Tissues from a number of marine species were treated with a variety of solutions, including 1% of the major ‘detergent’ (B.P. 1002) used in attempting to disperse the oil from the ‘Torrey Canyon’ and 1% of each of the three major constituents of B.P. 1002, two of which are non-ionic surfactants.

The extracts were submitted to vertical starch-gel electrophoresis in order to measure both the effect of the detergent in facilitating the breakdown of cellular structure (extractability), and the irreversible effect on activation or inhibition of various enzymes and other proteins.

The proteins studied include a variety of NAD- and NADP-linked dehydrogenases, esterases, blood and nerve haemoglobins, plasma proteins, egg white and yolk proteins, and r-phycoerythrin.

The results confirm the general opinion that detergents increase the extractability of proteins from cells. In particular lipoprotein systems are altered, e.g. ‘fast’ serum lipoprotein in fishes (and other vertebrates). Other effects are also observed, e.g. sole but not turbot haemoglobin is rendered relatively insoluble, probably because the detergent stabilizes haemoglobin binding to other components in the erythrocyte. Certain enzymes, e.g. some esterases and amylases, are activated—a not surprising observation. However, a few enzymes are altered in electrophoretic mobility or in activity in a way that one might not expect, e.g. bass Morone labrax lactate dehydrogenase.

The results indicate that ‘oil-spill’ detergents and their constituent surfactants are biochemically quite powerful agents. It is too early to attempt to correlate in vitro and in vivo observations but there is an indication that starch-gel electrophoresis provides a useful supplement to more conventional methods used in the studies on complex pollution problems.

A new species of Thyasiridae, ‘Leptaxinus’ indusarium sp. nov. is described from the Indus margin, off Pakistan. The generic affinity is tentative and possible alternatives are discussed. It occurs between 800 m and 1000 m water depth in a low oxygen environment, where it is relatively abundant. The ecological setting is described and data suggest that this species is not chemosymbiotic.

During studies on the biology of young plaice (P. platessa L.) in Manx waters an experiment was begun in August 1965 to determine the efficiency of food conversion of O-group plaice. The experiment was repeated in a slightly modified form in August 1966. The objects of these investigations were to determine the weight of chopped mussel required by O-group plaice to increase their body weight by 1 g and to show whether the efficiency of conversion varied with changes in the water temperature and with the quantities of the particular type of food that were supplied to the plaice.

We know that a mature female plaice can liberate many thousands of eggs into the sea during the spring spawning season in the southern North Sea (Simpson, 1951). We also know that a very small percentage indeed of these eggs develops into fish of marketable size. At all stages in its life history a plaice is con-fronted with environmental hazards, which, if not overcome, may have fatal consequences.

The fragmentation process in Hydractinia pruvoti (Motz-Kossovska, 1905) which live on shells inhabited by hermit crabs is activated by the intensity of water movement that induces a rapid and abundant production of propagules by transversal fission. Being produced by all kinds of polyps in the polymorphic colony, fragments are very different from each other both in shape and size. After their liberation, fragments first settle on the bottom, then dedifferentiate and produce a network of hydrorhizae from which new polyps arise.

Alternative oxidase (AOX), a ubiquinol oxidase, introduces a branch pathway to the respiratory electron transport chain (ETC), bypassing complexes III and IV and catalysing the cyanide-resistant reduction of oxygen to water without translocation of protons across the inner mitochondrial membrane. Thus, it functions as a non-energy-conserving member of respiratory ETC. Previous studies of AOX focused on plants and some fungi, whereas data on animals are limited. In this study, full-length AOX cDNA was cloned from the Echiuran worm, Urechis unicinctus, a marine benthic invertebrate. In addition, mRNA expression pattern of combined activity of cytochrome c oxidase (CCO) in the body wall and hindgut of the worm exposed in sulphide (50 µM and 150 µM) was measured. The results revealed that AOX mRNA expression increased in a time- and concentration-dependent manner in both tissues, was significantly increased at 48 h, and continuously increased with time. In contrast, the activity of CCO decreased significantly at 24 h and was inhibited at 48 h during exposure to 150 µM sulphide. The present data indicate the expression of AOX mRNA depended on the sulphide concentration present as well as being influenced by the physical condition of the worm, especially the CCO activity.

Information on the chemical ecology and bioactivity of chemical compounds present in the sea cucumber Psolus patagonicus is provided through an interdisciplinary approach. The specimens studied were collected from two different and very distant sampling localities: Bridges Islands (Beagle Channel, Ushuaia, 54° 48′57″ S 66° 25′00″ W) at depths of 4 to 10 m by SCUBA diving, and from the scallop beds of Zigochlamys patagonica (39° 27′10″ S 55° 56′76″ W), at depths of 110 m and 115 m (43° 47′84″ S 59° 56′80″ W) by means of non-selective dredge in the South Atlantic Ocean.The secondary metabolites were isolated from complete adults by a combination of chromatographic methods and purified by high-performance liquid chromatography. They were characterized as triterpene glycosides through extensive spectroscopic analyses (nuclear magnetic resonance and fast atom bombardment mass spectroscopy) and chemical methods. A purified fraction containing Patagonicoside A as the main triterpene showed a high level of mortality against the brine shrimp Artemia salina and revealed different antifungal activity of Patagonicoside A and its desulphated glycoside (ds-Patagonicoside A) against the fungi Cladosporium fulvum, Fusarium oxysporum and Monilia sp., compared with a potent commercial antifungal product.

Tropical reef corals have been studied extensively in the last hundred years from the geological, ecological and, more recently, from the behavioural and physiological points of view (e.g. Darwin, 1896; Vaughan & Wells, 1943; Wells, 1959; Jones & Endean, 1973, 1976; Horridge, 1957; Shelton, 1975 a, b; Anderson, 1976 a, b; Shelton & McFarlane, 1976 a, b; McFarlane, 1978). By contrast, little attention has been paid to the deep, cold water corals such as Lophelia pertusa (L.) although they are in many ways just as spectacular in appearance and secrete massive calcareous skeletons. Zibrowius (1976) gives some data on the occurrence of Lophelia and its nomenclature while Wilson (1979 a, b) describes its distribution in the north-east Atlantic and its development in ‘patches’ on Rockall Bank. This paper, however, provides the first descriptions of the behaviour and co-ordination of Lophelia and the electrical conduction mechanisms underlying their control. The results are compared with those from similar experiments upon tropical species. They give insights into colony growth and co-ordination and into possible primitive behavioural control mechanisms.

The eastern North Atlantic (ENA) has many highly productive areas where several species of cetaceans have been recorded, with the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) being one of the most frequently sighted species. However, its spatial and temporal distribution in high seas is poorly known. The study presents the results from 5 years of cetacean monitoring in the ENA (2012–2016) aboard cargo ships that follow the routes from Continental Portugal to the Macaronesian archipelagos and north-west Africa. Common dolphin was the most frequently sighted cetacean with 192 occurrences registered on effort and an overall encounter rate of 0.36 sightings/100 nmi. The species was distributed in coastal and offshore waters, but absent from the Canaries and Cape Verde islands. Statistical ‘habitat’ models were developed to describe and explain the occurrence of sightings of the species: variables affecting detection of dolphins had a small impact and there were clear spatiotemporal distribution patterns, influenced to some degree by environmental variables. Predicted probability of occurrence was highest in coastal waters of continental Portugal and around the Azores. The models, combined with maps of distribution, were useful to identify important areas for the species, which could be the focus of future conservation efforts. Common dolphin presence was related to depth, distance to coast and seamounts, seabed slope, chlorophyll concentration, sea-surface temperature and sea level anomalies; the possible ecological significance of these relationships is explored.

Temporal variation in a temperate cryptobenthic fish assemblage at the Arrábida Marine Park (Portugal) was assessed by visual surveys during 2002 and 2003. A total of 9596 fish from 11 families and 30 species was recorded. There were no changes in structure or density at the assemblage level between years, whereas diversity changed significantly due to a higher number of abundant species in the second year. A similar seasonal trend was found between years, with a significant overall density increase in autumn. This is partially explained by the arrival of new recruits of some of the most abundant species in the assemblage. Assemblage diversity and structure also changed across seasons. A group of species encompassing Gobius xanthocephalus, Tripterygion delaisi, Parablennius pilicornis, Gobius paganellus, Lepadogaster candollii and Lepadogaster spp. were analysed in detail. The temporal patterns of two of the most abundant species, G. xanthocephalus and T. delaisi, mimicked the overall temporal patterns of the assemblage. We suggest that the inter-annual stability in density of this subtidal fish assemblage may be similar to what has been reported for the intertidal and that strong post-settlement processes are probably shaping this assemblage.

The dominant intertidal algal species from Tarifa Island, Strait of Gibraltar, together with the associated peracarid crustacean community, were studied over a two-year period (December 2005–December 2007). Gelidium corneum and Gymnogongrus patens were dominant at the lower levels, close to the subtidal. Valonia utricularis, Osmundea pinnatifida, a turf of Caulacanthus ustulatus and Gelidium spp., Corallina elongata and Jania rubens were distributed in intermediate levels, while Ulva rigida, Chaetomorpha aerea and Fucus spiralis were collected from upper levels. The main intertidal seaweeds of Tarifa Island showed a perennial behaviour, but maximum values of biomass were registered during late spring and beginning of summer for most of species while the highest seawater temperatures were measured in late summer and beginning of autumn. Corallina elongata and Jania rubens, the dominant species which shared a niche at platforms of intermediate levels, showed an opposite behaviour, probably to avoid competence: C. elongata showed higher biomass in April–June and lower values in August–October–December, while biomass of J. rubens was higher in December–February and lower in April–August. Associated crustaceans, including mainly amphipods (gammarids and caprellids) were also present throughout the whole year with similar seasonality to seaweeds. However, crustacean density in the intertidal was not only influenced by distribution of algae as substrate, but also by external factors, such as hydrodynamism, oxygen, weather conditions, competition or predation. The present study constitutes the first baseline study dealing with seasonal fluctuations of algae and associated crustaceans in a protected area of the Strait of Gibraltar, an important biogeographical zone between Europe and Africa and the Mediterranean and Atlantic.

Long-term surface wave records from various parts of the English Channel are used to determine the percentage of time during a year for which waves disturb the sea-bed. Most of the bottom sediments are rarely disturbed by waves (<1% of the time), due to water depth and sediment grain size. The coastal zones (<30 m), including the embayments, experience significant wave disturbance at the sea-bed (i.e. >5–10%). The general distribution of surficial sediments can be explained in terms of tidally-induced processes alone. Even in areas where wave activity is high, fine-grained sediment transport is controlled by the same mechanisms.

Peaks in northern bottlenose whale, Hyperoodon ampullatus, strandings are found between August and September in the UK and August and November in The Netherlands, consistent with a hypothesized southward migration. However, results on diet suggest that several whales stranded during these months were not travelling from northern latitudes prior to stranding. We analysed the stomach contents of ten whales stranded in the north-east Atlantic (Scotland, N = 6, England, N = 1, Ireland, N = 2 and The Netherlands, N = 1). All but one of the analysed whales (live-stranded in the River Thames in January 2006) stranded between August and October. Food remains consisted almost entirely of cephalopod mandibles. Twenty-one cephalopod species (16 families) were recorded, the most abundant taxa being Gonatus spp., Teuthowenia spp. and Taonius pavo. No fish and few crustacean remains were found. Small amounts of cephalopod flesh were found in three of the stomachs and none in the others. Given that cephalopod beaks can remain within the stomach for several days, and that there was no evidence of inshore feeding (no coastal species were present among the prey), the whales may not have fed for several days prior to stranding. Three whales had remains of warm-temperate water cephalopods (e.g. Vampyroteuthis infernalis, Heteroteuthis sp.) in their stomachs, while three individuals showed a high diversity of prey in their stomachs, suggesting that several of the whales could have been either travelling north or consistently feeding in temperate latitudes prior to stranding. As previously recorded in other deep diving teuthophagous cetaceans, two animals had ingested small amounts of plastic debris.

The following list is one of the results of my work during a stay of nearly four months at the Plymouth Laboratory of the Marine Biological Association. I desire to express my thanks to the Director and the Staff of the Laboratory for the interest they took in my work and for their kind assistance.

Habitat mimics were used to investigate the role of coralline algal frond length in determining spatial patterns in diverse gastropod assemblages on a rocky shore near Sydney, Australia. Frond length represents the vertical scale component of habitat structure, which is rarely experimentally manipulated. Length of fronds did not explain differences between gastropod assemblages at different tidal heights or among patches of turf separated by tens of metres in mid-shore areas. In contrast, changes in frond length caused large differences in the structure of gastropod assemblages in low-shore areas. Contrary to previous studies, the total abundance and diversity of gastropods was greater in turf with short fronds than with long fronds. Possible mechanisms for this negative relationship are discussed. Overall, the vertical scale component of habitat structure can have strong effects on associated faunal assemblages, but the magnitude of these effects depend heavily on local environmental conditions (e.g. different tidal heights).

The present investigation is a confirmation and extension of the idea that visual pigments adapted to the quality of their own bioluminescence have evolved in certain deep-water marine fishes. In this case a single fish (Malacosteus danae) of the family Malacosteidae, known to have red-emitting photophores, was trawled up in daylight from the Pacific off the coast of Southern California. Retinal extractions were found to contain two photopigments with absorbance maxima, one at 556 nm, the second at 514 nm. From the spectral positions of the oximes formed by bleaching in the presence of hydroxylamine it was inferred that the 556-pigment is an A2-pigment and the 514-pigment, an Aj-pigment. Evidence was also obtained from the effect of hydroxylamine on the unbleached extract of the possible presence of a photopigment that was bleached by the daylight when the fish was brought to the surface. This pigment, also identified as an A,-component from the oxime spectrum, could have been a moiety of the 514-photopigment but the possibility of a third visual pigment in the retina of this fish cannot be discounted. Except for this hydroxylamine effect the results are in agreement with published data from Aristostomias scintillans.

Symbiont-bearing solitary and colonial radiolaria occur abundantly in diverse water masses throughout the major oceans of the world, including oligotrophic surface water (e.g. Strelkov & Reshetnyak, 1971; Casey, 1971, 1977; Anderson, 1983; Swanberg, 1979, 1983). Studies of their nutrition (Anderson, 1978, 1983; Swanberg, 1983) suggest that the algal symbionts may serve a substantial role in sustaining host nutrition. Our studies on the role of symbiotic algae in radiolaria have shown that Amphidinium-type, dinoflagellate symbionts (Anderson, 1983, p. 118) associated with the solitary species, Thalassicolla nucleata, and a colonial form Collosphaera sp. contribute photosynthetically-derived carbon to the host. The amount assimilated by T. nucleata is proportional to the primary productivity of the symbionts (Anderson, Swanberg & Bennett, 1983 b). Little is known, however, about the effects of environmental variables such as light intensity and quality on the primary productivity of the symbionts and the kinds of photosynthetic products accumulated within the host cytoplasm.

This research has been concerned with the movement of pigment in the occlusible tapetum lucidum of the spur dog Squalus acanthias. The pigment expands and covers the reflecting plates of the tapetum in light, and retreats and uncovers the plates in darkness. Movement of pigment in one eye occurs independently of that in the other. Normal movement of pigment is not affected by cutting the optic nerves and oculomotor nerves, by sectioning the cord immediately behind the medulla, nor by excising the pituitary and pineal glands. It is concluded that the process is not under nervous or hormonal control. It occurs normally in excised opened eyes that are kept in oxygenated Ringer solution, but not under partial or fully anoxic conditions. The pigment cells of the chorioid seem to be behaving as independent effectors, sensitive to light. The pigment expands in tapeta freed of retina, in light or darkness. No explanation is yet available for the latter anomalous result. Measurements were made of the reflectivity of isolated tapeta, and curves are presented showing the progressive decrease of reflectivity accompanying expansion of pigment, and changes in the colour composition of the reflected light.

The influence of photoperiodicity on hatching of Loligo forbesi and Loligo vulgaris embryos was investigated under different experimental light-dark (LD) conditions. The transition from light to dark stimulated hatching and functions as a ‘Zeitgeber’ or synchronizer. Independent of the timing and duration of the dark period most embryos hatched soon after termination of the light period. Embryos which had developed in constant light, showed no hatching rhythm at all. If these embryos were exposed to a dark shock most embryos hatched soon after the onset of darkness. A twilight shock, in which the light was reduced by 50% (i.e. 50 μE s−1 m−2), could not stimulate hatching. Embryos which were kept from stage X on in an artificially controlled LD cycle, preferentially hatch in a period which coincides with the period at which darkness usually occurred when placed in constant illumination from stage XX onwards.

An analysis of the quantity and distribution of unspawned eggs in the gonad of o. edulis recorded in Table IV, 1, 1927 (of oysters with young) and Table IX, 1,1927 (of post-spawned oysters), gives useful information regarding the occurrence and fate of unspawned ova as may be seen from the figures given in Table A.