Indo-Pacific Ocean

The second major breakthrough for the application of fluorescent proteins was the isolation of the red fluorescent protein (RFP) drFP583 or DsRed from the Anthozoa and Discosoma sp., a mushroom-shaped anemone found in the warm waters of the Indo-Pacific ocean [13], The breakthrough was not only the discovery of the first true RFP, but equally important was the fact that it was discovered in a nonbioluminescent species and that the gene was cloned immediately. 

Figure 10.23. Dolomite content of deep-sea sediments for the past 150 million years. The dashed lines exhibit the general trends of decreasing dolomite content with decreasing sediment age for the Adantic and Indo-Pacific ocean basins, as well as that for all analyzed ocean sediments. (After Lumsden, 1985.)...

Both coastal areas and open oceans are found in the immense Indo-Pacific and Atlantic zones. Moving eastward, the Indo-Pacific comprises a sector from southern Japan to Natal, up to the Tuamotu and Hawaii archipelagos. The North Pacific and South Pacific are further subdivisions of the Pacific Ocean. Further zonation defines the North Atlantic (including the coastal areas fromNorth Carolina to southern Greenland in tte west, and a sector from off the coasts of Senegal to Novaya... 

Murtugudde, R., Signorini, S. R., Christian,. R., Busalacchi, A.., McClain, C. R., and Picaut,. (1999). Ocean color variability of the tropical Indo-Pacific basin observed by SeaWiFS during 1997-1998. J. Geophys. Res. 104, 18351-18366. 

Figure 2 Distribution of the genus Pseudopterogorgia in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean (top) and in the Indo-West Pacific Ocean (bottom). Based in part on information provided by G. C. Williams J. S. Vennam, Bull. Biol. Soc. Wash. 2001, 10, 71-95.

It is veiy interesting to note that many of the more recently obtained calculations agree very much with those of Berelson et al. (1994) who calculated the benthic alkalinity input to the deep ocean for the Pacific and the Indo-Pacific (Table... 

They suggested that most of the carbonate dissolution in the deep ocean (Fig. 9.5) occurs within the sediments (85 %). The extension of their results from Pacific and Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean leading to 120 10 molyr of global dissolved carbon fluxes from sediments may, however, be critical because of the completely different deep-water conditions in the Indo-Pacific and the Atlantic. Deep ocean waters in the Indian and Pacific Oceans are known to be much older and depleted in CO implying that a much higher proportion of calcite dissolution contributes to the total alkalinity input there. However, despite this problem of different bottom-... 

Briggs, J.C., Antitropical distribution and evolution in the Indo-West Pacific Ocean, Syst. Zool., 36, 237-247, 1987b. 

The Physalia species live in the tropical regions of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Ocean. They float along carried by the winds and superficial currents and can sometimes end up on the European coasts of the Atlantic or in the Mediterranean. They include two species Physalia physalis, the most representative type, present in the tropical Atlantic and the Mediterranean and Physalia utriculuSy present in the Indo-Pacific region and South of Japan. 

Briggs, J.C. (1999) Coincident biogeographic patterns Indo-West Pacific ocean. Evolution, 53 326-335. 

It is often useful to have works which assist in the identification of marine organisms. These books, generally written by biologists and illustrated by various artists, often contain excellent scientific information there are several for each of the oceanic zones. As an example, the following works are indispensable for studying the organisms of the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic zones. 

The biodiversity of Mangrove ecosystems is the most profound in the islands and coastline of the Indo-West-Pacific region, where the occurrence of 44 varieties has been reported. On the Atlantic Ocean coast Mangrove ecosystems are especially widespread in the Caribbean region. The chemical composition of plant species and soils of Mangrove ecosystems have been recently discussed (Dobrovolsky, 1994). 

---