Regional Study on Human Development and Human Rights in Central and Eastern Europe

human development, human rights

Biomarker Pigment Divinyl Chlorophyll a as a Tracer of Water Masses?

The ecological preferences of different Phytoplankton types drive their temporal and spatial distributions, reflecting their dependence on certain temperature ranges, light levels, nutrient availability and other environmental gradients. Hence, some phytoplankton taxa can be used as water mass tracers (biotracers)

Controls of picophytoplankton abundance and composition in a highly dynamic marine system, the Northern Alboran Sea (Western Mediterranean)

The Alboran Sea is a highly dynamic basin which exhibits a high spatio-temporal variability of hydrographic structures (e.g. fronts, gyres, coastal upwellings). This work compares the abundance and composition of picophytoplankton observed across the northern Alboran Sea among eleven cruises between 2008 and 2012 using flow cytometry. We evaluate the seasonal and longitudinal variability of picophytoplankton on the basis of the circulation regimes at a regional scale and explore the presence of cyanobacteria ecotypes in the basin. The maximal abundances obtained for Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus and picoeukaryotes (12.7 × 104, 13.9 × 104 and 8.6 × 104 cells mL− 1 respectively) were consistent with those reported for other adjacent marine areas. Seasonal changes in the abundance of the three picophytoplankton groups were highly significant although they did not match the patterns described for other coastal waters. Higher abundances of Prochlorococcus were obtained in autumn-winter while Synechococcus and picoeukaryotes exhibited a different seasonal abundance pattern depending on the sector (e.g. Synechococcus showed higher abundance in summer in the west sector and during winter in the eastern study area). Additionally, conspicuous longitudinal gradients were observed for Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus, with Prochlorococcus decreasing from west to east and Synechococcus following the opposite pattern. The analysis of environmental variables (i.e. temperature, salinity and inorganic nutrients) and cell abundances indicates that Prochlorococcus preferred high salinity and nitrate to phosphate ratio. On the contrary, temperature did not seem to play a role in Prochlorococcus distribution as it was numerically important during the whole seasonal cycle. Variability in Synechococcus abundance could not be explained by changes in any environmental variable suggesting that different ecotypes were sampled during the surveys. In particular, our data would indicate the presence of at least two ecotypes of Synechococcus: a summer ecotype widely distributed in the whole Alboran Sea and a winter ecotype adapted to lower temperature and higher nutrient concentration whose growth is favoured in the eastern sector.Versión del editor2,444

Distribution of phytoplankton along the thermohaline gradient in the North-Eastern Adriatic channel; winter aspect

The distribution of phytoplankton and its relation to the hydrographic features in the north-eastern Adriatic was investigated in February 2008. The area of interest included a thermohaline gradient in the channel situated between the coast and the islands lying parallel to the coast. The gradient is controlled by the influx of oligotrophic karstic riverine water at the south-eastern end,subma rine springs in the middle part,an d warmer offshore waters at the north-western end of the channel. The change of temperature and salinity in the estuarine transition zone was accompanied by abundant diatoms and dinoflagellates below the halocline,with dominant chain-forming diatoms (Chaetoceros, Bacteriastrum) in abundances reaching 5×105 cells dm−3. The impact of coastal submarine springs detected by infrared remote sensing resulted in the growth of cyanobacteria in the nitrogen-depleted surface waters. The greater contribution of picoplankton, as well as of nanoplanktonic coccolithophorids and cryptophytes,in the outer channel system indicated their preference for oligotrophic conditions. Flow cytometric counts of nanophytoplankton were 10–30 times greater than inverted microscope counts. Cyanobacteria were about five times more abundant than picoeukaryotes. The study demonstrates how different techniques (remote sensing and in situ investigations) can be useful in understanding the biological and hydrographic set-up in the specific oligotrophic eastern Adriatic coastal environment

Copernicus Marine Service: Coastal Extension

&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Over the period 2021-2028, the Copernicus Marine Service will provide a continuity of service with incremental evolutions of products and services. Yet, major evolutions are proposed to better answer user needs, to keep the service at the state-of-the-art and to meet the new ocean monitoring and forecasting challenges required by European policies and users. In this context, a priority evolution for the Copernicus Marine Service to be implemented by 2028 is a major extension of the service towards the coastal ocean.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;In this presentation, an overview of the proposed evolutions of the Copernicus Marine Service towards the coastal ocean will be provided.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Incremental evolutions are planned within the Copernicus Marine Service core service to better address coastal zones, including an improved representation of processes and forcings relevant for coastal zones, enhanced assimilation of observations over continental shelves, improved algorithms to provide satellite derived information on the ocean state and winds in the coastal zone, etc.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;In addition, new short, mid- and long-term activities are scheduled to develop new services.&amp;amp;#160;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;In the short-term, a Copernicus Coastal Thematic Hub will be implemented to gather in a single platform and access point the ensemble of information generated by several Copernicus Services on coastal zones. In addition, the Copernicus Marine Service will develop an improved coastal zone monitoring with new pan-European satellite-based products.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;In the mid-term, a co-design and co-production of marine information will be developed between Copernicus Marine and EU Member States. In that regard, a selection of coastal systems operated by Member States will be coupled to Copernicus Marine monitoring and forecasting operational systems.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;In the long-term, climate projections of the marine environment (physics, biogeochemistry, marine ecosystems) will be developed for the 21&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;st&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt;&amp;amp;#160;century&amp;amp;#160;at basin scale. This long-term evolution is building on precursor R&amp;amp;D European projects and aims at developing regional to local ocean climate services to support policy implementation, including for coastal zones.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;</jats:p

Phytoplankton size structure and species composition as an indicator of trophic status in transitional ecosystems: the case study of a Mediterranean fjord-like karstic bay

The species composition and size-structure of the phytoplanktoncommunity in the Boka Kotorska Bay (SE Adriatic Sea) were analysed withrespect to abundance and carbon biomass, together with the physico-chemicalparameters, with the aim of evaluating the predefined oligo-mesotrophicstatus of this transitional water ecosystem. Three stations locatedin the inner part of the Bay were sampled with seasonal frequencyin 2008/2009. Picophytoplankton cells were counted using flowcytometry; nanophytoplankton and microphytoplankton were identifiedand counted by light microscopy. The relative importance of thepicoplankton in the Bay, in terms of both abundance and biomass,during all the investigated seasons emphasized their significancein the phytoplankton community. Picocyanobacteria (Synechococcus)constituted a significant part of the summer assemblages withregard to both abundance (up to 3.38 × 108 cellsL-1)and carbon biomass (up to 73% of total phytoplankton carbon).The contribution of the nanophytoplankton was found to be generallylow (Skeletonema marinoi, dominated the microphytoplanktonfraction. S. marinoi was the most abundant in spring/winter(up to 2.86 imes 106 cells L-1) above the halocline(making a 96% contribution to the microphytoplankton). The potentiallytoxin-producing diatom Pseudo-nitzschia pseudodelicatissimawas recorded at abundances greater than 105 cells L-1, togetherwith Thalassionema frauenfeldii, as well as the dinoflagellatesProrocentrummicans and the potentially harmful P. minimum. The higher valuesof phytoplankton biomass and the dominance of phytoplankton speciesor groups with preferences for nutrient-enriched conditions appear tobe consistent with the oligo-mesotrophic status of this specific ecosystem

Table_1_Productivity and nutrient removal by the microalga Chlamydopodium fusiforme grown outdoors in BG-11 and piggery wastewater.docx

The objective of this work was to test the growth of the freshwater microalga Chlamydopodium fusiforme MACC-430 in diluted piggery wastewater (PWW) for biomass production which is a potential producer of biostimulating and antimicrobial compounds. The productivity and effectiveness in removing nitrogen and phosphorus by the cultures were tested outdoors in open ponds by comparing the mineral medium BG-11 medium (control) and piggery wastewater (PWW). Daily biomass yields were found 14.7 ± 4.6g m-2 d-1 in BG-11 and 17.6 ± 6.7g m-2 d-1 in 10-fold diluted wastewater (PWW10) with deionized water. Further increase in the biomass productivity yield (33.1 ± 5.6g m-2 d-1) was achieved with more concentrated PWW (5-fold dilution – PWW5). Nitrogen removal rate (N-NH4+) reached 21.4 ± 2.9mg L-1 d-1 in cultures grown in PWW10 and increased to 38.4±16.3mg L-1 d-1 using the PWW5. The use of undiluted PWW strongly increased the bacterial load, which caused the loss of the culture. The photosynthetic performance measured as the maximum fluorescence yield Fv/Fm ratio in both the PWW10 and BG-11 cultures showed a cyclic behavior, as it decreased during the day and recovered at night. However, in the cultures grown in diluted PWW the Fv/Fm ratio slightly increased throughout the cultivation. Between PWW10 and BG-11, no significant differences were observed in photosynthetic oxygen evolution; on the contrary, PWW5 showed a 30% reduction compared to PWW10 and BG-11. Significantly lower chlorophyll and carotenoid contents were found in the cultures grown in PWW compared to BG-11. Biochemical composition showed a slightly higher protein content in biomass grown in PWW10 (53.4%) compared to BG-11 (52.7%). The protein content further increased (61.3%) when the more concentrated PWW5 was used. The biomass, particularly that produced on PWW, revealed antimicrobial activity against plant pathogens, including fungi, and oomycete, while rather weak biostimulant activity was determined for the C. fusiforme biomass independently of the cultivation medium. Results demonstrated that C. fusiforme is a robust strain suitable to be grown in diluted PWW outdoors with a high nutrient removal rate.</p