The Proterozoic-Cambrian transition records the appearance of essentially all animal body plans (phyla), yet to date no single hypothesis adequately explains both the timing of the event and the evident increase in diversity and disparity. Ecological triggers focused on escalatory predator–prey “arms races” can explain the evolutionary pattern but not its timing, whereas environmental triggers, particularly ocean/atmosphere oxygenation, do the reverse. Using modern oxygen minimum zones as an analog for Proterozoic oceans, we explore the effect of low oxygen levels on the feeding ecology of polychaetes, the dominant macrofaunal animals in deep-sea sediments. Here we show that low oxygen is clearly linked to low proportions of carnivores in a community and low diversity of carnivorous taxa, whereas higher oxygen levels support more complex food webs. The recognition of a physiological control on carnivory therefore links environmental triggers and ecological drivers, providing an integrated explanation for both the pattern and timing of Cambrian animal radiation.

In contrast to the large number of studies on the trophic significance of mangrove primary production to the aquatic foodweb, there have been few attempts to provide an overview of the relative importance of different primary carbon sources to invertebrates in the intertidal mangrove habitats. We determined carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios (δC, δN) in sediments, primary producers, and 22 invertebrate species from an intertidal mangrove forest located along the southeast coast of India in order to determine the contribution of mangrove leaf litter and other carbon sources to the invertebrate community. Organic matter in sediments under the mangrove vegetation was characterized by relatively high δC values and low C:N ratios, indicating that mangrove-derived organic matter was not the principal source and that imported phytodetritus from the mangrove creeks and adjacent bay significantly contributed to the sediment organic matter pool. Invertebrates were found to display a wide range of δC values, most being 3-11‰ enriched relative to the average mangrove leaf signal. The pulmonate gastropod Onchidium sp. showed unusually low δN values (-5.6±0.9‰), but further work is needed to adequately explain these data. A compilation of stable isotope data from various sources indicates that significant assimilation of mangrove-derived carbon is only detectable in a limited number of species, and suggests that local and imported algal sources are a major source of carbon for benthic invertebrate communities in intertidal mangrove forests. These results provide new insights into carbon utilization patterns in vegetated tropical intertidal habitats and show a striking similarity with results from temperate salt marsh ecosystems where local plant production has often been found to contribute little to intertidal foodwebs.

Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs; midwater regions with O 2 concentrations <0.5 ml l )1 ) are mid-water features that intercept continental margins at bathyal depths (100-1000 m). They are particularly well developed in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. Based on analyses of data from these regions, we consider (i) how benthic habitat heterogeneity is manifested within OMZs, (ii) which aspects of this heterogeneity exert the greatest influence on alpha and beta diversity within particular OMZs and (iii) how heterogeneity associated with OMZs influences regional (gamma) diversity on continental margins. Sources of sea-floor habitat heterogeneity within OMZs include bottom-water oxygen and sulphide gradients, substratum characteristics, bacterial mats, and variations in the organic matter content of the sediment and pH. On some margins, hard grounds, formed of phosphorites, carbonates or biotic substrata, represent distinct subhabitats colonized by encrusting faunas. Most of the heterogeneity associated with OMZs, however, is created by strong sea-floor oxygen gradients, reinforced by changes in sediment characteristics and organic matter content. For the Pakistan margin, combining these parameters revealed clear environmental and faunal differences between the OMZ core and the upper and lower boundary regions. In all Pacific and Arabian Sea OMZs examined, oxygen appears to be the master driver of alpha and beta diversity in all benthic faunal groups for which data exist, as well as macrofaunal assemblage composition, particularly in the OMZ core. However, other factors, notably organic matter quantity and quality and sediment characteristics, come into play as oxygen concentrations begin to rise. The influence of OMZs on meiofaunal, macrofaunal and megafaunal regional (gamma) diversity is difficult to assess. Hypoxia is associated with a reduction in species richness in all benthic faunal groups, but there is also evidence for endemism in OMZ settings. We conclude that, on balance, OMZs probably enhance regional diversity, particularly in taxa such as Foraminifera, which are more tolerant of hypoxia than others. Over evolutionary timescales, they may promote speciation by creating strong gradients in selective pressures and barriers to gene flow.

Studies on biogeochemical cycling of carbon in the Chilka Lake, Asia's largest brackish lagoon on the east coast of India, revealed, for the first time, strong seasonal and spatial variability associated with salinity distribution. The lake was studied twice during May 2005 (premonsoon) and August 2005 (monsoon). It exchanges waters with the sea (Bay of Bengal) and several rivers open into the lake. The lake showed contrasting levels of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and organic carbon (DOC) in different seasons; DIC was higher by *22% and DOC was lower by *36% in premonsoon than in monsoon due to seasonal variations in their supply from rivers and in situ production/ mineralisation. The DIC/DOC ratios in the lake during monsoon were influenced by physical mixing of end member water masses and by intense respiration of organic carbon. A strong relationship between excess DIC and apparent oxygen utilisation showed significant control of biological processes over CO 2 production in the lake. Surface partial pressure of CO 2 (pCO 2 ), calculated using pH-DIC couple according to Cai and Wang (Limnol and Oceanogr 43:657-668, 1998), exhibited discernable gradients during monsoon through northern (1,033-6,522 latm), central (391-2,573 latm) and southern (102-718 latm) lake. The distribution pattern of pCO 2 in the lake seems to be governed by pCO 2 levels in rivers and their discharge rates, which were several folds higher during monsoon than premonsoon. The net CO 2 efflux, based on gas transfer velocity parameterisation of Borges et al. (Limnol and Oceanogr 49(5):1630-1641, 2004, from entire lake during monsoon (141 mmolC m -2 d -1 equivalent to 2.64 GgC d -1 at basin scale) was higher by 44 times than during premonsoon (9.8 mmolC m -2 d -1 & 0.06 GgC d -1 ). 15% of CO 2 efflux from lake in monsoon was contributed by its supply from rivers and the rest was contributed by in situ heterotrophic activity. Based on oxygen and total carbon mass balance, net ecosystem production (NEP) of lake (-308 mmolC m -2 d -1 & -3.77 GgC d -1 ) was found to be almost in consistent with the total riverine organic carbon trapped in the lake (229 mmolC m -2 d -1 & 2.80 GgC d -1 ) suggesting that the strong heterotrophy in the lake is mainly responsible for elevated fluxes of CO 2 during monsoon. Further, the pelagic net community production represented 92% of NEP and benthic compartment plays only a minor role. This suggests that Chilka lake is an important region in biological transformation of organic carbon to inorganic carbon and its export to the atmosphere.

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