Description: Two 7-day mesocosm experiments were conducted in October 2012 at the Instituto Nacional de Desenvolvimento das Pescas (INDP), Mindelo, Cape Verde. Surface water was collected at night before the start of the respective experiment with RV Islândia south of São Vicente (16°44.4'N, 25°09.4'W) and transported to shore using four 600L food safe intermediate bulk containers. Sixteen mesocosm bags were distributed in four flow-through water baths and shaded with blue, transparent lids to approximately 20% of surface irradiation. Mesocosm bags were filled from the containers by gravity, using a submerged hose to minimize bubbles. The accurate volume inside the individual bags was calculated after addition of 1.5 mmol silicate and measuring the resulting silicate concentration. The volume ranged from 105.5 to 145 L. The experimental manipulation comprised addition of different amounts of inorganic N and P. In the first experiment, the P supply was changed at constant N supply in thirteen of the sixteen units, while in the second experiment the N supply was changed at constant P supply in twelve of the sixteen units. In addition to this, “cornerpoints” were chosen that were repeated during both experiments. Four cornerpoints should have been repeated, but setting the nutrient levels in one mesocosm was not succesfull and therefore this mesocosm also was set at the center point conditions. Experimental treatments were evenly distributed between the four water baths. Initial sampling of the mesocosms on day 1 of each run was conducted between 9:45 and 11:30. After nutrient manipulation, sampling was conducted on a daily basis between 09:00 and 10:30 for days 2 to 8.

Description: Increasing upwelling intensity and shoaling of the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) is projected for Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems (EBUSs) under ocean warming which may have severe consequences for mesopelagic food webs, trophic transfer, and fish production also in the Humboldt Current Upwelling System (HUS). To improve our mechanistic understanding, from February 23, 2017 until April 14, 2017 we performed a 50 days mesocosm experiment in the northern HUS (off Callao Bay, Peru) and monitored the zooplankton development prior to and following a simulated upwelling event through the addition of deeper water of two different OMZ-influenced subsurface waters to four of in total eight mesocosms. To elucidate plankton dynamics and trophic relationships, we followed the temporal development of the mesozooplankton community in relation to that of phytoplankton, analyzed the fatty acid composition and gut fluorescence of dominant copepods, and determined the stable isotope (SI) and elemental composition (C:N) of dominant zooplankton taxa. Zooplankton samples were collected from the mesocosms over the entire experiment duration using an Apstein net (17 cm diameter, 100 µm mesh) to determine abundance and taxonomic composition of the zooplankton community, and to analyze fatty acid composition, gut fluorescence and elemental composition of dominant zooplankton. Furthermore, abundance and biomass of zooplankton groups was estimated from scanned ZooScan images.

Description: Fecundity of marine fish species is highly variable, but trade-offs between fecundity and egg quality have rarely been observed at the individual level. We investigated spatial differences in reproductive investment of individual European sprat Sprattus sprattus (Linnaeus 1758) females by determining batch fecundity, condition indices (somatic condition index and gonadosomatic index) as well as oocyte dry weight, protein content, lipid content, spawning batch energy content, and fatty acid composition. Sampling was conducted in five different spawning areas within the Baltic Sea between March and May 2012. Sampling was conducted in the Baltic Sea during three cruises of the German RV “Alkor” in March (https://www2.bsh.de/aktdat/dod/fahrtergebnis/2012/20120331.htm), April (http://dx.doi.org/10.3289/CR_AL390), and May (http://dx.doi.org/10.3289/CR_AL392) 2012. Five different areas were sampled: KB, AB, Bornholm Basin (BB), Gdansk Deep (GD), and Gotland Basin (GB). Fish were caught with a pelagic trawl. Trawling time was in general 30 minutes per haul. The total lengths (TL, ±0.1 cm) of at least 200 sprat per haul were measured for length frequency analysis. Only female sprat with ovaries containing fully hydrated oocytes were sampled, running ripe females were rejected to avoid possible loss of oocytes, as this would lead to an underestimation of batch fecundity. Sprat were sampled immediately after the haul was on deck and stored on crushed ice. The sampled fish were weighed (wet mass WM, ±0.1 g) and measured (TL, ±0.1 cm), and their ovaries were dissected carefully. Oocytes were extracted from a single ovary lobe, rinsed with deionized water, and counted under a stereo microscope (Leica MZ 8). A counted number of oocytes (around 50 oocytes per fish) were transferred to pre-weighed tin-caps (8 x 8 x 15 mm). These samples were used to determine the oocyte dry weight, lipid content, and fatty acid composition. In addition, a counted number of oocytes (around 10 oocytes per fish) were sampled in Eppendorf caps for determination of protein content. Oocyte samples were stored at -80 °C for subsequent fatty acid and protein analysis in the laboratory. Finally, both ovary lobes were stored in 4% buffered formaldehyde solution for further fecundity analysis. Ovary free body mass (OFBM, ±0.1 g) of sampled frozen fish and fixed ovary mass (OM, ±0.1 g) were measured (Sartorius, 0.01 g) in the laboratory on land, to avoid imprecise measurements due to the ship's motion at sea. Absolute batch fecundity (ABF) was determined gravimetrically using the hydrated oocyte method suggested by Hunter et al. (1985) for indeterminate batch spawners. For ascertainment of the relative batch fecundity per unit body weight (RBF), ABF was divided by OFBM. Further, a condition index (CI) was determined: CI = (OFBM/〖TL〗^3 )× 100. A gonadosomatic index (GSI) was calculated with the following formula: GSI = (OM/OFBM)× 100. Oocyte dry weight was determined to the nearest 0.1 µg (Sartorius SC 2 micro-scale), using the samples stored in pre-weighed tin caps, after freeze-drying (Christ Alpha 1-4) for at least 24 hours. After subtracting the weight of the empty tin cap, the average oocyte dry mass (ODM) was then calculated by dividing the total weight by the number of oocytes contained in the tin cap. The fatty acid signature of oocytes was determined by gas chromatography (GC). Lipid extraction of the dried oocytes was performed using a 1:1:1 solvent mix of dichloromethane:methanol:chloroform. A five component fatty acid methyl ester Mix (13:0 - 21:0, Restek, Bad Homburg, Germany; c = 8.5 ng component µl-1) was added as an internal standard and a 23:0 fatty acid standard (Restek, Bad Homburg, Germany, c = 25.1 ng µl-1) was added as an esterification efficiency control. Esterification was performed over night at 50 °C in 200 µl 1% H2SO4 and 100 µl toluene. The solvent phase was transferred to 100 µl n-hexane and a 1 µl aliquot measured in a Thermo Fisher Trace GC Ultra with a Thermo Fisher TRACETM TR-FAME column (10 m*0.1 mm*0.2 µm). For more details on sample preparation and GC settings, see Hauss et al. (2012). The total lipid content per oocyte was determined by adding up the weights of all detected fatty acids. To ensure comparability with past studies, results for FA are given as a percentage of the combined weights of all detected FA. An average of 10 oocytes were transferred to 5*9 mm tin cups (Hekatech) and dried at 50 °C for 〉24 h. Total organic carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) content was measured using a Thermo Fisher Scientific Elemental Analyzer Flash 2000. From the total amount of N in the sample, the oocyte protein content was calculated according to Kjeldahl (Bradstreet, 1954), using a factor of 6.25. The oocyte gross energy content was calculated on the basis of measured protein and lipid content, which were multiplied with corresponding energy values from literature. The measured amount of proteins per given oocyte (P, mg) was multiplied by a factor of 23.66 J mg-1 and was added to the total amount of lipids per oocyte (L, mg) multiplied by 39.57 J mg-1 (Henken et al. 1986). Consequently, the oocyte energy content of each individual female sprat was multiplied by its relative batch fecundity in order to obtain a standardized estimate of the total amount of energy invested into a single spawning batch (SBEC, J g-1 OFBM): SBEC = [(P × 23.66 (J )/mg)+(L × 39.57 (J )/mg)]× RBF