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The surface microlayer (SML) in marine systems is often characterized by an enrichment of biogenic, gel-like particles, such as the polysaccharide-containing transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) and the protein-containing Coomassie stainable particles (CSP). This study investigated the distribution of TEP and CSP, in the SML and underlying water, as well as their bio-physical controlling factors in Daya Bay, an area impacted by warm discharge from two Nuclear power plants (Npp’s) and aquaculture during a research cruise in July 2014. The SML had higher proportions of cyanobacteria and of pico-size Chl a contrast to the underlayer water, particularly at the nearest outlet station characterized by higher temperature. Diatoms, dinoflagellates and chlorophyll a were depleted in the SML. Both CSP and TEP abundance and total area were enriched in the SML relative to the underlying water, with enrichment factors (EFs) of 1.5–3.4 for CSP numbers and 1.32–3.2 for TEP numbers. Although TEP and CSP showed highest concentration in the region where high productivity and high nutrient concertation were observed, EFs of gels and of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved acidic polysaccharide (> 1 kDa), exhibited higher values near the outlet of the Npp’s than in the adjacent waters. The positive relation between EF’s of gels and temperature and the enrichment of cyanobacteria in the SML may be indicative of future conditions in a warmer ocean, suggesting potential effects on adjusting phytoplankton community, biogenic element cycling and air-sea exchange processes

The surface microlayer (SML) in marine systems is often characterized by an enrichment of biogenic, gel-like particles, such as the polysaccharide-containing transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) and the protein-containing Coomassie stainable particles (CSP). This study investigated the distribution of TEP and CSP, in the SML and underlying water, as well as their bio-physical controlling factors in Daya Bay, an area impacted by warm discharge from two Nuclear power plants (Npp’s) and aquaculture during a research cruise in July 2014. The SML had higher proportions of cyanobacteria and of pico-size Chl a contrast to the underlayer water, particularly at the nearest outlet station characterized by higher temperature. Diatoms, dinoflagellates and chlorophyll a were depleted in the SML. Both CSP and TEP abundance and total area were enriched in the SML relative to the underlying water, with enrichment factors (EFs) of 1.5–3.4 for CSP numbers and 1.32–3.2 for TEP numbers. Although TEP and CSP showed highest concentration in the region where high productivity and high nutrient concertation were observed, EFs of gels and of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved acidic polysaccharide (> 1 kDa), exhibited higher values near the outlet of the Npp’s than in the adjacent waters. The positive relation between EF’s of gels and temperature and the enrichment of cyanobacteria in the SML may be indicative of future conditions in a warmer ocean, suggesting potential effects on adjusting phytoplankton community, biogenic element cycling and air-sea exchange processes

The surface microlayer (SML) in marine systems is often characterized by an enrichment of biogenic, gel-like particles, such as the polysaccharide-containing transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) and the protein-containing Coomassie stainable particles (CSP). This study investigated the distribution of TEP and CSP, in the SML and underlying water, as well as their bio-physical controlling factors in Daya Bay, an area impacted by warm discharge from two Nuclear power plants (Npp’s) and aquaculture during a research cruise in July 2014. The SML had higher proportions of cyanobacteria and of pico-size Chl a contrast to the underlayer water, particularly at the nearest outlet station characterized by higher temperature. Diatoms, dinoflagellates and chlorophyll a were depleted in the SML. Both CSP and TEP abundance and total area were enriched in the SML relative to the underlying water, with enrichment factors (EFs) of 1.5–3.4 for CSP numbers and 1.32–3.2 for TEP numbers. Although TEP and CSP showed highest concentration in the region where high productivity and high nutrient concertation were observed, EFs of gels and of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved acidic polysaccharide (> 1 kDa), exhibited higher values near the outlet of the Npp’s than in the adjacent waters. The positive relation between EF’s of gels and temperature and the enrichment of cyanobacteria in the SML may be indicative of future conditions in a warmer ocean, suggesting potential effects on adjusting phytoplankton community, biogenic element cycling and air-sea exchange processes

B.V. Body size is a fundamental and defining character of an organism, and its variation in space and time is generally considered to be a function of its biology and interactions with its living environment. A great deal of body size related ecological and evolutionary research has been undertaken, mostly in relation to extant animals. Among the many body size-related hypotheses proposed and tested, the size-bathymetry relationship is probably the least studied. In this study, we compiled a global body size dataset of Changhsingian (Late Permian, ca. 254. Ma-252. Ma) brachiopod species from low-latitude areas (30°S-30°N) and analyzed their species diversity and body size distribution patterns in relation to the nearshore-offshore-basin bathymetric gradient. The dataset contained 1768 brachiopod specimens in 435 species referred to 159 genera and 9 orders, from 135 occurrences (localities) of 18 different palaeogeographic regions. Treating the whole of the Changhsingian Stage as a single time slice, we divided the nearshore-offshore-basin bathymetric gradient into three broad depth-related environments: nearshore, offshore and basinal environments, and compared how the species diversity and body size varied along this large-scale bathymetric gradient.Here, we report an array of complex patterns. First, we found a clear overall inverse correlation between species diversity and water depth along the nearshore-offshore-basin gradient, with most species concentrating in the nearshore environment. Second, when the median sizes of all low-latitude brachiopod species from the three environments were compared, we found that there was no significant size difference between the nearshore and offshore environments, suggesting that neither the wave base nor the hydrostatic pressure exerts a critical influence on the body size of brachiopods. On the other hand, the median sizes of brachiopods from the nearshore environment and, to a lesser extent, the offshore envi