAA Fisheries' trust resources, habitat status and trends, and associated research needs. The full volume of Our Living Oceans: Habitat will be released soon. To obtain a hard copy of the Policymakers' Summary, please contact Mark.Chandler@noaa.gov.
Our living oceans: Habitat. Status of the habitat of U.S. living marine resources. Policymakers’ summary, 1st edition, 32 p. [PDF 5.8MB]

NOAA Fisheries has released its Biennial Report to Congress on the Recovery Program for Threatened and Endangered Species. This report addresses the conservation, management, and research activities conducted for the benefit of domestic endangered and threatened species, covering the time period October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2008. It includes accounts of each species, its status, current threats, conservation actions undertaken during this time frame, and priority actions needed. The report notes that 37% of listed species under NOAA jurisdiction are stable or increasing, 29% are known to be declining, and 34% are unknown or mixed in their status. For more information, contact Larissa.Plants@noaa.gov.
Biennial Report to Congress on the Recovery Program for Threatened and Endangered Species., 184 p,[PDF] 3.3MB

Read more!

Long Island Sound Dolphins

NYC is buzzing over the recent arrival of Bottlenose dolphins in the Long Island Sound:

From LoHud.com:

NEW ROCHELLE - Hundreds of dolphins have been swimming together in Long Island Sound, leaving witnesses in awe of the unusual occurrence.

"It was the most incredible sight I've ever witnessed on Long Island Sound," said John Knight, owner of Hudson Park Bait and Tackle near the city's marina. "You had to see this. I'm still speechless."

Knight was on a boat Saturday morning on the Sound when he saw hundreds of dolphins in the area for hours. He said the experience made him feel like legendary oceanographer Jacques Cousteau.

From Newsday:

It appears the dolphins sighted last week on the North Shore have no plans to leave just yet.

But the group of about 150 to 200 dolphins first spotted Wednesday in Cold Spring Harbor, Huntington and Northport has now split into two groups. One group headed for City Island in the Bronx while the others were seen in the Long Island Sound near Bayville.

Read more!

Researchers Survey Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Via AAAS EurekAlert! the NEFSC Announces:
Researchers Survey Mid-Atlantic Ridge Looking For New Forms of Marine Life, Clues to Deep-Sea Communities

An international team of researchers is surveying the Mid-Atlantic Ridge halfway between Iceland and the Azores to determine its biodiversity and perhaps discover new species and clues to deep-sea food webs. The project is part of a 16-nation effort to determine if the underwater mountain chain in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean has its own distinct animal communities.

Led by NOAA researcher Mike Vecchione of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), headquartered in Woods Hole, Mass., the research team is working aboard the 208-foot NOAA ship Henry B. Bigelow for six weeks as part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge Ecosystem Project, or MAR-ECO. The cruise is funded by NOAA Fisheries Service with additional support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Read the entire press release from NEFSC
Read more!

Final Rule for Pacific sardine

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access :

NMFS issues this final rule to adjust the harvest specifications for Pacific sardine in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the Pacific coast for the fishing season of January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2009. This final rule increases the tonnage of Pacific sardine allocated for industry conducted research from 1200 metric tons (mt) to 2400 mt and decreases the second and third period directed harvest allocations by 750 mt and 450 mt, respectively.

Read the entire announcement via the Federal Register.
Read more!

Proposed Snapper-Grouper rules

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access :

NMFS issues this proposed rule to implement Amendment 15B to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP), as prepared and submitted by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council). This proposed rule would, for South Atlantic snapper-grouper, require a private recreational vessel that fishes in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), if selected by NMFS, to maintain and submit fishing records;

require a vessel that fishes in the EEZ, if selected by NMFS, to carry an observer and install an electronic logbook (ELB) and/or video monitor provided by NMFS; prohibit the sale of snapper-grouper harvested or possessed in the EEZ under the bag limits and prohibit the sale of snapper-grouper harvested or possessed under the bag limits by vessels with a Federal charter vessel/headboat permit for South Atlantic snapper-grouper regardless of where the snapper-grouper were harvested; require an owner and operator of a vessel for which a commercial or charter vessel/headboat permit has been issued and that has on board any hook-and-line gear to comply with sea turtle and smalltooth sawfish release protocols, possess on board specific gear to ensure proper release of such species, and comply with guidelines for proper care and release of such species that are incidentally caught; and expand the allowable transfer of a commercial vessel permit under the limited access program and extend the allowable period for renewal of such a permit. Amendment 15B also proposes to revise the stock status determination criteria for golden tilefish and specify commercial/recreational allocations for snowy grouper and red porgy. In addition, NMFS proposes to remove language specifying commercial quotas for snowy grouper that are no longer in effect and proposes to revise sea turtle bycatch mitigation requirements applicable to the Gulf reef fish fishery to add two devices that were inadvertently omitted from a prior rule. The intended effects of this rule are to provide additional information for, and otherwise improve the effective management of, the South Atlantic snapper-grouper fishery; minimize the impacts on incidentally caught threatened and endangered sea turtles and smalltooth sawfish; and remove outdated language.

Written comments on this proposed rule must be received no later than 5:00 p.m., eastern time, on August 4, 2009.


Read the entire announcement via the Federal Register.
Read more!