Using land- and vessel-based surveys, data on the relative abundance, distribution and habitat use of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Aberdeenshire waters were collected between 1999 and 2001. Bottlenose dolphins were present throughout the year, with peak abundance during the months of March to May. The occurrence of calves was seasonal, with the proportion of calves highest during the spring months. Foraging behaviour was recorded mainly in the vicinity of Aberdeen harbour. Dolphins photographed in Aberdeenshire waters were successfully matched and confirmed as Moray Firth animals. The results of the present study suggest that Moray Firth bottlenose dolphins utilize Aberdeenshire waters more frequently than previously reported. Aberdeen harbour is apparently an important feeding area, and Aberdeenshire waters are regularly used by mother–calf pairs. This has important management implications since this area of coastline does not currently form part of the designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC) for this population.

The conductivity of sand at a depth of 30–50 cm was measured at 15 sites on the beach at Captiva Island in south-west Florida which is used by nesting loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta). The mean daily temperature of the sand was correlated with conductivity at the same depth measured the same day (r=0·611). When day to day variation was removed the correlation between nest temperature and conductivity increased to 0·694. The sand was highly variable in its grain structure. The dominant variability (80·6%) was redescribed by the first two principal components of a Principal Components Analysis (PCA). These two components were influenced mostly by percentages of large (> 1 mm) and small (< 500 μm) grains respectively. Conductivity was strongly correlated with the grain structure of the sand. The first three principal components describing sand grain structure, explained 84·1% of the variation in conductivity. Moisture content of the sand (always < 5%) was not an important factor. Sites dominated by larger grains generally had poorer conductivity and were cooler. Comparisons of eight nests to seven adjacent random sites revealed no strong evidence for directional selection in nest placement relative to sand conductivity. The variance in conductivities recorded at nests was also not significantly different from the variance at random sites.

Social organization is an important attribute of the animal society. We describe the social structure of a bottlenose dolphins population living in Panama City, a seaside resort located on the north-west coast of Florida. Study was conducted with 46 individuals. Dolphins are associated on average half weight index of 0.11. Preferred long-term associations are observed. The proportion of the non-zero association indices suggests that some dolphins seem to avoid others. Associations between and within sex-classes were investigated using only dolphins of known sex and observed at least 4 times. Highly significant differences are found in associations between and within sex-classes (Mantel test, t = 3.7987; P = 1); indeed, male associations are stronger than between inter-sexual associations or between females only. Sociogram of males reveals a complex network with strong associations between pairs or trios that reach up to 0.97, whereas female associations are lower than males. The cluster analysis shows no clear division in the social organization of bottlenose dolphins in Panama City, except for dyads, triads and their multiple networks. The population structure seems to be temporally stable over the study and constant companionships are observed in the dolphin population in Panama City.

Although intraspecific aggression in the anemone, Actinia equina L. has been behaviourally well characterized in laboratory-based studies (Bonnin, 1964; Brace & Pavey, 1978; Brace, Pavey & Quicke, 1979), both its incidence and functional role on the shore have remained obscure. Since A. equina broods young, which are produced asexually (Carter & Thorp, 1979; Gashout & Ormond, 1979; Orr, Thorpe & Carter, 1982) and which appear best suited to local dispersal, we have previously postulated that aggression is likely to be primarily directed towards maintaining ‘territorial’ space for settling syngeneic offspring (Quicke & Brace, 1983; Brace & Quicke, 1985). As such, this postulated role is functionally analogous to that provided by aggression in the clonally reproducing anemone, Anthopleura elegantissima Brandt, in which it serves to maintain the integrity of clonal boundaries (Francis, 1973, 1976), thereby presumably also facilitating the competitive expansion of those boundaries. Work by Ayre (1983) on the Australian anemone, Actinia tenebrosa Farquhar appears to support this contention, for both local settlement and genotypic clustering were detected within aggregations.

The number and distribution of ampullary pores present on the blackmouth catshark, Galeus melastomus and the velvet belly dogfish, Etmopterus spinax do not differ with the size/maturity or gender of the specimen and were found to be related to prey preference.

The fauna of harpacticoid copepods associated with a North Atlantic sublittoral population of Laminaria ochroleuca in Spain was investigated. Copepods belonging to four different orders, i.e. Harpacticoida, Cyclopoida, Poecilostomatoida and Siphonostomatoida, most of which were harpacticoids belonging to 17 different families were collected. Because the family Thalestridae was particularly abundant in the samples, its members were identified down to the species level, totalling 20 species. The copepod fauna was richer and more diverse on holdfasts than on fronds, irrespective of considering the entire harpacticoid assemblage at the family level or just the family Thalestridae at the species level. The effect of these two within-plant microhabitats on the taxonomic composition of the copepod fauna was substantial, with faunal similarity between fronds of plants from different sampling quadrats being usually higher than that between the frond and the holdfast of the same plant. Thalestridae, Harpacticidae and Tisbidae predominated on the fronds, while Diosaccidae, Ameiridae and Ectinosomatidae predominated on the holdfasts. Among the thalestrids, Parathalestris clausi, Paradactylopodia sp.1, Dactylopusia tisboides, and Dactylopusia vulgaris were common species, with Parathalestris clausi being the most abundant copepod on both fronds and holdfasts. In summary, the fauna of the holdfasts consists mostly of common, eurytopic species, while the fauna of the fronds comprises rare taxa—at least within the scope of the study—with low total abundances and/or usually occurring in few plants.

The Priapulida phylum is a rather homogeneous small group of marine invertebrates, living buried in sand and mud of cold waters. These worms present great difficulty in determining their systematic position: in the first instance, Priapulida were considered to be pseudo-coelomates, and classified among the Aschelminthes (Hyman, 1951). How ever, later studies (Shapeero, 1961) have pointed out that the body cavity is actually a coelom, and not a pseudo-coelom. Consequently it seems improper to include Priapulida among Aschelminthes, even if their real position still remains undefined. Today most authors tend to consider priapulids as the last relicts of an originally larger group, forming a separate phylum (van der Land, 1970). We can assume some connexions with other minor Protostoma, but not to an extent sufficient to consider a possible group affinity (Grassé, 1959). The general anatomical organization of a priapulid is now well known (van der Land, 1970), but the only detailed microscopical descriptions are those of the genus Priapulus (Mattisson, Nilsson & Fange, 1974) and the genus Tubilucus (Kirsteuer & van der Land, 1970). We have only incomplete data and summary descriptions concerning the other existing genus. Ultrastructural researches are even more scarce; electron microscope studies could clarify the submicroscopical organization of these animals and allow comparisons with other groups. Afzelius & Ferraguti (1978), for instance, have shown that the sperm of Priapulus caudatus present a very primitive pattern, resembling that of the sperm of many other marine invertebrates with external fertilization. The muscular systems are also useful for researches of phylogenetic correlations: it is, in fact, possible to correlate the ultrastructural organization of the muscles with the systematic position of their respective animals (Hanson & Loewy, 1960; Lanzavecchia, 1977). For the muscular systems of priapulids the only pertinent data are those of Mattisson et al. (1974) on Priapulus caudatus. A detailed analysis of the muscles of other species seems therefore necessary to set up a general picture of the situation in Priapulida. In these animals the muscles are organized to form a typical hydraulic system. The hydraulic systems present one of the most topical problems, from both the morphological and functional points of view (Hammond, 1970; Chapman, 1975).

The identification of key resource users and patterns of depletion alongside ecological data are presented for a small-scale traditional invertebrate fishery in south-western Madagascar. Men, women and children undertake the fishery in the Anakao region at different phases of the tide and for different purposes. Invertebrate harvest data from June to September 2000 estimated that more than 34 taxa were caught and were dominated by holothurians destined for export and molluscs for local consumption. Crustacea formed a small component of the fishery despite a high diversity and abundance of many potentially edible species. Although there was slight spatial variation in number of species caught and their relative importance to the fishery, Chicoreus ramosus, Fasciolaria trapezium and Octopus vulgaris were generally most heavily targeted and were amongst the most abundant in the catch. There were several indications of over-exploitation of invertebrate stocks, including the absence of many large bodied species, low abundance of high yield species, greater catch effort needed for high yield taxa, and higher diversity of targeted species (including many low yield taxa) at sites of higher human habitation.

Thin-layer chromatography on plates coated with silica gel and with sucroseglucose (1:1) has been used in the study of the pigments of twenty species of marine phytoplankton from four phyla. A number of apparently new xanthophylls have been found, including a fucoxanthin-like pigment which is the major xanthophyll in an unidentified coccoid alga (Plymouth no. 407).

Based on the bivalve fauna known from an extensively studied zone, along the infralittoral in the Patras Gulf, a biotope approach was attempted using numerical taxonomy methods. The efficiency of various combinations of similarity measures and clustering techniques is discussed for this type of data (single group – binary). Four main station groups were delimited which were further assigned to the biotopes of known Mediterranean biocoenoses. The four groups correspond to: (a) the biotope of the Posidonia beds (HP) and that of coarse sands and fine gravels under the influence of bottom currents (SGCF). The limits of these two biocoenoses are not clear-cut, (b) The biotope of the coastal detritic bottoms (DC) usually occurring in deeper areas but met in the infralittoral under environmental stress, (c) A transitional zone where degenerating Posidonia meadows are gradually replaced by Cymodocea and Zostera, facies of the muddy sand in sheltered areas biocoenoses (SVMC). This degradation can be attributed to various disturbing factors including natural environmental changes, (d) The biotope of fine well-sorted sands (SFBC). A typical malacofauna is present with the addition of some species. Regardless of the differences, Pérès & Picard's (1964) scheme is more appropriate in the Mediterranean ecosystems than any other northern European scheme.

The stomach contents of juvenile Magellanic penguins, Spheniscus magellanicus, stranded along the Atlantic coast (21–23°S) during the extreme mortality event of 2008 were analysed. The isotopic profiles of this species and their prey in a wintering area are presented to identify trophic relationships and to evaluate whether the prey species recovered in the stomach contents were assimilated. The prey groups recorded were molluscs (cephalopods and gastropods), teleost fish, and, to a lesser extent, crustaceans (decapods and isopods). Cephalopods were the most representative prey, and Argonauta nodosa was the most abundant species. Plant remains and solid waste were atypical items found in the stomach contents. The nitrogen isotope (δ15N) values found in this study confirm the higher trophic position of the penguins (14.5‰) relative to their prey (11.7–12.3‰). The carbon isotope (δ13C) measurements of all species are characteristic of marine coastal environments (−18.7 to −16.8‰). A Bayesian approach applied to stable isotope mixing models showed that cephalopods are assimilated to a greater extent than fish. However, the poor nutritional condition of specimens that reach the Brazilian coast, especially at the northern limit of migration (~21°S), indicates that prey ingestion is not sufficient for the maintenance of body weight.

A hypothesis about the biogeography of Isistius brasiliensis in the north-eastern Atlantic is formulated through the study of frequency, size and geographic distribution of crater wounds, produced by this shark on swordfish (Xiphias gladius) and other large pelagic vertebrates. The results suggest that the bulk of the population of adult I. brasiliensis is found between 11° N and 16° N. Probably there are nursery areas in more southern latitudes. Large individuals would be frequent northwards of 16° N parallel.

Reef-building corals are fundamental to the most diverse marine ecosystems, and the coral–dinoflagellate (zooxanthellae) associations on fine scale remains largely unknown. Spatial variation in the diversity of symbiotic dinoflagellates of two scleractinian coral species was studied in an upwelling region near Qinlan Harbor in eastern Hainan Island, China. Results showed that stress-tolerant Symbiodinium trenchi in individual colonies of Galaxea fascicularis occurred more frequently in shallow back-reef than in deep fore-reef. The higher symbiont diversity was found in colonies of G. fascicularis in shallow and close to the harbour mouth whereas the coral Pocillipora damicornis always harboured Symbiodinium internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) types C1c or C42a. Furthermore, both corals were found to simultaneously contain Symbiodinium ITS2 types belonging to two distinct phylogenetic clades (C and D). This indicates that the distribution of genetically distinct Symbiodinium may correlate with light regime and possibly temperature in some (but not all) colonies at particular locations, which we interpret as holobiont acclimation to the local environmental conditions. Therefore, we conclude that reef-building corals can adapt to the local environment by harbouring genetically distinct symbionts but depend on their respective symbiont transmission modes.

A total of 13 species of carcharhiniform sharks (excluding the families Carcharhinidae and Sphyrnidae) belonging to four families was recorded in fish landing site surveys in eastern Indonesia. Of these, the Triakidae were most abundant in the landings with Hemitriakis sp. 1 and Mustelus cf. manazo both contributing 1.8% to the total number of all sharks recorded. A number of the species, i.e. Atelomycterus baliensis, Halaelurus sp. 1, Hemitriakis sp. 1, Mustelus cf. manazo and Mustelus widodoi, were first recognized during these landing site surveys. A size at maturity for males of the two most abundant scyliorhinids, Atelomycterus marmoratus and Halaelurus sp. 1, could not be accurately determined, but they attained maturity at 419–506 and 360–404 mm TL, respectively. The latter species displays multiple oviparity with the uteri of pregnant females possessing six or 12 egg cases, each containing early to mid-term embryos. The length at first maturity (L50) of males of Hemitriakis sp. 1 and M. cf. manazo was 900 and 859 mm TL, respectively, and the length at birth was approximately 280 mm TL in both species. The mode of reproduction in both of these species was viviparous, with histotrophy. The most abundant hemigaleid species, H. microstoma, was found to mature at a far larger size than the only other congeneric species H. australiensis, i.e. 750–780 vs 600–650 mm TL, respectively. The data presented in this paper are the first such biological data reported on six of these shark species and are thus vital for fisheries managers and conservation assessors, especially given the extent of the shark and ray fisheries in Indonesia.

A brief description is given of the commonest sessile animals observed by diving from twelve positions near Plymouth, including three offshore reefs. The coelenterate Corynactis viridis is generally abundant on shaded rock surfaces. Many sessile species, even where common, tend to be dispersed in scattered patches or colonies; from this it is suggested that their distribution is affected by predation from browsing animals, particularly Echinus esculentus.

The ecology and reproductive biology of the hawksbill turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata were studied in Kish Island, Persian Gulf. The studied parameters include: environmental factors such as air temperature and humidity, soil types in different habitats during the breeding season; parameters related to the females' body and hatchlings biometrics i.e. weight, curved carapace length (CCL), straight carapace length (SCL), curved carapace width (CCW) and straight carapace width (SCW); and parameters related to reproductive biology, i.e. breeding time during diurnal, total eggs laid, the numbers of normal and abnormal eggs, weight and diameter of the eggs, incubation period and hatching success (HS). The temperature, humidity and soil size in different nest sites were 18.5–31°C, 70 to 88% and 0.063 to 4 mm, respectively. Means of weight, CCL, SCL, CCW and SCW of the females were 39.8 kg, 71.6, 65.1, 65.2 and 51.8 cm, respectively. The average of total egg numbers, normal and abnormal eggs by each individual female were 92.9, 75.2 and 17.7 respectively. Diameter and weight of every egg measured 38.4 mm and 33.6 g. Average of incubation period and HS were 60.9 days and 75.8%. According to the positive and significant correlation between CCL and CCW with weight took exponential regression models.

Experiments performed upon decapod crustaceans have produced much information on the hormonal control of moulting in this group. So far as I am aware, however, no one has tried to discover how moulting in other groups of Crustacea is controlled. This note represents the beginning of an attempt to investigate this aspect of moulting in the Isopoda.

This study evaluated the feeding habits of the franciscana dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei) in south-eastern Brazil. Stomach contents were collected from a total of 145 dead specimens found incidentally caught by fishing vessels or stranded between 2005 and 2015. Fish otoliths, cephalopod beaks and whole non-digested prey were used for prey species identification. A total of 9337 prey items were identified, including 26 species of teleost fishes and three species of cephalopods. The most important prey families were Sciaenidae among fish and Loliginidae among cephalopods. Franciscana dolphins tended to feed on small fish (mean = 5.25 cm) and cephalopods (mean = 8.57 cm). The index of relative importance (IRI) showed that Pellona harroweri and Doryteuthis plei were the most important prey for both males and females. The PERMANOVA test confirmed that there is no significant difference between the feeding habits of different sexes, but detected a significant difference among seasons. Overall, our results show that franciscana dolphins are predominantly ichthyophagous and non-selective in relation to the type of prey, feeding on pelagic, demersal and pelagic-demersal prey.

The ommastrephid squid, Illex coindetii, is one of the most abundant cephalopods in the Mediterranean Sea and an important predator in the ecosystem. In the present study, we examined the diet habits of I. coindetii in the north-western Mediterranean Sea by combining two complementary approaches: stomach content and stable isotopic analyses. Specifically, we examined whether the diet differed between sizes and seasons. Stomach content results indicated that the diet of I. coindetii was composed of 35 prey items including four major groups; namely the crustaceans Pasiphaea sivado, Amphipods, squid of the Order Teuthida, and pelagic and mesopelagic fish. Differences were found among different ontogenetic sizes: juvenile individuals fed mainly on crustaceans (%IRI = 77.59), whereas adult individuals fed on a wider range of prey items, including the shrimp P. sivado (%IRI = 33.21), the amphipod Anchylomera blossevillei (%IRI = 0.91), the decapod Plesionika sp. (%IRI = 0.19), the carangid Trachurus trachurus (%IRI = 0.34) and some Myctophids species (%IRI = 0.21). Differences were also found between seasons in the year. In winter, crustaceans were the main prey items, whereas in summer the diversity of prey was higher, including fish, crustaceans and molluscs. Similar to the stomach contents, stable isotopic results indicated differences among sizes. δ15N values were higher in adult squids than in juveniles because they fed on prey at higher trophic levels. In conclusion, this study indicates that feeding habits of I. coindetii vary seasonally and ontogenetically. These feeding variations may be associated with trophic competence scenarios based on size, and also with the availability and abundance of prey throughout the year.

Tube-building polychaetes are an important group of marine bioengineers in soft-bottom habitats, where they provide structures that potentially influence the composition of the benthic community. The present study investigated the effects of Diopatra cuprea tubes on the structure of the macrobenthic fauna found on a sandy beach of the Amazon coast. Samples were collected in June (rainy season) and September (dry season) 2012 in two different areas: (1) an area in which D. cuprea tubes were present, and (2) a control area, in which worm tubes were absent. A total of 53 taxa were found, of which 30 were associated exclusively with D. cuprea tubes. While large aggregations of D. cuprea were not found in the study area, the presence of even a single tube may have a significant influence on the environmental conditions available for other organisms, especially those adapted to consolidated or muddy substrates. The two areas presented different seasonal patterns. A significant increase in the abundance and richness of the macrofauna was observed in area 1 in the rainy season, when the density of worm tubes increased and the hydrodynamic conditions were less intense. The results of the study highlight the importance of this organism as an ecosystem engineer on the sandy beaches of the Amazon coast.