Neogobius caspius is an endemic species of the Caspian Sea which plays an important role in food chain as a predatory fish. The main aim of this study was to investigate selected feeding characteristics of Neogobius caspius in the south west coasts of the Caspian Sea. Monthly sampling was carried out using a bottom trawler at three stations (Astara, Anzali and Chabuksar) in three depths (0-5,...

Energy transfer in microbial food webs is partly quantified by the relationship between bacterial and algal biomass. Tight spatial relationships suggest active bacterial assimilation of dissolved photosynthate in temperate marine and fresh waters. However, studies in the Antarctic suggest that bacterial biomass generation from algal-derived dissolved organic matter is highly variable across sea...

Marine mammal foraging behaviour inherently depends on diving ability. Declining populations of Steller sea lions may be facing nutritional stress that could affect their diving ability through changes in body composition or metabolism. Our objective was to determine whether nutritional stress (restricted food intake resulting in a 10% decrease in body mass) altered the calculated aerobic dive ...

The first winter in the life cycle of Antarctic krill Euphausia superba is a critical period in which larval survival and recruitment to the adult population are highly sensitive to environmental conditions, yet little is known about larval physiological dynamics during this period. An individual-based model was developed to investigate patterns of larval krill growth and condition factor in re...

Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) populations have undergone precipitous declines through their western Alaskan range over the last four decades with the leading hypothesis to explain this decline centering around changing prey quality, quantity, or availability for this species (i.e., nutritional stress hypothesis). Under chronic conditions of reduced food intake sea lions would conserve e...

The large, bunodont postcanine teeth in living sea otters (Enhydra lutris) have been likened to those of certain fossil hominins, particularly the 'robust' australopiths (genus Paranthropus). We examine this evolutionary convergence by conducting fracture experiments on extracted molar teeth of sea otters and modern humans (Homo sapiens) to determine how load-bearing capacity relates to tooth m...

We describe the effect of gelatinous plankton – Aurelia aurita and invaders Mnemiopsis leidyi and Beroe ovata – on fish (eggs, larvae, feeding, and stocks) in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, based on field data and the relevant literature. Representatives of three ecological groups of fish were chosen as examples: planktivorous anchovy typical of warm-water conditions, planktivorous sprat of tem...

During recent years, the use of marine outfalls for the disposal of sanitary and industrial wastes has increased greatly and information regarding the fate of bacteria in sea water has assumed public health significance. Unpolluted sea water does not contain large numbers of bacteria, and bacteria which enterthe oceans by way of land drainage and sewage outfalls die quickly. The numbers of bact...

We analyzed data from catch statistics, scientific surveys and results from ecosystem models to assess main changes in marine resources of the North-Central Adriatic Sea (Central Mediterranean) from the mid 1970s to the early 2000s. We then quantified food-web changes using these datasets and trophodynamic indicators. We applied time series trends and a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to red...