This study tested the effects of low salinity on phenoloxidase activity in Sydney rock oysters (Saccostrea glomerata). Phenoloxidase is a key component of the immune system in S. glomerata. Previously, we have shown that decreased phenoloxidase activity is associated with susceptibility to fatal QX disease. In the current study, laboratory-based experiments were used to identify factors that co...

The pigment composition of Phaeocystis antarctica was monitored under various conditions of light, temperature, salinity, and iron. 19'-Hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin (Hex-fuco) always constituted the major light-harvesting pigment, with remarkably stable ratios of Hex-fuco-to-chl a under the various environmental conditions. Increased pigment-to-chl a ratios at low irradiance confirmed the light-harve...

Short-term effects of irradiance (0-1560 micromol photons m(-2) s(-1)), temperature (10-25 degrees C), and salinity (40-160) on oxygenic photosynthesis and oxygen consumption in a hypersaline mat (Salin-de-Giraud, France) were investigated with microsensors under controlled laboratory conditions. Dark O(2) consumption rates were mainly regulated by the mass transfer limitations imposed by the d...

Gypsum makes up about one fifth of giant salt deposits formed by evaporation seawater throughout Earth’s history. Although thermodynamic calculations and precipitation experiments predict that gypsum precipitates when the salinity evaporating attains 110 g kg−1, Mediterranean Salt Giant often bear geochemical signature from less saline water masses. Addressing this riddle is important because m...