European Land-Ocean Interaction Studies 4th ELOISE Conference 5-7 September 2001, Rende, Italy TEMPERATURE ACCLIMATION CONSTITUTE A MAJOR FACTOR IN THE PHENOTYPIC SELECTION OF THE ATLANTIC CODS Brix O1., S. Thorkildsen1, and A. Colosimo2 (1) Dept. of Zoological Sciences, University of Bergen, Norway (2) Dept. of Biochemistry, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Italy A CONTRIBUTION FROM THE ELOISE PROJECT: CLICOFI Genetically-, physiological-, and ecological parameters were studied of a batch of 126 Norwegian coastal cods (NCC), which hatched in a closed pond ("poll") at Institute of Fisheries and Marine Biology (IFM), University of Bergen, in order to test whether there is any phenotype dependent different performance of cod at low (4 °C) and high (12 °C) temperatures. Pairs of nominal variables, each pair related to an individual fish (statistical unit) were analysed by contingency tables examining the distribution of a “response” variable (Y) as conditioned by the level of a “factor” (X). In the present case, X is the cluster (1, 2) assigned by an unsupervised clustering algorithm (k-means) to each unit on the basis of performance indicators, and Y is the level corresponding to the acclimation temperature (4 °C, 12 °C) or to the phenotype (HbI*1/1, HbI*2/2). The available data are summarized by frequency counts for the response rates of the Y levels for each level of the X factor Appropriate Chi-square tests (see Table 1) can then verify the (null) hypothesis that the response rates are the same at each X factor level, namely that the distribution of units into k-means clusters is not related to X. SESSION 5 135 Poster Presentation European Land-Ocean Interaction Studies 4th ELOISE Conference 5-7 September 2001, Rende, Italy Clustering Acclim./k-means Genotype/k-means Variables Conting. Tables Conting. Tables V1, V2, V3, V4 2,805 (-0,094) 0,193 (0,661) 2,743 (0,098) 0,188 (0,665) 4,086 (0,043) 0,286 (0,596) 3,360 (0,067) 0,300 (0,584) 12,173 (0,0005) 0,072 (0,789) 9,600 (0,002) 0,071 (0,790) 3,845 (0,050) 1,949 (0,163) 3,111 (0,078) 1,296 (0,255) 4,535 (0,033) 0,068 (0,794) 4,408 (0,036) 0,069 (0,793) V5, V6, V7, V8 V3, V4, V7, V8 V1, V2, V5, V6 V17, V18 Table 1 Atlantic cod: Congruence between a-priori and k-means clusters. Rows 1-5 refer to the sets of variables guiding the k-means clustering, namely: V1, V2, V3, V4 concerning P50; V5, V6, V7, V8 concerning n50; V3, V4, V7, V8 and V1, V2, V5, V6 concerning functional variables measured at 12 °C and at 4 °C, respectively; V17, V18 concerning Growth. Columns 2,3 contain, in each case, the results of two Chi-square tests, the Likelihood Ratio (row 1) and the Pearson test (row 2), for the hypothesis that the response rates are the same for each sample category. In parenthesis the Probit>Chi-square value (p) is reported, i.e. the probability of obtaining, by chance alone, a Chi-square value greater than the one computed if no relationship exists between the factors. Table 1 shows that under all the explored conditions, the lowest probability (p) of a chance correlation with the performance clustering (k-means) is obtained in the case of acclimation-guided classification.This is in agreement with the idea that environmental temperatures constitute a primary factor in the aggregation of individuals physiologically - more than genetically homogeneous. SESSION 5 136 Poster Presentation European Land-Ocean Interaction Studies 4th ELOISE Conference 5-7 September 2001, Rende, Italy COMPARING FISHERY DATA IN EASTERN AND WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC Colosimo A.1 and A. Giuliani2 (1) Dept. of Biochemistry, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Rome-Italy (colosimo@caspur.it) (2) Ist. Sup. Sanità , CTE laboratory, Rome, Italy (agiulian@iss.it) A CONTRIBUTION FROM THE ELOISE PROJECT: CLICOFI The Yearbook of Fishery Statistics published by the FAO agency [1] collects data available word-wide on yearly nominal catches of all kind of aquatic animals and plants. In particular, the whole North Atlantic region (from 36° 00’ N up to the North Pole), is divided into two fishing areas: the first spanning from 51° 00’ E to 42° 00’ W (Eastern Atlantic), and the second spanning from 42° 00’ to 80° 00’ W (Western Atlantic). In spite of their poor resolution in both space and time, fishery data may provide useful information on the species of particular interest for the project, Gadus morhua and Zoarces viviparus, over the background of other species of great economical relevance. Table I contains the correlation matrix among the yearly (1984-1996) time series of fishery data in E and W Atlantic, taken together with average sea-surface temperatures in the same areas. Among all the considered species, Gadus morhua and Zoarces viviparus show by far the highest (negative) correlation between catches in E and W Atlantic, where the time series of both species show markedly positive and negative trends, respectively. This indicates that these two species may be taken as sensitive indicators of any change occurring in the different anthropic/environmental/ecological factors affecting fish populations in Eastern and Western North Atlantic. However, even assuming substantial similarities in the anthropic factors between the european and the american sides of North Atlantic, global fishery data appear inadequate to work out explanations based upon environmental/ecological reasoning. On the basis of fishery data, yearly averaged sea surface temperatures do not appear to be significantly correlated with any species, and similar results were obtained with seasonal and monthly temperature data (not shown). However, since it is well known that temperature regimes at different depths are quite different in various regions of North Atlantic, underpinning specific temperature effects on metabolism and life cycles requires a much higher spatial resolution (of the type analyzed , for example, in [2]) as well as a careful design of appropriate lab experiments. SESSION 5 137 Poster Presentation European Land-Ocean Interaction Studies 4th ELOISE Conference 5-7 September 2001, Rende, Italy Table I Correlation matrix of fishery time series concerning East (capital letters) and West (small letters) Atlantic: Gadus morhua (A,a); Scomber scombrus (B,b); Mallotus villosus (C,c); Reinherdtius hippoglossoides (D,d; Melanogrammus aeglefinus (E,e); Pollachius virens (F,f); Zoarces viviparus (Z), Macrozoarces americanus(z). E. Atl .T and W.Atl.T refer to East and West Atlantic sea-surface temperatures (yearly averages). E.Atl. T W. Atl T A B C D E F Z a -0,41 -0,1 -0,84 -0,63 -0,3 0,57 -0,01 0,63 -0,92 b -0,33 -0,3 -0,74 -0,63 -0,31 0,74 -0,21 -0,13 -0,81 c -0,01 -0,11 -0,5 -0,58 -0,4 0,59 -0,28 -0,11 -0,73 d 0,16 -0,07 -0,44 0,64 0,58 -0,44 -0,46 -0,44 -0,32 e -0,48 0 -0,69 -0,62 -0,12 0,23 0,21 0,69 -0,76 f -0,44 0,16 -0,45 -0,4 -0,03 0,18 0,32 0,47 -0,15 z -0,58 -0,59 -0,76 -0,28 0,08 0,82 -0,8 0,69 -0,79 E.Atl. T W. Atl T 1 -0,23 1 0,26 0,59 0,23 0,37 -0,28 -0,37 -0,13 -0,27 -0,36 0,54 -0,17 -0,08 0,34 0,84 Pearson Correlation coefficients have been calculated on theyearly (1984-1996) time series included in the FAO Fishery Yearbook [1]. Correlations between time series of the same species in the two areas are in bold. All significant correlations are underlined. References [1] Yearbook of Fishery Statistics (1998), FAO Statistical series, Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy. 82, Food and [2] Colosimo, P. Sirabella, A. Giuliani, and J. Dippner, (2001) “Deconvolving the Climate Effects on Cod Recruitment by Principal Component Analysis and Canonical Correlation”, MEPS , in publication. SESSION 5 138 Poster Presentation European Land-Ocean Interaction Studies 4th ELOISE Conference 5-7 September 2001, Rende, Italy EFFECTS OF CLIMATE INDUCED TEMPERATURE CHANGES ON THE ECOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF COD (GADUS MORHUA) T. Fischer, R. Knust and H.-O- Pörtner Alfred-Wegener Institute, 27576 Bremerhaven, Germany (rknust@awi-bremerhaven.de) A CONTRIBUTION FROM THE ELOISE PROJECT: CLICOFI Climate fluctuations have substantial impacts on marine ecosystems but causal relationships have been largely unknown. Cod (Gadus morhua) – as an offshore species with high commercial value - was chosen as a model species to analyse the effects of changing temperatures on geographical distribution and population dynamics by combining ecological and physiological investigations in field studies and laboratory experiments. Field studies of population parameters (growth rates, ages structures and fecundity) and growth experiments carried out with fishes from several climatic regions (North Sea, Baltic Sea and Barents Sea) revealed a significant impact of temperature. The results of physiological investigations based on respiration measurements of the whole animals as well as the study of mitochondrial properties underline the thermal sensitivity of cod and were used to identify the mechanisms responsible for the distribution and population dynamics of Gadus morhua. SESSION 5 139 Poster Presentation European Land-Ocean Interaction Studies 4th ELOISE Conference 5-7 September 2001, Rende, Italy TEMPERATURE ADAPTATION IN COD (GADUS MORHUA): COMPARISON OF MITOCHONDRIAL ENZYME CAPACITIES IN BOREAL AND ARCTIC POPULATIONS G. Lannig, T. Fischer, I. Serendero, A. Schmidt, F.J. Sartoris, H.-O. Pörtner Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar (fsartoris@awi-bremerhaven.de) and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany A CONTRIBUTION FROM THE ELOISE PROJECT: CLICOFI Marine ectotherms may compensate for the effects of low or high temperatures on metabolism during seasonal acclimatisation or during long term adaptation to life at various latitudines. In this study we compared activities of the aerobic enzymes citrate synthase (CS) and NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) in cod from different populations (latitudinal comparison) and from the same population acclimated to different temperatures. In addition, we investigated possible correlations between the temperature dependence of enzymatic activity and of mitochondrial respiration. Our results demonstrate elevated CS activities in cod white muscle after cold acclimation in all populations with higher Arrhenius activation energies (Ea) for NC and NEAC only, indicating temperature compensation. Comparison between populations showed higher activities for NEAC compared to NC with similar Eas only at 15°C acclimation temperature. Elevated activities in the cold may depend on mitochondrial proliferation (St. Pierre et al., 1998) whereas Ea may be adjusted to control the flux rate of metabolism (Pörtner et al., 2000). Investigations of CS activities in isolated liver mitochondria showed higher activities for cold acclimated and cold adapted animals at unchanged mitochondrial protein contents indicating enhanced capacity of the enzyme at low temperatures. IDH measurements in liver tissue resulted in Ea values similar to those found in analyses of mitochondrial proton leakage in cod at the same acclimation temperatures, supporting the assumption that proton leakage is linked to a substrate cycle involving NADP-dependent IDH (Pörtner et al., 2000). References St. Pierre, J., Charest, P.M., Guderley, H. (1998) J. Exp. Biol. 201, p. 2961-2970 Pörtner, H.O., van Dijk, P.L.M., Hardewig, I., Sommer, A. (2000) in Antarctic Ecosystems: Models for Wider Ecological Understanding (Davison, W. & Williams, C.H. ed.) Caxton Press, Christchurch SESSION 5 140 Poster Presentation European Land-Ocean Interaction Studies 4th ELOISE Conference 5-7 September 2001, Rende, Italy DEPENDENCE OF COD (GADUS MORHUA) LDH KINETIC AND THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES ON ACCLIMATION TEMPERATURE Zakhartsev M., Blust R. Department of Biology, University of Antwerp – RUCA, Antwerp, Belgium (zakhar@ruca.ua.ac.be) A CONTRIBUTION FROM THE ELOISE PROJECT: CLICOFI The aim of this work is to study the biochemical mechanisms of enzyme adaptation to temperature change in Norwegian coastal cod Gadus morhua and assess the possible impact of climate induced temperature changes on the distribution of this species. The fishes were acclimated both to critical low (4°C) and nearly optimal (12°C) temperatures for more than one year. White muscle and liver lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was studied. The apparent Arrhenius activation energy (Ea) for LDH isozyme mixture in crude homogenates was comparable for muscle and liver tissue at 12°C acclimation (P>0.05), but showed clear differences at 4°C acclimation (P<0.05). The Ea for LDH isozyme mixture in crude homogenates significantly increased (P<0.05) as a result of acclimation to low temperature in both tissues (Table 1). Detailed analysis of the thermal dependence of the kinetic properties of LDH (Vmax, KM, Ksi) revealed that the substrate inhibition constant (Ksi) showed the most important changes in both tissues. At low acclimation temperature the Ksi was significantly decreased and showed a less pronounced curvature for both isozyme patterns (white muscle, liver)Similar effects of temperature acclimation on the Ea and on the thermal profile for Ksi were observed in tissues with absolutely different isozyme patterns. In combination with information available from literature this suggests that the changes observed under low acclimation temperature could be related to the appearance of additional intramolecular non-polar contacts within the enzymes. These may stabilize the tertiary and quaternary protein structure and consequently influence the kinetic and thermodynamic properties of LDH. When LDH from cold acclimated cod becomes more rigid, the capacity for regulation of the enzyme may be affected, so that the anaerobic capacity decreases with cold acclimation. At low temperature of acclimation the enzyme is inhibited by lower substrate concentrations compared to warm acclimated fish, resulting in an overall decreased performance of the organism. SESSION 5 141 Poster Presentation European Land-Ocean Interaction Studies 4th ELOISE Conference 5-7 September 2001, Rende, Italy Table 1. Apparent Arrhenius activation energy (kJ mol-1, mean±SE) of LDH isoenzyme composition in crude homogenate from white muscle and liver of 4°C- and 12°C-acclimated cod (Gadus morhua). Tissue Acclimation temperature 12°C 4°C White muscle 47.28±1.50 (n=15) 59.05±1.82 (n=21) Liver 48.20±1.35 (n=14) 53.34±1.57 (n=21) n – number of fishes analyzed SESSION 5 142 Poster Presentation European Land-Ocean Interaction Studies 4th ELOISE Conference 5-7 September 2001, Rende, Italy EVIDENCE FOR GENOTYPE DEPENDENT VARIATION IN GROWTH OF COD Torild Johansen1, Svein Erik Fevolden2, Gunnar Nyhammer1 and Gunnar Nævdal1 (1) (2) Dept. of Fisheries and Marine Biology, University of Bergen, High Technology Centre, Bergen, Norway University of Tromsø, Fisheries College, Breivika, N-9037 Tromsø, Norway A CONTRIBUTION FROM THE ELOISE PROJECT: CLICOFI Growth of cod was studied through two experiments terminated in spring 1999 and 2000 respectively. The material in the first experiment consisted of raised offspring of both North East Arctic and coastal cod while only coastal cod was represented in the second experiment. The fish were individually tagged. Length and weight were measured at six week intervals. The fish were kept at three (8, 12 and 150C) and two (4 and 120C) temperatures respectively, and all fish were genotyped according to haemoglobin type, isoenzymes (PGI-1* and LDH-3* ) and the Syp I gene. Evidence, although not consistent, for genotype dependent growth was found for the enzyme systems PGI-1* and LDH-3*, generally indicating that the genotype PGI-1*30/30 seemed to be inferior with respect to growth while there was indication of better growth capacity for the LDH-1*70/70 genotypes compared to the other ones. SESSION 5 143 Poster Presentation European Land-Ocean Interaction Studies 4th ELOISE Conference 5-7 September 2001, Rende, Italy THE IMPORTANCE OF THE APPENDICULARIANS VERSUS COPEPODS FOR GRAZING AND VERTICAL FLUX IN THE SKAGERRAK DURING SUMMER Marie Maar1, S. Gooding1, T.G. Nielsen1, P. Tiselius2, K. Tönnesson2, A. Sell2, T. Zervoudaki3, E. Christou3 (1) National Environmental Research Institute, PO Box 358, DK 4000 Roskilde, Denmark (mam@dmu.dk) (2) Kristineberg Marine Research Station, SE 450 34 Fiskebäckskil, Sweden (3) National Centre for Marine Research, 16604 Hellenikon, Athens, Greece A CONTRIBUTION FROM THE ELOISE PROJECT: KEYCOP The study was carried out during a cruise in Skagerrak, August 2000, between Denmark and Norway. The aim of the project was to study the vertical and horizontal flux of carbon, nutrients and trace substances in the system. The two dominant mesozooplankton groups, copepods and appendicularians, are important grazers of primary production. Copepods prefer plankton >10 µm, while appendicularians upconcentrate pico- and nanoplankton by filtration through a mucus house. Both groups contribute to sedimentation through sinking of faecal pellets and discarded mucus houses. To our knowledge there are only a few studies where the contribution of both copepods and appendicularians to grazing and vertical flux have been estimated. The phytoplankton community was dominated by the dinoflagellate Ceratium furca and nanoflagellates. Mesozooplankton grazing was estimated from chlorophyll a-grazing experiments. Copepods ingested 17% of primary production (329 mg C m-2 d-1) and appendicularian Oikopleura dioica removed 3% either by ingestion or by captures of Ceratium-cells on the mucus house. Sediment traps were deployed along the transect to estimate the vertical flux of pigments, POC (particulate organic carbon), zooplankton faecal pellets and mucus houses. The results showed that faecal pellets contributed with 10% and 22% and appendicularian houses including trapped phytoplankton with 43% and 19% at 15 and 30 m, respectively, to the sedimentation of biogenic carbon (fig. 1). However, only 25% and 35% of the produced faecal pellets and mucus houses, respectively, were recovered in the sediment traps at 30 m. The harpacticoid copepod Microsetella norvegica was very abundant and is known to feed on marine snow and probably contributed to the recycling of houses at the surface. In conclusion, copepods retained carbon in the surface layer by ingestion of primary production, faecal pellets and mucus houses, while the appendicularian Oikopleura dioica mainly increased the vertical flux of pigments and biogenic carbon. SESSION 5 144 Poster Presentation European Land-Ocean Interaction Studies 4th ELOISE Conference 5-7 September 2001, Rende, Italy Fig. 1. Sedimentation of detritus, faecal pellets, mucus houses with trapped chlorophyll a carbon-conversion factor: 40). Detritus was estimated as: POC –pellets-houses-chlorophyll a. d e t r it u s p e lle t s h o u s e s c h la * 4 0 in h o u s e s 1 5 m 3 0 m 0 1 0 2 0 3 0 21 m g C m d SESSION 5 145 Poster Presentation European Land-Ocean Interaction Studies 4th ELOISE Conference 5-7 September 2001, Rende, Italy ROLE OF DOC FLUXES IN BENTHIC CARBON CYCLING IN THE DEEPSEA AND ON CONTINENTAL MARGINS Ståhl, H.1, Brunnegård, J.2, Hall, P.O.J.3, Tengberg, A.4 (1) Dept. of Analytical and Marine Chemistry (AMC), Göteborg University, SE-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden (2) Dept. of AMC, Göteborg University, Sweden (3) Dept. of AMC, Göteborg University, Sweden (4) Dept. of AMC, Göteborg University, Sweden A CONTRIBUTION FROM THE ELOISE PROJECT: KEYCOP Benthic fluxes of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved inorganic carbon (CT) were measured in-situ using a benthic lander. Measurements of the pore water distributions of these solutes were also made. Measurements took place in three contrasting environments; a deep-sea locality (N.E. Atlantic) and in two different continental margin environments (the Aegean Sea and the Skagerrak). Repeated measurements were performed at each of the sites to determine the magnitude of temporal and spatial variability of benthic DOC and CT fluxes. In the deep-sea, DOC fluxes were comparable to CT fluxes implying that benthic organic carbon recycling rates at this abyssal locality are significantly underestimated if only CT fluxes, and/or oxygen fluxes, are measured. Spatial variability of benthic DOC fluxes were larger than temporal variability during the measurement period. Possible reasons for and implications of differences in the relative importance of DOC fluxes in benthic carbon cycling in these three contrasting marine environments are discussed. SESSION 5 146 Poster Presentation European Land-Ocean Interaction Studies 4th ELOISE Conference 5-7 September 2001, Rende, Italy SUBSURFACE PHYTOPLANKTON BLOOMS CHARACTERISTICS AND IMPORTANCE IN THE SKAGERRAK: K. Richardson1 and B. Rasmussen2 (1) Aarhus University (2) National Environmental Research Institute, Denmark A CONTRIBUTION FROM THE ELOISE PROJECT: KEYCOP The distribution and characteristics of phytoplankton blooms in Skagerrak are analysed in order to evaluate the importance subsurface blooms to water column ecology and primary production. Enhanced chlorophyll concentrations are found in warm surface waters extending to depths of 10-15 m in the central of Skagerrak. A large fraction of the phytoplankton (40%) is found below the surface waters, where also considerable part of the total primary production takes place. Multiple subsurface maxima with distinct populations are simultaneously present in different water masses. However, the maxima are generally found above an oxygen minimum layer covering the entire study area. In the Atlantic water, below the oxygen minimum layer, the chlorophyll content vanishes, while the oxygen content increases with depth. This suggests that the water respiration of carbon originating from the upper part of the water column in the central Skagerrak is limited compared to the oxygen supply by advection of Atlantic water. SESSION 5 147 Poster Presentation European Land-Ocean Interaction Studies 4th ELOISE Conference 5-7 September 2001, Rende, Italy EGG PRODUCTION OF COPEPODS ACROSS A FRONTAL AREA IN THE AEGEAN E.D. Christou1, S. Zervoudaki1, I. Siokou-Frangou1, T.G. Nielsen2, M. Maar2, K. Tonnesson3 (1) National Centre for Marine Research, 16604 Hellenikon, Athens, Greece National Environmental Research Institute, DK 4000 Roskilde, Denmark (3) Kristineberg Marine Research Station, SE 450 34 Fiskebäckskil, Sweden (2) A CONTRIBUTION FROM THE ELOISE PROJECT: KEYCOP Egg production of the dominant copepods were estimated at 8 stations located across a frontal area associated with the Dardanelles outflow, in the NE Aegean. Measurements were made more intensively (48 h) at two stations: (a) every 6 h at a station of low stratification located outside the frontal area, and (b) every 12 h at two different water masses of a station located in the highly stratified region of the front. Temora stylifera and Clausocalanus furcatus were examined for egg production throughout the study area whereas Paracalanus parvus and Centropages typicus were further examined at the station located within the front. Egg production for T. stylifera showed an increasing trend along the transect to the front but no trend was evident for C. furcatus. Diel evolution of egg production revealed considerable changes for both copepods. When the production rates at two different layers (different water masses) were compared, a trend of higher values in the surface layer, which is directly affected by the Dardanelles outflow, was observed. As a whole, significant temporal and spatial variations were identified but no consistent pattern among different species was evident. Several environmental parameters were taken into account and the their possible influence on copepods is discussed. SESSION 5 148 Poster Presentation European Land-Ocean Interaction Studies 4th ELOISE Conference 5-7 September 2001, Rende, Italy PROCHLOROCOCCUS AND SYNECHOCOCCUS AS PREY ITEMS FOR NANOFLAGELLATES. Christaki Urania1, Courties Claude2, Karayanni Hera1, Giannakourou Antonia1, Maravelias Christos1, Kormas Ar. Konstantinos1, Lebaron Philippe2 (1) NCMR, 16604 Aghios Kosmas, Greece (2) UMR CNRS 7628, 66651 Banyuls sur Mer, France A CONTRIBUTION FROM THE ELOISE PROJECT: KEYCOP We compared the characteristics of ingestion of Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus by the marine heterotrophic nanoflagellate Pseudobodo sp. and a mixed nanoflagellate culture (around 3 µm in size) obtained from an open sea oligotrophic area. Maximum ingestion rate on Synechococcus ( 2.7 Syn flagellate-1 h-1) was reached at concentrations of 5 x 105 Syn ml-1 and decreased at levels between 6 x 105 and 1.5 x 106 Syn ml-1. In order to validate laboratory experimental data, one set of data on Synechococcus grazing, included here, was obtained during an intensive field study in the oligotrophic north-eastern Mediterranean sea. Heterotrophic nanoflagellate ingestion rates were related with Synechococcus abundance in the water and their grazing activity showed a clear diel rhythm with highest consumption at night and day hours and lowest at dusk. Ingestion rates on Prochlorococcus increased linearly for the whole range of prey used (i.e. from 1 x 103 to 4 x 106 Proc ml-1), with maximum ingestion of 10.6 Proc flagellate-1 h-1. However, for prey concentrations in the range of 103-105, which are usually encountered in aquatic systems, ingestion ratse on Synechococcus were significantly higher than on Prochlorococcus. Finally, both Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus turned out to be poor food items to support nanoflagellate growth in our experiments. SESSION 5 149 Poster Presentation European Land-Ocean Interaction Studies 4th ELOISE Conference 5-7 September 2001, Rende, Italy COMPARISON OF THE PARTICULATE MATTER DISTRIBUTION BETWEEN A MESOTROPHIC AND AN OLIGOTROPHIC MARINE AREA A. P. Karageorgis1*, E. G. Kaberi1, A.Tengberg2 and Ch. L. Anagnostou1 1 National Centre for Marine Research (NCMR), Agios Kosmas, 16604 Elliniko, Athens, Greece Göteborg University Marine Research Center, Box 460, 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden 2 A CONTRIBUTION FROM THE ELOISE PROJECT: KEYCOP In the framework of KeyCop EU project (KEY COastal Processes in the mesotrophic Skagerrak and the oligotrophic Northern Aegean: A comparative study, MAS3-CT970148, http://www.biologi.uio.no/mzk/keycop/home.htm), seasonal particulate matter concentration (PMC) distributions were studied in the mesotrophic Skagerrak Sea and the oligotrophic Aegean Sea. In the present communication we assess the similarities and differences of the particulate matter (PM) in the two areas in respect to the prevailing hydrological conditions and the PM composition. Particulate matter (PM) properties were studied in a total of four cruises. Two cruises took place in Skagerrak and two in the Aegean Sea. PM concentration was determined in by in-situ water filtration. In parallel, continuous optical measurements were collected with varying instrumentation (nephelometer and transmissometers) attached to the CTD systems. PM mineralogical composition was determined by X-Ray Diffraction. Hydrographic conditions in both marine areas are governed by strong density gradients resulting from the inflow of less saline water, i.e. Baltic Sea water and Black Sea water, for Skagerrak and the Aegean, respectively. In the vicinity of the Dardaneles Strait different water masses meet and create enhanced fronts. High stratification results in particle accumulation over the pycnocline and protects vertical advection of particles, whereas horizontal advection through the less saline-saline water interface is favored. Both areas show increased resuspension potential attributed to high near bed current velocities. Primary production and biogenic particles characterize mesotrophic Skagerrak, whereas five-fold lower particle concentrations appear in the oligotrophic Aegean Sea. Skagerrak Sea receives considerable amount of detrital material from the northern shelf forming intermediate nepheloid layers; this pattern is not observed in the Aegean Sea, where particulate inputs from the land are very low. Frontal stations in the Aegean Sea exhibit significant vertical transport of particles to deeper waters. Mineralogical composition of the particulate matter was found similar in the study areas. Although trophic conditions vary significantly in the study areas, particle distribution patterns seem to be regulated by similar mechanisms, i.e. primary production, detrital inputs and water mass structure. * Corresponding author E-mail: ak@fl.ncmr.gr Tel: + 301 9653304 Fax: +301 9653522 SESSION 5 150 Poster Presentation