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We use a suite of eight ocean biogeochemical/ecological general circulation models from the Marine Ecosystem Model Intercomparison Project and Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 archives to explore the relative roles of changes in winds (positive trend of Southern Annular Mode, SAM) and in warming- and freshening-driven trends of upper ocean stratification in altering export production and CO2 uptake in the Southern Ocean at the end of the 21st century. The investigated models simulate a broad range of responses to climate change, with no agreement on a dominance of either the SAM or the warming signal south of 44°S. In the southernmost zone, i.e., south of 58°S, they concur on an increase of biological export production, while between 44 and 58°S the models lack consensus on the sign of change in export. Yet in both regions, the models show an enhanced CO2 uptake during spring and summer. This is due to a larger CO2(aq) drawdown by the same amount of summer export production at a higher Revelle factor at the end of the 21st century. This strongly increases the importance of the biological carbon pump in the entire Southern Ocean. In the temperate zone, between 30 and 44°S, all models show a predominance of the warming signal and a nutrient-driven reduction of export production. As a consequence, the share of the regions south of 44°S to the total uptake of the Southern Ocean south of 30°S is projected to increase at the end of the 21st century from 47 to 66% with a commensurable decrease to the north. Despite this major reorganization of the meridional distribution of the major regions of uptake, the total uptake increases largely in line with the rising atmospheric CO2. Simulations with the MITgcm-REcoM2 model show that this is mostly driven by the strong increase of atmospheric CO2, with the climate-driven changes of natural CO2 exchange offsetting that trend only to a limited degree (∼10%) and with negligible impact of climate effects on anthropogenic CO2 uptake when integrated over a full annual cycle south of 30°S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compare the spatial and temporal representation of phytoplankton functional types (pPFTs) in four different Dynamic Green Ocean Models (DGOMs; CCSM-BEC, NEMURO, PISCES and PlankTOM5) to derived phytoplankton distributions from two independent satellite estimates, with a particular focus on diatom distributions. Global annual mean surface biomass estimates for diatoms vary between 0.23 mmolCm-3 and 0.77 mmolCm-3 in the models, and are comparable to a satellite-derived estimate (0.41 mmolCm-3). All models consistently simulate a higher zonal mean diatom biomass contribution in the high latitudes than in the low latitudes, but the relative diatom contribution varies substantially between models with largest differences in the high latitudes (20% to 100% of total biomass). We investigate phytoplankton distribution in terms of annual and monthly mean dominance patterns, i.e. the distribution of locations where a given PFT contributes more than 50% to total biomass. In all models, diatoms tend to dominate large areas of the high latitudes of both hemispheres, and the area of the surface ocean dominated by diatoms is significantly higher in the models than in the satellite estimates. We estimate the realized ecological niches filled by the dominant pPFT at each location as a function of annual mean surface nitrate concentration (NO3), sea surface temperature (SST), and mixed layer depth. A general additive model (GAM) is used to map the probability of dominance of all pPFTs in niche and geographic space. Models tend to simulate diatom dominance over a wider temperature and nutrient range, whereas satellites confine diatom dominance to a narrower niche of low-intermediate annual mean temperatures (annual mean SST< 10 °C), but allow for niches in different ranges of surface NO3 concentrations. For annual mean diatom dominance, the statistically modelled probability of dominance explains the majority of the variance in the data (65.2-66.6 %). For the satellite estimates, the explained deviance is much lower (44.6% and 32.7 %). The differences in the representation of diatoms among models and compared to satellite estimates highlights the need to better resolve phytoplankton succession and phenology in the models. This work is part of the marine ecosystem inter-comparison project (MAREMIP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the mechanisms of phytoplankton competition during the spring bloom, one of the most dramatic seasonal events in lower-trophic level ecosystems, in four state-of-the-art Plankton Functional Type (PFTs) models: PISCES, NEMURO, Plank- TOM5 and CCSM-BEC. In particular, we investigated the relative importance of different ecophysiological processes on the determination of the community structure, focusing both on the bottom-up and the top-down controls. The models reasonably reproduced the observed global distribution and seasonal variation of phytoplankton biomass. The fraction of diatoms with respect to the total phytoplankton biomass increases with the magnitude of the spring bloom in all models. However, the governing mechanisms differ between models, despite the fact that current PFT models represent ecophysiological processes using the same types of parameterizations. The increasing trend in the percentage of diatoms with increasing bloom magnitude is mainly caused by a stronger nutrient dependence of photosynthesis for diatoms compared to nanophytoplankton (bottom-up control). The difference in the maximum photosynthesis rate plays an important role in NEMURO and PlankTOM5 and determines the absolute values of the percentage of diatoms during the bloom. In CCSM-BEC, the light dependency of photosynthesis plays an important role in the North Atlantic and the Southern Ocean. The grazing pressure by zooplankton (top-down control), however, strongly contributes to the dominance of diatoms in PISCES and CCSM-BEC. The regional differences in the percentage of diatoms in PlankTOM5 are mainly determined by top-down control. These differences in the mechanisms suggest that the response of marine ecosystems to climate change could significantly differ among models, even if the present-day ecosystem is reproduced to a similar degree of confidence. For further understanding of plankton competition and for the prediction of future change in marine ecosystems, it is important to understand the relative differences in each physiological rate and life history rate in the bottom-up and the top-down controls between PFTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Error-quantified, synoptic-scale relationships between chlorophyll-a (Chla) and phytoplankton pigment groups at the sea surface are presented. A total of nine pigment groups were considered to represent nine phytoplankton functional types (PFTs) including microplankton, nanoplankton, picoplankton, diatoms, dinoflagellates, green algae, picoeukaryotes, prokaryotes and Prochlorococcus sp. The observed relationships between Chla and pigment groups were well-defined at the global scale to show that Chla can be used as an index of not only phytoplankton abundance but also community structure; large (micro) phytoplankton monotonically increase as Chla increases, whereas the small (pico) phytoplankton community generally decreases. Within these relationships, we also found non-monotonic variations with Chla for certain pico-plankton (picoeukaryotes, Prokaryotes and Prochlorococcus sp.) and for Green Algae and nano-sized phytoplankton. The relationships were quantified with a least-square fitting approach in order to estimate the PFTs from Chla alone. The esti15 mated uncertainty of the relationships quantified depends on both phytoplankton types and Chla concentration. Maximum uncertainty over all groups (34.7% Chla) was found from diatom at approximately Chla=1.07mgm-3. However, the mean uncertainty of the relationships over all groups was 5.8 [% Chla] over the entire Chla range observed (0.023). The relationships were applied to SeaWiFS satellite Chla data from 1998 to 2009 to show the global climatological fields of the surface distribution of PFTs. Results show that microplankton are present in the mid and high latitudes, constituting ∼ 9.0 [% Chla] of the phytoplankton community at the global surface, in which diatoms explain ∼ 6.0 [% Chla]. Nanoplankton are ubiquious throught much of the global surface oceans except subtropical gyres, acting as a background population, constituting ∼ 44.2 [% Chla]. Picoplankton are mostly limited in subtropical gyres, constituting ∼ 46.8 [% Chla] globally, in which prokaryotes are the major species explaining 32.3 [% Chla] (prochlorococcus sp. explaining 21.5 [% Chla]), while pico-eukaryotes are notably abundant in the Southern Pacific explaining ∼ 14.5 [% Chla]. These results may be used to constrain or validate global marine ecosystem models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contribution of the atmospheric deposition of inorganic nitrogen compounds produced in East Asia to the marine ecosystems of the North Western Pacific Ocean (NWPO) was investigated in this study using a 3-D lower trophic-marine ecosystem model (NEMURO) combined with an atmospheric regional chemical transport model (WRF-CMAQ). The monthly mean values for the wet and dry deposition of nitrogen compounds, including gases (HNO 3 and NH 3 ) and aerosol particles (NO 3 - and NH 4 + ), were determined using the WRF-CMAQ for the NWPO from 2009-2016. These values were input into the NEMURO as an additional nitrogen source. The NEMURO indicated that the annual average chlorophyll mass concentration at the surface in the subtropical region (20°N-30°N; 125°E-150°E) of the NWPO increased from 0.04 to 0.10 mg/m 3 . Similarly, the gross primary productivity, integrated over sea depths of 0-200 m, increased from 85 to 147 mg C/m 2 /day because of this deposition. This study indicates that the supply of atmospheric inorganic nitrogen compounds from East Asia to the NWPO could have a high nutrient impact on the marine ecosystem in the subtropical region.

The present study was designed to develop a technique for crossing and to gain insight into how sexual reproduction contributes to the maintenance of local populations of Ulva compressa L. To examine the durations of gamete motility and conjugation ability, freshly released gametes were incubated for various periods of time prior to mixing both mating types. The conjugation ability of the gametes gradually declined after being released from the thalli when the gametes were incubated without mixing with the opposite mating type. The ability to conjugate decreased by half after 6 h, although most of the gametes remained motile. The gametes released 4 h later had the same level of conjugation ability when mixed immediately after releasing. When the mature thalli were wrapped in a moist paper towel to prevent gametes from being released, the gametes were preservable for 7 h without a significant decrease in their conjugation ability. Conjugation occurred soon after mixing gametes of both mating types and reached a plateau after 30 s. However, conjugation rates did not exceed a rate of ∼70%, even though freshly released gametes were used. Interestingly, a portion of the gametes newly conjugated 30 min after mixing both mating types, and conjugation rates reached a second plateau at ∼90%. Gametes with delayed conjugation are provided some period of time that allows them to be transported away and increases their chances of mating with more distant populations, thus contributing to the maintenance of genetic variation., (© 2012 Phycological Society of America.)

Effects of a series of novel inhibitors of calmodulin or protein kinases on amylase release were studied in rat parotid slices. Amylase release induced by a cholinergic agonist, carbamylcholine, was inhibited by N-(6-aminohexyl)-5-chloro-1-naphthalenesulfonamide (W-7), a calmodulin inhibitor, 1-(5-chloronaphthalen-1-sulfonyl)-1H-hexahydro-1, 4-diazepine (ML-9), a myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) inhibitor, and 1-(5-isoquinolinylsulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine (H-7), an inhibitor of Ca(2+)-activated, phospholipid-dependent protein kinase (protein kinase C), while N-[2-(methylamino)ethyl]-5-isoquinolinesulfonamide (H-8), an inhibitor of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (protein kinase A), did not inhibit the release. On the other hand, amylase release induced by a beta-adrenergic agonist, isoproterenol, was inhibited only by H-8, but not by W-7, ML-9 or H-7. These results suggest that cholinergic stimulation evokes amylase release via the Ca(2+)-dependent system which involves calmodulin, MLCK and protein kinase C, while beta-adrenergic stimulation via the cyclic AMP-dependent system involves protein kinase A.

Among glucose-recognizing paraneurons, the gustatory cell is believed to have a glucoreceptor, while the pancreatic B cell is thought to metabolize glucose for signal production for insulin release. To investigate whether a common mechanism of glucose recognition exists among these cells, we have studied the interaction of the anomers of glucose or its derivative, known as a sugar taste inhibitor, with the pancreatic B cell of normal and diabetic rats. Inhibitors of the sugar taste response inhibited glucose-induced insulin release in various manners. A non-specific inhibitor, dibucaine, impaired not only the insulin response to glucose but also the ability to discriminate the anomers of glucose, without inhibiting glucose oxidation in the islets. Dibucaine also inhibited insulin release induced by a non-glucose secretagogue, tolbutamide. The alpha anomer, but not the beta anomer, of p-nitrophenyl-D-glucopyranoside, a specific-competitive inhibitor of sugar taste response, inhibited glucose-induced insulin release, but did not inhibit insulin release induced by non-glucose secretagogues or glucose oxidation. The pancreatic B cell of a non-insulin-dependent diabetes (NIDD) rat model, the NSZ rat, exhibited low insulin response to glucose and did not discriminate between the two anomers of glucose. The diabetic B cell responded to non-glucose secretagogues to the same extent as the control. Glucose oxidation in the diabetic islets was not impaired. These findings, together with previous ones, suggest that the gustatory and pancreatic B cells have a common glucose recognition site, which has a steric preference for the alpha anomer and is impaired in NIDD.

The alpha anomer of D-glucose is more potent than the beta anomer in stimulating insulin release. We have studied the effects of D-glucose anomers on insulin release from the perfused pancreas isolated from a rat model of non-insulin-dependent diabetes (NIDD) induced by streptozotocin injection at 2 days of age. Insulin release from the pancreas of the diabetic rat in response to 10 mM alpha-D-glucose was markedly impaired, while insulin response to the same concentration of beta-D-glucose was only slightly reduced as compared to that in the control pancreas. Thus, the pancreatic B cell of the diabetic rat did not discriminate between the alpha and beta anomers of D-glucose. Insulin release induced by 5 mM D-glyceraldehyde was decreased in the diabetic pancreas, while insulin release induced by 0.15 mg/ml tolbutamide did not differ from that in the control pancreas. Glucose oxidation in the islets isolated from the diabetic pancreas was not lower than that in comparable control islets. Treatment of the diabetic pancreas with 5 microM forskolin or 0.15 mg/ml tolbutamide did not restore its defective discrimination between the two anomers, although forskolin potentiated insulin release more markedly in the diabetic pancreas. The findings may provide some insight into the pathophysiology of the pancreatic B cell in NIDD.