Carnivorous sponges (Porifera: Cladorhizidae) are a particularly interesting group of species typically occurring in deep-sea habitats. In this study a new species, Chondrocladia (Chondrocladia) robertballardi sp. nov., is described from specimens collected on two large north-east Atlantic seamounts – the Gorringe and Galicia Banks – located off the Iberian Peninsula. The holotype, collected on the Gorringe Bank by ROV, is a large, dichotomously branched and stalked sponge with translucent spheres in the middle of secondary axes and a rhizoid basal fixation system. Direct observations on the habit of the new species were made from the ROV. The paratypes, collected on the Galicia Bank by dredge and trawling, are fragments of different sizes. The skeleton is composed of a single class of styles and isochelae. All specimens were collected at similar depths (1400–1738 m) within the upper bathyal, and at the same longitude but separated by 670 km. A synthesis of the geographic as well as bathymetric distribution of this genus is presented. The species is compared with all known species of this genus worldwide.

A luminous organ of a hitherto undescribed type has been found in a Macrurid fish. This organ is described in the present paper. It consists essentially of an epithelium for the secretion of luminous substance, which has been thrown into long folds and wholly invaginated to form a gland. This gland is bound in connective tissue and has a compact appearance, and is furnished with supporting tissue internally. The duct is a flat and wide passage, continuous with the gland, which opens to the exterior about the anus in such a way as to surround the lower part of the rectum. The gland lies in the thickness of the body-wall forward of the rectum and between and behind the pelvic fins.

The nature of the secretion is discussed and some experiments described. The luminescence appears to be due not to bacteria living as guests within the tissues of the fish, as has been shown for other species, but is essentially due to the well-known reaction wherein a substance luciferin is burnt to oxyluciferin in presence of the ferment luciferase, with emission of cold light.

Manta ray (Manta birostris) is the largest ray species, but little information is available regarding its biology, distribution and migratory pattern. During an aerial survey conducted in French Guiana waters (South America) in 2006, the observation of several dozen individuals all swimming in the same direction prompted us to develop a research programme on this species as part of an environmental impact assessment for oil drilling. Overall, 117 aerial surveys were performed over 3 years in order to complete a database for this species. In 54 of these flights, a total of 138 individuals were observed. A phenological analysis of this species in French Guiana waters shows a peak presence between July and December, which correlates with sea surface temperature and net primary production in the ocean. The primary production in French Guiana waters is particularly active during this period and could explain the annual pattern for this filter-feeding animal.

A herd of female sperm whales with calves was observed for the first time off the coast of Monaco in mid December 2001. The herd was composed of more than ten animals: the adults were foraging; the calves were resting. The adult whales measured less than 12 m in length and the calves were estimated to be 5 m. This occurrence is discussed.

In February 1965 larvae of Sabellaria spinulosa Leuckart removed from the plankton off Plymouth were reared for settlement experiments (Wilson, 1970b). Among the early stages in the rearing dishes there appeared several Sabellarian-type larvae which after a few days growth became conspicuous by their larger size, longer and straighter bristles, and by their general appearance being different from the more numerous Sabellaria larvae. It soon became apparent that they closely resembled a larva found in February 1927 which was described and illustrated many years ago (Wilson, 1929, p. 242, text figs. 4, 5), at which time it was attributed in all probability to Pallasia murata Allen, now Lygdamis muratus (Allen). Apart from two species of Sabellaria whose larvae were known, this was and still is the only other Sabellarian recorded from the coasts of Devon and Cornwall and adjacent offshore waters of the English Channel. In most years since 1965 varying numbers of this species of larva have been obtained in January and February, and have several times been reared through metamorphosis to early tube-building stages, these latter confirming by their distinctive characters that the above early attribution was correct. Work on a description of the development was begun but it was not until 1974, when work on colony formation of Sabellaria alveolata (L.) was virtually completed, that close attention could be given to it, and experiments on settlement carried out. In the meantime Bhaud (1969) had described and illustrated the development from larvae in winter plankton off Banyuls-sur-Mer, wrongly attributing them to Phalacrostemma cidariophilum Maranzella, while criticizing my identification of my 1927 larva.

Parapenaeopsis coromandelica shrimp populations along the western coast of Sri Lanka have supported coastal trawling for the last hundreds of years. Two non-overlapping adjacent fishing grounds (Hendala and Negombo) sustain different fishing intensities. In order to obtain information on the population structure and genetic diversity of P. coromandelica in these two regions, differences in length–weight relationships, growth, spawning seasons, sex-ratios, gonadosomatic index, length at 50% maturity (L50) and sequence variation of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I were examined. Significant differences in population biology and genetic diversity were revealed from the two fishing grounds. Samples of Hendala showed lower L50 and genetic diversity which are considered as potential effects and symptoms of extensive selective harvesting. Further, the shrimps' behaviour seems to be triggering the separation through low mixing of individuals at the two fishing grounds resulting in significant divergence based on haplotype frequencies. Management of P. coromandelica should consider the revealed biological and genetic evidences on existence of two sub-populations/stocks together with a routine monitoring of genetic effects due to harvesting.

Fatty acid profiles were used to investigate aspects of bottlenose dolphin populations around the Azores archipelago. Biopsy samples were obtained from 70 dolphins during the period 2002–2004. No statistically significant differences in profiles were found between different island groups, between sexes or between year of sampling. Thus no evidence was seen for island group fidelity, in contrast to bottlenose dolphins found around similar island groups such as the Hawaiian archipelago or the Bahamas. The findings are consistent with concurrent genetic and photo-identification studies on dolphins in the Azores.

The life history of the mud shrimp Axianassa australis, a common and widespread burrower inhabiting coastal mangroves and mud flats, is poorly known. This contribution presents the first information about the population structure, reproductive biology and fecundity of A. australis, based on individuals collected from September 2011 to December 2012 on Casa Caiada Beach, located in a densely urbanized area in north-eastern Brazil, using a yabby pump. The sex ratio did not depart significantly from the expected 1:1 proportion. A significant trend of left-handedness of the major cheliped was observed in the population. Females reached a larger maximum cephalothorax length (CL) than males. The differential growth between CL and the propodus of the major cheliped showed negative allometric growth for females and positive allometric growth for males, suggesting a trade-off between somatic growth and reproductive effort. Females bearing uneyed orange embryos predominated during all months in which ovigerous females were collected. Mean fecundity was 2379 eggs, ranging from 5 (7.55 mm CL) to 8300 (14.19 mm CL) eggs per female. About 71% of the variation in the number of eggs carried per female was explained by CL. The mean egg size correlated negatively with fecundity, indicating that large females of A. australis produce more and larger eggs than smaller females.

Large parts of the south-western Atlantic soft bottom intertidals are inhabited by the burrowing crab Neohelice granulata (previously known as Chasmagnathus granulatus) and the mud crab Cyrtograpsus angulatus, but adults rarely coexist in the same microhabitat. We describe the influence of burrows of N. granulata on the recruitment dynamic of C. angulatus and the effects of different ontogenetic stages of N. granulata on survival of recruits of C. angulatus. A two summer sampling shows that N. granulata burrows facilitate settlement of both species. To evaluate the mortality of recruits inside burrows, we performed a field experiment with juvenile and adult crab exclusion cages and inclusion of juveniles or adults of N. granulata. The results showed differences in crab sizes between treatments, due to predatory interactions that depended on prey size. When only juveniles of N. granulata were present, the higher mortality of C. angulatus was observed in smaller crabs. However when adults of N. granulata were present, larger juvenile crabs are the ones that suffered the highest mortality. These results show that adults are preying upon larger juveniles (of both species) reducing the mortality of the smaller ones that are preyed by the larger ones. We also measured emigration from these burrowing assemblages using bidirectional pitfall traps which showed that C. angulatus juveniles are leaving the burrows towards the subtidal. Here we demonstrate that N. granulata have positive and negative effects on the settlement of C. angulatus. These results highlight the importance of including stage-dependence relationships to analyse species interaction in marine ecology field works.

The anchovy belongs to the same family of fishes as the herring, pilchard, and sprat, the family Clupeidæ. But whereas the herring, pilchard, and sprat have so many structural features in common that they are placed in a single genus, namely Clupea, the anchovy is in many respects so peculiar that it is placed in the distinct genus Engraulis. There are many species of Engraulis in various parts of the world, but only one on the coasts of Europe, and that one, commonly known as the ancovy, is called by zoologists Engraulis encrasicholus. The origin of these names dates back to a very early period. Both are used by ancient classical Greek authors.

Preliminary feeding experiments (Morris, Ferguson & Raymont, 1973) showed that Neomysis integer was capable of incorporating dietary labelled [1-14C]fatty acids (16:04 18:1,18:2,18:3) into its lipid. Radioactivity was observed in all the major fatty acids of Neomysis, including the polyunsaturated fatty acids. Neomysis could also convert dietary 14C-labelled starch into lipid, producing a range of fatty acids, including long-chain polyunsaturated acids, incorporated in both triglycerides and phospholipids. During these metabolic conversions, the mysid was observed to incorporate more radioactive14C into the phospholipid fraction with increase in the experimental feeding period.

The Lernaeopodidae are a highly specialized group of parasitic Copepoda presumably derived from a Caligoid stem, and some clue to their systematic position should be found in their development. Some stages are known in ten genera, but it is only in Achtheres, Salmincola, and Clavella that the whole, or nearly the whole, series of stages has been described. There is a very strong tendencyto suppress the nauplius as a free stage though, when so suppressed, there may be moults corresponding to nauplius and metanauplius (Zandt, 1935). In some species there is certainly a free nauplius, but it probably moults into the copepodid in a very short time.

The population biology of the stout razor clam Tagelus plebeius is poorly understood, despite the species' current wide distribution, and the potential use of its Holocene shell deposits to infer past environmental and ecological conditions. This study investigates distribution and growth pattern of T. plebeius in the south-western Atlantic Mar Chiquita Coastal lagoon (37°32′S 57°19′W), Argentina. The population includes the oldest individuals (up to 27 years) reported so far with shell length up to 77.9 mm. A von Bertalanffy model with L∞ = 67.60 mm (95% CI = 64.55; 70.64), k = 0.181 year−1 (CI = 0.142; 0.218), and t0 = −0.77 (CI = −1.46; −0.08) best described their individual growth for the whole population. The higher density, growth rate k, t0 and maximum age and lower L∞ were in the low intertidal rather than in the medium intertidal, but there were no differences in density and age between medium and high intertidal. Given the results and the current knowledge on the effects of different factors influencing this species, we conclude that the distribution pattern and shell growth observed in our study reflect a response to metabolic necessities in combination with a strong influence of biological interactions.

The small volcanic island of Ascension is situated in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean, more than 1500 km from the coast of Africa, its nearest continental area. To date, eight ‘opisthobranch’ species were reported from the island. As a result of a recent survey, 10 species were found. Seven species are new records from Ascension: Platydoris angustipes (Mörch, 1863), Diaulula sp., Dolabrifera dolabrifera (Rang, 1828), Aplysia parvula Guilding in Mörch, 1863 and Caliphylla mediterranea A. Costa, 1867, and two new species: Phidiana mimica sp. nov.; and Felimida atlantica sp. nov. Half of the species found have a wide geographical distribution, being not restricted to the Atlantic Ocean. However, traditional taxonomy based on few characters is probably masking complexes of species.

Limpets and barnacles are important components of intertidal assemblages worldwide. This study examines the effects of barnacles on the foraging behaviour of the limpet Patella vulgata, which is the main algal grazer in the North-west Atlantic. The behaviour of limpets on a vertical seawall on the Isle of Man (UK) was investigated using autonomous radio-telemetry, comparing their activity patterns on plots characterized by dense barnacle cover and plots from which the barnacles had been removed. Limpet behaviour was investigated at mid-shore level, but two different elevations were considered. This experiment revealed a significant effect of barnacle cover on the activity of P. vulgata. Limpets on smooth surfaces spent a greater proportion of total time active than did limpets on barnacles. Movement activity was also greater in areas that were lower down in the tidal range. In general, limpets were either predominantly active during diurnal high or nocturnal low tides and always avoided nocturnal high tides. Individuals on barnacles at the higher elevation concentrated their activity during nocturnal low water. All the other groups of limpets (smooth surfaces on the upper level and all individuals on the lower shore) had more excursions centred around daylight hours with an equal distribution of activity between periods of low and high water. Inter-individual variability was, however, pronounced.

Data on life history aspects of two species of Squalus genus were collated from five different studies carried out in the Eastern Ionian Sea from 1995 to 2014. Data were collected from 948 longnose spurdogs Squalus blainville (Risso, 1827) and 65 spiny dogfish Squalus acanthias Linnaeus, 1758 caught by trawl and longlines. The mean length of both species increased with depth. Sexual segregation was observed for S. blainville, whereas a segregation of immature and mature individuals was detected for S. acanthias. The length–weight relationship for S. blainville indicated positive allometry (b > 3) for both sexes, whereas a negative allometry (b < 3) was found for S. acanthias for the combined sexes. The sex ratio of both species was in favour of males. For S. blainville, the gonadosomatic and hepatosomatic indices differed significantly between sexes but not between seasons with the maturity data supporting the hypothesis of continuous reproduction throughout the year. Length at first maturity (L50) for female and male S. blainville was 603 and 413 mm respectively. For S. acanthias, males collected in autumn had finished their spawning activity; the single specimen caught in summer was reproductively active. Females, caught only in summer, were all gravid. Prey identified in the stomachs of S. blainville belonged to three major groups: fish, cephalopods and shrimps. Other groups such as echinoderms and ascidians were also found. Identified prey in the stomachs of S. acanthias belonged to two main groups, fish and cephalopods, although other groups (including echinoderms and polychaetes) were also present.

This Autolytus has been known only in the form of Sacconereis, i.e. as the female stolon of an unknown Syllid. It was discovered in 1864 by a French zoologist, E. Claparède, at Port-Vendres (Pyrénées Orientales). According to the original figures and description it is an ordinary female individual in its general appearance, carrying a large egg-sac on the ventral side. The latter is “étranglé en 8” and turkish blue, the colour being due to the contained eggs. The body consists of about 60 segments, the dorsal surface of which is transversely banded by pigment of rose colour. Modification of the segments for swimming commences at the 9th setigerous segment and stops at the 21st. The following 40 segments (about) are not modified like the 8 in the first region just behind the head. The most striking character, by which the present stolon is distinguished from any other Sacconereis, is the presence of a pair of extra appendages in front of the head in addition to the median and lateral tentacles. Claparède states that the presence of these appendages, “qui n”ont été signalés chez aucune autre Sacconereide,” is by no means very astonishing, since there are two such ones in Polybostricus. Claparède clearly predicted their homology to the frontal lobes of the bifid antenna-like appendages in the male head. A. Malaquin (1893) actually explained the bifid condition of the frontal appendages of the male as due to their origin in the fusion of the lateral tentacles and the palpi.

Tourism is a growing activity in Cape Verde, which can lead to more intensive and uncontrolled fishing and diving activities, affecting the quality of marine habitats. To mitigate this biodiversity problem, a private diving operator, supported by the local authorities, decided to deploy the first artificial reefs (ARs) in the Archipelago just off Santa Maria Bay (Sal Island). To evaluate the ARs capacity to promote marine fish biodiversity in Santa Maria Bay, the fish assemblages were compared to those from nearby natural reefs (NRs), located at the same depth (10 and 28 m depth), by means of visual census. All study sites were surveyed by visual census in August 2009. A total of 64 species were recorded, mostly consisting of sedentary and/or benthophagous demersal species, followed by highly-sedentary benthic cryptic species. ‘Tchuklassa’ NR showed the highest species richness (58 species), while the lowest was recorded at ‘Santo Antão’ AR (48 species). An overall positive relationship was observed between habitat rugosity and mean species richness. The results showed a high percentage of common species on both reef types. Higher mean values of community descriptors (number of species, Shannon–Weaver diversity index, Simpson dominance index and equitability) and fish density were found on the ARs, with slightly higher densities recorded on the deeper reefs. These results suggest that ARs can have an important role promoting the local fish biodiversity and supporting local sustainable development of diving tourism.

Various herbivorous invertebrates in seagrass beds are considered to be generalists in food use and their diets may temporally fluctuate according to the availability of food sources. We assessed whether food sources of herbivorous gastropods vary in a subtropical seagrass bed in Nagura Bay, Ishigaki Island, where coexisting seaweeds grow densely in spring but minimally in summer. Abundant gastropods and their possible food sources were collected in spring and summer of 2013 and 2015, and their stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios were measured. Between the two seasons, each possible food source had similar isotopic values, but all the herbivorous gastropod species in summer were more enriched in 13C than the gastropod samples in spring. The mixing models in SIAR (Stable Isotope Analysis in R) showed that the total contribution rates of seaweeds, i.e. rhodophytes, phaeophytes and chlorophytes, for all herbivorous gastropod species decreased from spring to summer; in contrast, the contribution rate of seagrasses increased. Linear Mixed Models showed that the seasonal variation in δ13C of the herbivorous gastropods was larger than that of the possible food sources, adding further evidence to the seasonal change in food sources of the herbivorous gastropods. This seasonal change in food use appears to correspond to the change in seaweed biomass, suggesting that herbivorous gastropods flexibly change their diets depending on food availability.

Autonomous acoustic data loggers can provide useful data on habitat use and activity patterns of vocalizing cetaceans. One type, the T-POD, uses filters that can be set to match the click characteristics of the target species. We used wideband acoustic recordings to document typical click spectra of bottlenose dolphins in Doubtful Sound, New Zealand, in order to develop T-POD settings optimal for that population. T-PODs at these settings made between 8 and 33 times as many detections as accompanying T-PODs set as in other studies of this species, confirming the value of optimizing settings for a particular dolphin population. Maximum detection range was 1313 m, and mean range of first detection was 593 m. Of 45 groups observed within 500 m of the T-POD, 47% were detected acoustically. Effective detection radius was estimated at 266 m (95% CI 222–317 m).