Zealand Marine Research Articles

ChemInform Abstract: Peloruside B, a Potent Antitumor Macrolide from the New Zealand Marine Sponge Mycale hentscheli: Isolation, Structure, Total Synthesis, and Bioactivity.

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Spatial and temporal variability of the bacterial community in different chemotypes of the New Zealand marine sponge Mycale hentscheli

Molecular fingerprinting of 16S rRNA genes using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) was used to characterize the temporal and spatial variability among sponge-associated bacteria from Mycale hentscheli having distinct bioactive chemotypes. Cluster analysis of T-RFLP and DGGE profiles from M. hentscheli chemotypes largely grouped sponge microbial diversity to their distinct chemotype pattern. Repeat sampling of individual M. hentscheli at one location over a 21-month period showed that the T-RFLP profiles from individual sponges had similarity indices ranging from 60% to 82% and calculated DGGE similarities between 23% and 95%. However, a portion (>35% from DGGE and >19% from T-RFLP) of the microbial community from M. hentscheli appeared to be spatially conserved through all M. hentscheli populations. Sequence analysis of DGGE band fragments showed a similarity among the bands originating from different individuals, different times, and different locations. The sponge-associated relationship of these bands was confirmed, with sequences having similarity to sponge-associated bacteria reported from global locations. This study highlights the spatial and temporal complexity in the distribution of bacterial communities associated with different chemotypes of the marine sponge M. hentscheli.

Climate change and long-term data are the hot topics at Auckland conference on ‘Climate and Oceans’

Nearly 300 scientists gathered in the Auckland University's Owen G. Glenn Building for a joint conference of the New Zealand Marine Sciences (NZMSS) and Meteorological Societies on 2–4 September 20...

Peloruside B, A Potent Antitumor Macrolide from the New Zealand Marine Sponge Mycale hentscheli: Isolation, Structure, Total Synthesis, and Bioactivity

Peloruside B (2), a natural congener of peloruside A (1), was isolated in sub-milligram quantities from the New Zealand marine sponge Mycale hentscheli. Peloruside B promotes microtubule polymerization and arrests cells in the G(2)/M phase of mitosis similar to paclitaxel, and its bioactivity was comparable to that of peloruside A. NMR-directed isolation, structure elucidation, structure confirmation by total synthesis, and bioactivity of peloruside B are described in this article. The synthesis features Sharpless dihydroxylation, Brown's asymmetric allylboration reaction, reductive aldol coupling, Yamaguchi macrolactonization, and selective methylation.

Colensolide A: a new nitrogenous bromophenol from the New Zealand marine red alga Osmundaria colensoi

A new nitrogenous bromophenol, colensolide A, is isolated from the New Zealand red alga Osmundaria colensoi together with the known bromophenol lanosol and four of its derivatives. In this study, a novel technique is employed to identify potentially new compounds in semi-purified mixtures containing a plethora of structurally similar, known metabolites, using NMR spectroscopy. The structure and relative configuration of colensolide A is determined using standard spectroscopic techniques. Several of the known bromophenols exhibit antibacterial activity and one shows moderate cytotoxicity.

DNA identification of ciliates associated with disease outbreaks in a New Zealand marine fish hatchery

Ciliates associated with fish mortalities in a New Zealand hatchery were identified by DNA sequencing of the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene (SSU rRNA). Tissue samples were taken from lesions and gill tissues on freshly dead juvenile groper, brain tissue from adult kingfish, and from ciliate cultures and rotifers derived from fish mortality events between January 2007 and March 2009. Different mortality events were characterized by either of 2 ciliate species, Uronema marinum and Miamiensis avidus. A third ciliate, Mesanophrys carcini, was identified in rotifers used as food for fish larvae. Sequencing part of the SSU rRNA provided a rapid tool for the identification and monitoring of scuticociliates in the hatchery and allowed the first identification of these species in farmed fish in New Zealand.

Effect of deepwater trawling on the macro-invertebrate assemblages of seamounts on the Chatham Rise, New Zealand

Seamounts, knolls, pinnacles and other “seamount-like” features are prominent and widely distributed features of the New Zealand marine environment, and also the focus of important commercial fisheries and some exploratory mineral mining. There is considerable debate about the effects of such activities on the benthic habitat of deep-water seamounts. In 2001 a study was undertaken of eight seamount-features on the Chatham Rise, an area that has been heavily trawled for orange roughy since the early 1990s. Half of the study seamounts were considered unfished and the other half fished. Benthic macro-invertebrate assemblages of each seamount were sampled using epibenthic sleds, whilst the presence of habitat-forming fauna (e.g., live corals), substrate type and indications of trawling (e.g., trawl door marks) were determined using a towed underwater camera. Fisheries catch-effort data were examined to determine the amount and distribution of bottom trawling effort on the seamounts. Analyses of camera data revealed that unfished seamounts possessed a relatively large amount of stony coral habitat comprising live Solenosmilia variabilis and Madrepora oculata (predominantly on the seamount peaks) whereas fished seamounts had relatively little coral habitat. Indications of trawling were observed over six times more frequently on seabed images from fished as opposed to unfished seamounts, and appeared related to the amount of fishing effort on individual seamounts. Multivariate analyses of sled data revealed a significant difference in macro-invertebrate assemblage composition between fished and unfished seamounts. The variability observed in assemblage composition between seamounts can in part be explained by the relative fishing pressure measured by a fishing effects index. The results of the study are discussed with respect to management of seamount habitat, and the need for ongoing monitoring and research to derive conservation practices that allow for sustainable seamount fisheries.

Late Cretaceous marine reptiles (Elasmosauridae and Mosasauridae) of the Chatham Islands, New Zealand

A new marine reptile record for the Upper Cretaceous of the Chatham Islands is described from the Takatika Grit. Incomplete mosasaur and plesiosaur remains represent the first record of marine reptiles from the Chatham Islands and wider New Zealand. Present among the myriad bones are elasmosaurid plesiosaurs and mosasaurine mosasaurs. This assemblage is comparable to the New Zealand marine reptile record and represents apex predators that flourished in a zone of upwelling in a Late Cretaceous southern high-latitude ecosystem.

Antifouling Sesterterpenes from the New Zealand Marine SpongeSemitaspongia Bactriana

Three antifouling (AF) sesterterpenes have been isolated from the New Zealand marine sponge Semitaspongia bactriana with toxicity against the diatom Nitzschia closterium and bryozoan Bugula neritina. The three metabolites have been characterised by spectroscopic techniques as 7E,12E,20Z-variabilin (1), cavernosolide (2) and lintenolide A (3) (also called spongianolide C) and have low micromolar activity against our two test species. The gamma-hydroxybutenolide containing sesterterpenes (2 and 3) show the most promise, with relative stability and suitable lipophilicity for incorporation of either these metabolites, or synthetic analogues, as biocides to produce paints or plastics with AF properties.

5-Bromo-8-methoxy-1-methyl-β-carboline, an Alkaloid from the New Zealand Marine Bryozoan Pterocella vesiculosa

A new alkaloid, 5-bromo-8-methoxy-1-methyl-beta-carboline (1), has been isolated from the New Zealand marine bryozoan Pterocella Vesiculosa. Structural elucidation was achieved through NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometric analysis, and a single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of 1 was performed. The biological activity of 1 was assessed against P388 murine leukemia cells and three microorganisms and compared with that of a number of related beta-carboline alkaloids.

Healthier lobsters in a marine reserve: effects of fishing on disease incidence in the spiny lobster, Jasus edwardsii

Comparison of the health of spiny lobsters (Jasus edwardsii) within and adjacent to a New Zealand marine reserve revealed marked differences in the incidence of a handling-related bacterial infection. Lobsters outside the reserve were significantly more affected by tail fan necrosis than lobsters within the reserve, with up to 17% of the males caught outside the reserve over a 3-year period showing signs of tail fan necrosis, compared with less than 2% within the reserve. The incidence of tail fan necrosis changed abruptly at the marine reserve boundaries, strongly implying repeated handling as the causal agent. The incidence of tail fan necrosis in males increased up to the minimum legal size, consistent with a handling effect. Female lobsters, which comprise only a small proportion of the catch in this area, were comparatively unaffected by tail fan necrosis. There was no significant difference in the recapture rates of individuals tagged either with or without tail fan necrosis, but tagged individuals outside the reserve were more likely to develop tail fan necrosis than tagged individuals within the reserve. These findings have implications for both the dynamics of the lobster populations and their management, and highlight the role of marine protected areas in providing a baseline against which such effects of fishing can be assessed.

Two new genera and three new species of leeches (Hirudinida: Piscicolidae) from New Zealand marine fishes

The marine leech fauna of New Zealand is poorly known and based primarily on studies by Richardson in the 1950s. Three new species have recently been discovered. Dollfusobdella kaikourae n. gen., n. sp. is described from Kaikoura, New Zealand parasitising pectoral fins of Scorpaena cardinalis, and thornfish, Bovichtus variegatus. It is characterised by a cylindrical body widest at the posterior portion of the urosome and tapering gradually to the oral sucker; the total length is not known to exceed 10 mm. The urosome segments are 3‐annulate, each with large tubercles dorsally and smaller tubercles ventrally, but lacking pulsatile vesicles. The reproductive system has five pairs of testisacs and a small bursa. Leporinabdella digglesi n. gen., n. sp. is described from Manukau Harbour, Auckland, from the body and mouth of yellowbelly flounder, Rhombosolea leporina. It is characterised by a wide, flat body not known to exceed 10 mm total length and a large caudal sucker. Urosome segments are 3‐annulate with lateral conical tubercles on each annulus, but lacking pulsatile vesicles. The reproductive system has five pairs of testisacs and a large bursa. Pontobdella novaezaelandiae n. sp. is described from a single specimen collected near Wellington. It is characterised by a large oral sucker without a fringe and lacking papillae, a moderate‐size caudal sucker, and four annuli per segment with large tubercles on the first three annuli.

Marine reserves increase the abundance and size of blue cod and rock lobster

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 366:147-158 (2008) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07494 Marine reserves increase the abundance and size of blue cod and rock lobster Anjali Pande1,8, Alison B. MacDiarmid2, Peter J. Smith3,9, Robert J. Davidson4, Russell G. Cole5, Debbie Freeman6,10, Shane Kelly7, Jonathan P. A. Gardner1,* 1Centre for Marine Environmental and Economic Research, and Island Bay Marine Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand 2National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), PO Box 14-901, Kilbirnie, Wellington, New Zealand 3School of Mathematics and Computer Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand 4Davidson Environmental Ltd, PO Box 958, Nelson, New Zealand 5National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), PO Box 893, Nelson, New Zealand 6Department of Conservation, East Coast/ Hawke’s Bay Conservancy, PO Box 668, Gisborne, New Zealand 7Coastal and Aquatic Systems Ltd, Clevedon, Auckland, New Zealand 8Present address: British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK 9Present address: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand 10Present address: Leigh Marine Laboratory, University of Auckland, PO Box 349, Warkworth, New Zealand *Corresponding author. Email: jonathan.gardner@vuw.ac.nz ABSTRACT: Size and abundance data were compiled and collated for blue cod Parapercis colias and rock lobster Jasus edwardsii from New Zealand marine reserve (MR) studies for a meta-analysis to test the null hypotheses that reserve status does not affect the size or abundance of either species. Calculation of meta-analysis effect sizes revealed that significant differences in effect size existed among studies, meaning that the biological response to MR status of both species in terms of their changes in size and/or abundance differed significantly among the MRs. Analysis revealed that blue cod were bigger inside compared with outside MRs in 9 of 10 studies and were more abundant inside MRs in 8 of 11 studies, and that rock lobster were bigger inside the MRs in 12 of 13 studies and more abundant inside the MRs in 11 of 14 studies. These findings indicate that MR protection can result in more and bigger individuals soon after the establishment of the MR (mean of 6.5 yr for blue cod, 8.5 yr for rock lobster) despite small sample sizes of studies (≤10 for blue cod, ≤14 for rock lobster). Focused comparison tests did not reveal any relationship between rock lobster or blue cod size or abundance and either age or area of MRs. Our results demonstrate that no-take MRs are valuable conservation tools for species such as blue cod and rock lobster (and probably also for other exploited species with similar life history characteristics and habitat requirements) and that statistically detectable conservation benefits are apparent after only a few years of protection. KEY WORDS: Meta-analysis · Focused comparison tests · Marine reserves · Marine conservation · Blue cod · Rock lobster · Mean size and mean abundance · New Zealand Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Pande A, MacDiarmid AB, Smith PJ, Davidson RJ and others (2008) Marine reserves increase the abundance and size of blue cod and rock lobster. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 366:147-158. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07494 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 366. Online publication date: August 29, 2008 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2008 Inter-Research.

A Unique Mode of Microtubule Stabilization Induced by Peloruside A

Microtubules are significant therapeutic targets for the treatment of cancer, where suppression of microtubule dynamicity by drugs such as paclitaxel forms the basis of clinical efficacy. Peloruside A, a macrolide isolated from New Zealand marine sponge Mycale hentscheli, is a microtubule-stabilizing agent that synergizes with taxoid drugs through a unique site and is an attractive lead compound in the development of combination therapies. We report here unique allosteric properties of microtubule stabilization via peloruside A and present a structural model of the peloruside-binding site. Using a strategy involving comparative hydrogen–deuterium exchange mass spectrometry of different microtubule-stabilizing agents, we suggest that taxoid-site ligands epothilone A and docetaxel stabilize microtubules primarily through improved longitudinal interactions centered on the interdimer interface, with no observable contributions from lateral interactions between protofilaments. The mode by which peloruside A achieves microtubule stabilization also involves the interdimer interface, but includes contributions from the α/β-tubulin intradimer interface and protofilament contacts, both in the form of destabilizations. Using data-directed molecular docking simulations, we propose that peloruside A binds within a pocket on the exterior of β-tubulin at a previously unknown ligand site, rather than on α-tubulin as suggested in earlier studies.

Quantitative characterisation of reef fish diversity among nearshore habitats in a northeastern New Zealand marine reserve

The influence of habitat type upon reef fish assemblage structures has been extensively reported, but there is still a need to quantitatively demonstrate the factors driving reef fish assemblages within and among habitats. This mensurative study examined diversity and community composition of reef fish assemblages between five habitats (shallow kelp, deep kelp, sand, algal turf, and sponge fiats) within the Cape Rodney‐Okakari Point Marine Reserve, northeastern New Zealand. Two contrasting sampling techniques, point count and timed search were used to quantify a range of species with different life history strategies and characteristics. Diversity generally decreased from kelp to sand habitats. Different habitat types displayed significantly different assemblages irrespective of the sampling technique used, as tested using two different multivariate techniques: constrained canonical analysis of principal coordinates and analysis of similarities (CAP, ANOSIM). Differences in depth between defined habitat types explained a significant proportion of variability in fish assemblage data (17% and 28% for the point count and timed search data, respectively), although a large proportion of variability was unexplained. A core group of species were found to be best discriminators among habitats, including Meuschenia scaber, Parapercis colias, Upeneichthys lineatus, Cheilodactylus spectabilis, Notolabrus celidotus, Notoclinops segmentatus, Forsterygion lapillum, and F. varium. Sand habitat was characterised by a general absence of species. This study examined analytical methodology for characterising reef fish assemblages using existing statistical procedures and demonstrates the ability to detect significant differences in fish communities among different nearshore habitats along the northeastern coast of New Zealand. Further monitoring and measuring of other environmental parameters would allow the creation of an explanatory model for relative fish community abundances for the northeastern coast of New Zealand.

Further Pterocellins from the New Zealand Marine Bryozoan Pterocella vesiculosa

Four new alkaloids, pterocellins C-F (1-4), have been isolated from the New Zealand marine bryozoan Pterocella vesiculosa. Structural elucidation was achieved through NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometric analysis and comparison of spectroscopic data with that of the known compounds pterocellins A and B. The biological activities of 1-4 were assessed in a number of different assay systems and compared with those of pterocellins A and B.

Kinetics of nitrate uptake by New Zealand marine macroalgae and evidence for two nitrate transporters in Ulva intestinalis L.

Kinetic constants were determined for nitrate uptake in three species, Pterocladiella capillacea (S.G. Gmelin) Santelices et Hommersand (Rhodophyceae, Gelidiales), Ulva intestinalis L. (Chlorophyceae, Ulvales) and Xiphophora chondrophylla (Turner) Montagne ex Harvey (Phaeophyceae, Fucales), of New Zealand macroalgae, with Km values ranging from 10 to 17 μM and Vmax values from 3 to 65 μmole g−1 dry weight h−1. There was no effect of ammonium on nitrate uptake by Pterocladiella capillacea or Xiphophora chondrophylla. Ammonium inhibited nitrate uptake by 40% in Ulva intestinalis from a site with relatively low seawater ammonium concentrations. In contrast, U. intestinalis from an ammonium-enriched site had lower rates of nitrate uptake that were insensitive to inhibition by ammonium. It is suggested that there are (at least) two transport systems for nitrate in U. intestinalis; a constitutive transporter, which is insensitive to ammonium, and a transporter that is sensitive to ammonium inhibition and down-regulation by ammonium; the implications of this for our understanding of macroalgal blooms is discussed.

Assessing the relative effects of fishing on the New Zealand marine environment through risk analysis

Abstract Campbell, M. L. and Gallagher, C. 2007. Assessing the relative effects of fishing on the New Zealand marine environment through risk analysis – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64: 256–270. Risk analysis is a tool often used by management to aid decision-making. We present a risk-analysis framework that was developed to facilitate managing New Zealand fisheries. Using catch-effort and observer data, the likelihood that a certain fishery will impact upon five effects of fishing (EoF) issues (non-target species, biodiversity, habitat, trophic interactions, and legislated protected species) is determined. The consequences (impact and/or change) of such events are then determined to determine a relative risk ranking across fisheries. Consequence matrices were developed to assess each of the five EoF categories. To illustrate the model, a 13-y data set of New Zealand fisheries catch-effort and observer data was analysed, using orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) as an example fishery. The New Zealand fisheries management framework follows a traditional model in which socio-political imperatives are determined (through risk assessment) after ecological impacts are assessed. By maintaining separation between ecological and socio-political imperatives, a transparent and objective framework is established.

Understanding the Consequences of Property Rights Mismatches: a Case Study of New Zealand's Marine Resources

Within fisheries and natural resource management literature, there is considerable discussion about the key roles that property rights can play in building biologically and socially sustainable resource management regimes. A key point of agreement is that secure long-term property rights provide an incentive for resource users to manage the resource sustainably. However, property rights mismatches create ambiguity and conflict in resource use. Though the term mismatches is usually associated with problems in matching temporal and spatial resource characteristics with institutional characteristics, I expand it here to include problems that can arise when property rights are incompletely defined or incompletely distributed. Property rights mismatches are particularly likely to occur over marine resources, for which multiple types of resource and resource user can be engaged and managed under a variety of regulatory regimes. I used New Zealand's marine resources to examine the causes and consequences of these property rights mismatches. New Zealand is particularly interesting because its property-rights-based commercial fishing regime, in the form of individual transferable quotas, has attracted considerable positive attention. However, my review of the marine natural resource management regime from a broader property rights perspective highlights a series of problems caused by property rights mismatches, including competition for resources among commercial, customary, and recreational fishers; spatial conflict among many marine resource users; and conflicting incentives and objectives for the management of resources over time. The use of a property rights perspective also highlights some potential solutions such as the layering of institutional arrangements and the improvement of how property rights are defined to encourage long-term sustainability.

Clonal diversity of the marine trematode Maritrema novaezealandensis within intermediate hosts: the molecular ecology of parasite life cycles

We quantified the clonal diversity of the New Zealand marine trematode Maritrema novaezealandensis (n = 1250) within Zeacumantus subcarinatus snail (n = 25) and Macrophthalmus hirtipes crab (n = 25) intermediate hosts using four to six microsatellite loci, and investigated the potential biological and physical factors responsible for the observed genetic patterns. Individual snails harboured one to five trematode genotypes and 48% of snails were infected by multiple parasite genotypes. Overall, the number of parasite genotypes did not increase with snail size, but was highest in intermediate-sized snails. Significantly larger numbers of parasite genotypes were detected in crabs (relative to snails; P < 0.001), with 16-25 genotypes recovered from individual crabs. Although crabs are typically infected by small numbers of cercariae sourced from many snails, they are occasionally infected by large numbers of cercariae sourced from single snails. The latter cases explain the significant genetic differentiation of trematode populations detected among their crab hosts (F(ST) = 0.009, P < 0.001). Our results suggest that the timing of infection and/or intraspecific competition among parasite clones within snails determine(s) the diversity of parasite clones that snails harbour. The presence of a large number of infected snails and tidal mixing of cercariae prior to infection results in crabs potentially harbouring hundreds of parasite genotypes despite the crabs' territorial behaviour.