I feel that the overall work of the manuscript by Roger, et al. entitled “Geochemical and microstructural characteristics of two species of cool-water bivalves (Fulvia tenuicostata and Soletellina biradiata) from Western Australia.” is... more
I feel that the overall work of the manuscript by Roger, et al. entitled “Geochemical and microstructural characteristics of two species of cool-water bivalves (Fulvia tenuicostata and Soletellina biradiata) from Western Australia.” is fair. Roger, et al. investigates the characteristics of shell mineralogy and geochemistry with micrometer spatial level on the two different marine specimens collected from the southern coast of Western Australia. To understand the relationship between shell microstructures and geochemical signals is highly important because with technical advancing of high resolution analysis on geochemical proxies, the scientists in related fields are realizing that the heterogeneities observed in the microstructures of biogenic carbonates are
Coral reef ecosystems support significant biological activities and harbor huge diversity, but they are facing a severe crisis driven by anthropogenic activities and climate change. An important behavioral trait of the coral holobiont is... more
Coral reef ecosystems support significant biological activities and harbor huge diversity, but they are facing a severe crisis driven by anthropogenic activities and climate change. An important behavioral trait of the coral holobiont is coral motion, which may play an essential role in feeding, competition, reproduction, and thus survival and fitness. Therefore, characterizing coral behavior through motion analysis will aid our understanding of basic biological and physical coral functions. However, tissue motion in the stony scleractinian corals that contribute most to coral reef construction are subtle and may be imperceptible to both the human eye and commonly used imaging techniques. Here we propose and apply a systematic approach to quantify and visualize subtle coral motion across a series of light and dark cycles in the scleractinian coral Montipora capricornis. We use digital image correlation and optical flow techniques to quantify and characterize minute coral motions und...
Shells of the marine gastropod Turbo torquatus were sampled from three different locations along the Western Australian coastline, namely Marmion Lagoon (318S), Rottnest Island (328S), and Hamelin Bay (348S). Marmion Lagoon and Rottnest... more
Shells of the marine gastropod Turbo torquatus were sampled from three different locations along the Western Australian coastline, namely Marmion Lagoon (318S), Rottnest Island (328S), and Hamelin Bay (348S). Marmion Lagoon and Rottnest Island have similar sea surface temperature ranges that are 18C warmer than Hamelin Bay, with all sites influenced by the warm southward flowing Leeuwin Current. The shells were characterized using crystallographic, spectroscopic, and geochemical analyses. Shell mineral composition varies between the three sites suggesting the influence of sea surface temperature, oxygen consumption, and/or bedrock composition on shell mineralogy and preferential incorporation and/or elemental discrimination of Mg, P, and S. Furthermore, T. torquatus was found to exert control over the incorporation of most, if not all, the elements measured here, suggesting strong biological regulation. At all levels of testing, the concentrations of Li varied significantly, which i...
