Benthic community structure was studied by sample quadrates on transects at depths of 5 to 10 m in four sites, including Wanlitong, Leidashih, Siangjiao Bay, and Longkun, in coral reefs of southern Taiwan from 2003 to 2005. Totally 154 species in 45 genera of hard coral and 45 species in 10 genera of soft coral, representing 67% of known coral species were recorded. Covers of benthic organisms and hard coral growth forms were similar among years, but were significantly different among sites. Mean cover of all corals was high in Siangjiao Bay (56.88%) and Leidashih (65.69%), but hard coral (65.43%) was dominanted in Siangjiao Bay while soft coral (39.00%) was dominanted in Leidashih. Mean cover of all coral and benthic algae was similar in Wanlitong and Longkun. For hard coral growth forms, massive and encrusting corals were dominanted in three of four sites. This may be resulted from the strong wave. Cover of bare substrate was high (21.39%) in Longkun which was the most exposed to wind and wave stress. Foliaceous coral was abundant with the dominated species, Montipora aequituberculata (20.59%) in Siangjiao Bay which was a more protected site. However, foliaceous coral was more susceptibe to typhoon. Coral diversity was higher in Leidashih. This was related to both hard and soft corals were common and no dominant species. Comparing to previous studies, the long term change of coral abundance shows stable and/or increasing trends. It may be related to the dominance of massive and encrusting coral communities in southern Taiwan.

Abstract The primary objective for this study is to determine the variations of germanium (Ge) to silicon (Si) ratios in diatom shells from down core sediments off the southwestern coast of the Africa. Because Ge behaves like Si in the ocean and the major source of these two elements is rivers, Ge/Si ratios of the diatom are thus expected to record the intensity of weathering on continents. Two sediment cores (Site 1081 and 1084) were collected during the ODP Leg 175 in August, October 1997 and were analyzed for intervals between 3.1 and 1.9 Ma. Generally, the (Ge/Si)diatom ratios in this study show the similar trend with those reported from the Antarctic Ocean. The decline of Ge/Si ratios after 2.5 Ma is caused by the high opal mass accumulation rate, indicating the increasing rivers input of silica to the ocean. Relatively high Ge/Si ratios of diatom shells during warm periods shown by the depleted benthic foraminiferal £_18O values from the North and Equatorial Atlantic, suggesting a scenario of intensified chemical weathering on continent. Cold periods signified by £_18O-enriched values are associated with lower Ge/Si ratios. Very likely the reduced Ge/Si values reflect the prevailing weathering on continents was less chemical-dissolving due to the dry weather in cold stages.

Just like Eurotunnel link England & France, by the time Taiwan high speed rail arrive at Kaohsiung and Taipei , the passengers and people at platform welcoming the train, both feel exciting of this tremendous improvement of Taiwan. Taiwan have two highways and a railway for connecting Kaohsiung and Taipei despite many roads that have constructed long before. Even there also has plane to catch if you need time. Therefore, Taiwan high speed rail is a high-tech spine for new era of Taiwan. The distance between Taipei and Kaohsiung is merely 300 kilometer . Unfortunately Southern Taiwan and Kaohsiung didn¡¦t get sources from government fairly the old days. Now through this high ¡Vtech spine Kaohsiung and southern Taiwan can step forward proudly embracing future. Southern Taiwan had Kaohsiung Export Processing Zone and many industrial zones by local government , are not enough for use. Recently Southern Taiwan Science Park and Kaohsiung Software Park and Pingtung Agricultural Biotechnology Park all are built to meet future need. Enterprise can run business in these parks at lower cost than Northern Taiwan. Also , there are many solutions offer by government to help company and enterprise to improve and move in southern Taiwan. This study interview southern Taiwan companies and enterprises. From their point of view to see Taiwan high Speed Rail this modern technologic transportation create new opportunities for southern Taiwan. And bring lesson and suggestion for the future.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Sydney, 2009. / Title from title screen (viewed October 26, 2009) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy to the School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry, Dept. of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts. Includes bliographical references. Also available in print form.

The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on January 20, 2010). Thesis advisor: Dr. Marcus Rautman. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 290-302).

Recent scientific investigations of sub-millennial paleoceanographic variability have attempted to use the population statistics of single planktic foraminiferal δ18O in an attempt to characterize the variability of high-frequency signals such as the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). However, this approach is complicated by the relatively short lifespan of individual foraminifera (~2-4 weeks) compared to the time represented by a sediment sample of a marine core (decades to millennia). The resolving ability of individual foraminiferal analyses (IFA) is investigated through simulations on an idealized virtual sediment sample. We focus on ENSO-related sea-surface temperatures (SST) anomalies in the tropical Pacific Ocean (Niño3.4 region). We constrain uncertainties on the range and standard deviation associated with the IFA technique using a bootstrap Monte Carlo approach. Sensitivity to changes in ENSO amplitude and frequency and the influence of the seasonal cycle on IFA are investigated through the construction of synthetic time series containing different characteristics of variability. We find that the standard deviation and range of the population of individual foraminiferal δ18O may be used to detect ENSO amplitude changes at particular thresholds (though the uncertainty in range is much larger than in standard deviation); however, it is highly improbable that IFA can resolve changes in ENSO frequency. We also determine that the main driver of the IFA signal is ENSO amplitude as opposed to changes in the seasonal cycle although this is specific to Niño3.4 where the SST response to ENSO is maximal. Our results suggest that rigorous uncertainty analysis is crucial to the proper interpretation of IFA data and should become a standard in individual foraminiferal studies. / text

Southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma) populations have declined over the last 25-30 years throughout its range. With this rapid decline, the sustainability of the southern flounder fishery and population viability of this commercially and recreationally important fish has come into question. Previous research conducted in the Northern Gulf of Mexico and North Carolina, has shown that southern flounder often reside in freshwater for significant periods of time during the juvenile life history stage. Juvenile southern flounder have been collected at salinities below 10 in Aransas Bay (TX), suggesting that Texas southern flounder might also have critical periods of freshwater residency. However, the presence of a low salinity residency period in southern flounder in Texas has not previously been tested. Patterns of low salinity residence were determined using otolith microchemistry, using Ba/Ca ratios to determine movements across salinity boundaries. Water samples were collected from the major tributaries to the area in order to establish the Ba/Ca freshwater signature. Otolith Ba/Ca values revealed a high degree of variability in habitat use patterns among individuals. The mean percent time that an individual spent in low salinity habitat was skewed toward the lower end (15%) but a significant proportion of the individuals sampled (59%) used low salinity habitat at some point during their life. The remaining individuals (49%) never entered low salinity habitat. This work indicates that there are two distinctly different groups of habitat use patterns in the population. This work demonstrates that southern flounder in Texas exhibit different habitat use patterns from their congeners in North Carolina and the Northern Gulf of Mexico and can help contribute to the spatial management of the southern flounder population on the Gulf Coast of Texas. / text

The goal of this research was to examine the role of the novel membrane progestin receptor alpha (mPR[alpha]) in the stimulation of sperm hypermotility by the progestin 17,20[beta],21-trihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (20[beta]-S) in two teleosts; the Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus) and the southern flounder (Platylicthys lethigstomata). In croaker, the expression, localization and hormonal regulation of mPR[alpha] in testis and sperm were investigated, as were the intracellular signaling pathways activated by 20[beta]-S and mPR[alpha] to induce croaker sperm hypermotility. In flounder, stimulation of sperm hypermotility by 20[beta]-S and binding of this steroid to flounder sperm membranes were examined. Finally, expression of mPR[alpha] was investigated in flounder testes and the expression and localization of this receptor in flounder testis and sperm was examined. In croaker sperm, mPR[alpha] was expressed on the plasma membrane and localized to the midpiece. Expression of mPR[alpha] was also shown to be associated with high sperm motility and regulated by gonadotropin. The signaling pathways activated by 20[beta]-S in croaker sperm were shown to involve activation of olfactory G-proteins (Golf). Subsequent activation of membrane adenylyl cyclases was also demonstrated and shown to be necessary for 20[beta]-S-stimulated cAMP production and 20[beta]-S-induction of sperm hypermotility. Furthermore, co-immunoprecipitation studies show mPR[alpha] and Golf physically associate with one another, establishing mPR[alpha] as the mediator of 20[beta]-S actions in croaker sperm. Finally, evidence was obtained for progestin-stimulation of sperm hypermotility and the presence of mPR[alpha] on sperm membranes in another marine teleost species belonging to a different family, the southern flounder. In addition, mPR[alpha] was shown to be expressed on flounder sperm membranes and also localized to the sperm midpiece. Results from the following studies support the hypothesis that mPR[alpha] is the mediator of 20[beta]S-stimulated sperm hypermotility in croaker and is a likely intermediary in southern flounder. Furthermore, these data provide a plausible mechanism by which 20[beta]-S and mPR[alpha] stimulate croaker sperm hypermotility. In addition, these results provide the first evidence of hormonal activation of Golf proteins for any species. Finally, mPR[alpha]-mediated mechanisms to increase sperm motility are suggested to be evolutionarily conserved in teleosts since they also likely exist in a non-sciaenid species, the southern flounder.

We use a numerical ocean model to evaluate the hypothesis that the continental shelves are significant sources of dissolved iron to the Southern Ocean. We simulate the distribution of passive tracers released from the 18 different continental shelf regions of the extra-tropical southern hemisphere oceans using an offline, eddy-permitting transport model. The circulation fields are taken from the Southern Ocean State Estimate, and we only simulate the transport of inert tracers focusing on the physical transport pathways. The resulting tracer fields are then compared with the remotely sensed ocean color data, revealing a remarkable resemblance between the distributions of shelf-source tracers and the climatological surface chlorophyll-a concentrations. We further analyze the spatial pattern of simulated tracer fields in relation to satellite ocean color data. Dynamic ocean features such as the Southern Ocean fronts and coastal waters are reflected in both the tracer model and the observed biological productivity. Our results support the overall importance of continental shelves as a potential source region for dissolved iron. The relative importance of different shelf regions is found to vary significantly depending on the relevant circulation features.