Thirteen cruises were made between mid-March and early June in 1954 off the coasts of southern Scotland and north-east England. It is likely that a Calanus patch was followed continuously during this period merely by observing the abundance of Calanus in and out the patch at very short time intervals (5–8 days between the mid-points of the cruises). Fig. 3 in Cushing & Tungate (1963) shows the distribution of Calanus copepoditestages during the period, which is the sort of picture expected if the same population were being sampled during the period. Application of the Joseph & Sendner (1958) equation suggested that the reduction of density due to diffusion was likely to be very low.

1. J. H. J. Poole’s neon lamp method (1928) of integrating the photo-electric current is serviceable for work at sea down to moderate depths, which further experience may extend considerably. It is specially valuable for determining the light just above the water, and at such depths down to 5 m., at which the variability of the light renders the potentiometer method (1925) very difficult or quite impossible in rough water. For greater depths, down to 70 m. (bottom in the English Channel around our normal range) we have so far been able to use the latter only.

2. The loss due to the shadow of the ship, obtained by subtracting the illumination just above water from that on the deck-house roof, was found to vary from an extreme case of 52 per cent, and a normal loss of 30 per cent, with an overcast sky, down to 11 per cent with a clear sun at 31° altitude.

3. The loss of light due to its entering the water was found to vary from 7·5 to 16·5 per cent, mean 13·1 per cent.

4. It is desirable that the illumination just above and just below the water surface should be determined by the neon lamp method as a routine.

Male Chondracanthus lophii was studied using light and electron microscopy. Observations on external morphology and internal anatomy are presented. Males possess a full set of functional mouth parts, the digestive system is active and the dominant cell type in the midgut is identified as the vacuolar type B-cell, but the gut is a blind ending sac with no anus. The gut contents were a homogenous, amorphous mass. The combination of active feeding and digestion with a blind ending gut supports the inference that males feed on special secretions produced by glands in the nuptial organs of the female. It is speculated that dependence on such secretion reduces or eliminates the production of faecal matter. Observations on the reproductive system confirmed the typical chondracanthid pattern.

Some notes on development and early life history behaviour of aquarium-reared Syngnathus acus are presented and compared with other syngnathid species, namely S. abaster. Implications in population dynamics and connectivity are discussed.

Concentrations of elements in the sagittal otoliths of juvenile white anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius) from five locations in the north-east Atlantic were measured to test for evidence of segregation in the early life stages. The concentrations of some elements, notably copper, were different between locations. As such, the results suggest limited exchange between locations during some period of the early life history. The relevance of these results to our understanding of population structuring is discussed in relation to recent information on anglerfish movements and genetic structuring.

Different glucidic labelled compounds were used for carbohydrate metabolism exploration, tissular glycogen storage localization and amino acid uptake response to osmotic variation in the adult of Sagitta friderici.

After [1-14C] glucose or [6-14C] glucose (osmotrophic) assimilation, the relative activity of the different metabolic pathways (glycolysis–citric acid cycle and pentose cycle) have been estimated by means of a micro-radiorespirometric method. The kinetics of expired 14CO2 showed that adult Sagitta mainly used the glycolytic–Krebs cycle rather than the pentose cycle in glucose catabolism.

After 2-deoxy-D-[1-14C] glucose (osmotrophic) assimilation, tissular glycogen storages were localized. It was shown that glycogen deposits are abundant in several tissues except the locomotor muscles, which probably represent the main glucose consumers in these very active animals. The problem of glucose transport from the storage localizations to the sites of utilization has been discussed.

The L-3H-leucine uptake variations into the Sagitta body after an osmotic shock have been estimated.

This is the first record of the epizoic barnacle (Octolasmis angulata) on the crab Charybdis feriatus. Prevalence of O. angulata was 85·7% and mean intensity of infestation was 59±64·5 (range 3–239). Prevalence and mean intensity of infestation increased with host size in the range 55–120 mm carapace width. Barnacles occurred most frequently on the gills, anterior branchial chamber wall in the epibranchial space, occasionally on the wall of the branchial chambers beneath the gills and on the scaphognathite within the branchial chambers. Most barnacles were observed on the hypobranchial surface of the gills.

The hepatosomatic indices (HSI) of eight groups of Myxine glutinosa with different gonadal conditions are calculated and compared with each other. Female animals with eggs longer than 10 mm differ statistically significant in their HSI from all other groups. The production of a vitellogenetic protein in the liver of Myxine is concluded.

Phytoplankton primary production and copepod production, and the size composition of the phytoplankton community in Tolo Harbour, a semi-enclosed bay in north-eastern Hong Kong, were studied from February 2008 to March 2009. Chlorophyll-a (Chl a) concentrations decreased from an average of 9.07 µg l−1 in the inner part of the bay to 3.07 µg l−1 at the mouth of the bay. In terms of contribution to total Chl a biomass, the >20 µm size fraction dominated the phytoplankton community. The zooplankton community in Tolo Harbour was dominated by small copepods, with cephalothorax length ranging from ~0.3 to 0.4 mm, and the density of copepods decreased from ~15,000 ind.m−3 in the inner part of the bay to ~9,700 ind.m−3 at the mouth of the bay. Depth-integrated net primary production in Tolo Harbour was high, ranging from 0.34 to 10.40 g C m−2 day−1, with an overall mean of 2.64 g C m−2 day−1. In contrast, copepod production was low, ranging from 0.19 to 16.64 mg C m−3 day−1, with an overall mean of 2.73 mg C m−3 day−1. The low transfer efficiency of 1.4% between phytoplankton primary production and copepod secondary production suggests that the large phytoplankton was inefficiently grazed by the small copepods in Tolo Harbour.

The new mangrove barnacle, Fistulobalanus sumbawaensis sp. nov. from Sumbawa Island, Indonesia shares the common morphological characteristics with the subfamily Amphibalaninae in having a shell wall of six, porous compartmental plates; radii solid; alae not cleft; basis calcareous, tubiferous in single layer. This new species belongs to the genus Fistulobalanus mainly in having parietal tubes arranged in two or more rows; primary tubes with transverse septa; subsidiary tubes formed between the primary septum and outer lamina. In particular, the new species is similar to F. patelliformis in the shape of the shell, the transverse section of subsidiary tubes, the tergum and some characteristics of trophi and the cirri. However, this new species is easily distinguishable from all members of the genus Fistulobalanus in having no coloration or striations on the external surface of the shell, subsidiary tubes only appearing inside the ribbed part of the shell, and the scutum having a short adductor ridge.

The phyllosoma larva of spiny and slipper lobsters (Palinuridae and Scyllaridae respectively) can disperse during several months before metamorphosing into a decapodid stage, which is the key phase for a successful settlement. The largest Scyllarus decapodid known to date was recently collected near the Canary Islands and identified by DNA analysis as Scyllarus subarctus. This species had never been previously reported from the area, and the decapodid stage is described here for the first time. The examination of further museum specimens has now significantly expanded the current distribution of S. subarctus, including much of the NW African coast, St Helena and Canary Islands. These results highlight the importance of combining molecular analysis of recently collected specimens with historical collections.

My thanks are due to Dr. Allen for permitting me to examine this collection.

In all 292 specimens were obtained, but of these 16 were young immature Asteroidea and Echinoidea. It is impossible to identify these with any degree of certainty, and I have not hazarded an opinion about them.

The remainder belong to 17 genera and 24 species. The Ophiuroidea were particularly numerous, 190 specimens belonging to that class.

The classification followed is that of Professor MacBride in the Cambridge Natural History.

The spatial diversity of meiofauna from sea grass beds of Pujada Bay (the Philippines), was studied with special emphasis on harpacticoid copepods. Sediment cores were obtained from areas adjacent to the different species of sea grasses. Meiofauna was enumerated at higher taxon level and harpacticoid copepods were identified to genus level. Diversity indices were calculated corresponding to the hierarchical levels of spatial biodiversity, i.e. alpha, beta and gamma. Nematodes were the most abundant meiofaunal group in all sediment layers and along the entire tidal gradient (37–92%); harpacticoids were second in abundance (3.0–40.6%) but highly diverse (N0: 9.33–15.5) at the uppermost sediment layer (0–1 cm) near all beds of sea grass species. There was a sharp turnover of harpacticoid genera along the tidal gradient, thus suggesting a relatively low proportion of shared genera among benthic communities in different sea grass zones. The families of Tetragonicipitidae and Miraciidae were the dominant harpacticoid groups occurring in all sediment layers of all sea grass species. The presence of the epiphytic genera of Metis at the deepest sediment layers in some sea grass species was striking. Overall, the major contributor to gamma (total) diversity of harpacticoid copepods in Pujada Bay is the high local (alpha) diversity (N0: 80.6%, H′: 94.7% of total diversity); hence, the habitat heterogeneity among sediment layers in sea grass beds is most relevant for the total diversity and richness of harpacticoid copepod genera in the area.

According to E. T. Browne, 1899, Stephanomia bijuga (Delle Chiaje) (syn. Cupulita sarsii Haeckel and Agalmopsis elegans Sars, partim) belongs to the surface Atlantic fauna. It has been recorded at Valencia from March to November, and while suffering badly from the destructive power of gales it must occur at times in enormous numbers, for in November, 1898, tow-nets were taken that were full of isolated pneumato-phores. Into the more confined waters of the English Channel, however, it penetrates apparently very rarely, the only record being that of a single specimen taken a mile or two out from Plymouth Sound in March, 1902.

Variations in dry body weight in the Stage V copepodite, associated with the development of the winter generation of Calanus finmarchicus (Gunnerus) in the Firth of Clyde each year were observed from 1978 to 1982, during early October and the middle of January.

The Stage V copepodite was dimorphic with respect to body size. Body weights of freeze-dried specimens were measured and form was distinguished using the prosome length. Allometric relationships of the dry weight to length in the two forms were similar, and stable between autumn and winter. From the mean of estimates for all collections, dry body weights of individual Stage V copepodites were proportional to the cube, approximately, of prosome lengths. Proportional coefficients were seasonally variable, but on all occasions these were greater for the large than the small form. Variations in dry weight were directly associated with the distinction between forms in body volume.

Collections from October and January encompassed the period between the end of maximal Copepodite V recruitment and the onset of adult recruitment to the winter generation. Over this period, however, the dry body weight in all years decreased relative to length in Copepodite Stage V. This decrease, on average, was by 17% and 23% in the large and small forms respectively. Monthly collections from one population were used to examine these patterns in relation to the development of gonads. Stage V copepodites of both forms were increasing in dry weight during October, but from November were losing weight continuously. Maturation in the majority of these individuals was restrained throughout autumn, abruptly accelerating in winter.

Recent equations for calculating the osmotic coefficient of sea water from the properties of the component single-electrolyte solutions are discussed. Two equations are introduced that together provide accurate predictions of the osmotic coefficient of sea water for ionic strengths up to 4 M (equivalent to a fivefold concentration of standard sea water). Since they take into account the detailed solution composition these equations should be useful for calculating the osmotic coefficients of estuarine waters and of biological salines where procedures based on curve fitting to standard sea-water data may be inapplicable. Extensions of the calculations to cover a wide pressure and temperature range are discussed in some detail.

The presence in Calanus finmarchicus of the sex hormone oestradiol-17β has been confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) using the trimethylsilyl and heptafluorobutyrate derivatives.

Levels of the sex hormone testosterone have been measured by radioimmunoassay in Calanus helgolandicus collected from Plymouth Sound, and in C. finmarchicus captured off the Norwegian coast. Concentrations in C. helgolandicus varied during the year from 150 to 626 fg/animal, accounting for 2.3 to 437 x 10-7% of the lipid content and 10.8 to 64.8 x 10-6%percnt; of the total sterol fraction. The mean level in Stage V C. finmarchicus, captured during spring, was 196 fg/animal.

Testosterone was identified in C. finmarchicus by GC-MS of the tert-butyldimethylsilyl derivative.

Sipunculans represent a discrete component of the coral reef ecosystem, since they live inside the calcareous structure. They are an important component in terms of biomass and number of organisms. The present study describes the diversity of sipunculans living inside massive coral skeletons. A total of 43 blocks of dead coral skeletons from Montastraea cavernosa, Montastraea annularis and Diploria strigosa were collected from nearby coral reef areas off Santa Marta, on the Colombian Caribbean coast. Using hammer and chisel, blocks of approximately 1 dm3 were broken into small pieces, from which the sipunculans were extracted. A total of 381 organisms were obtained from the coral blocks comprising four families and 10 species. All the species found have been widely reported in different studies from the Caribbean region. Aspidosiphon fischeri and Phascolosoma perlucens were the two most abundant species comprising more than 60% of the total organisms with a mean density of 18.52 ± 4.64 organisms dm−3. Dead coral substrate from M. cavernosa had the greatest abundance (N = 148), followed by D. strigosa (N = 121) and M. annularis (N = 112). There were no significant differences in the abundance, richness, and diversity of sipunculans between coral skeletons; and within samples there was high variability suggesting that the skeletal substrates analysed came from coral skeletons of different unknown ages of succession. These results describe the sipunculan community structure that live inside three important massive coral skeletons, and contributes to the knowledge of the cryptobiota diversity of the Santa Marta area of Colombia.

The caprellid amphipod Caprella danilevskii was exposed to five levels (0, 10, 100, 1000 and 10 000 ng l−1) of tributyltin (TBT) both in the embryonic stage (5 days) and over its whole life history from hatch to death (50 days) to examine the effects of TBT exposure on survival. In both experiments, survival rate decreased drastically as TBT concentrations increased, with a decrease occurring even at 10 ng l−1 in both short- and long-term exposure experiments. Significant differences were found in the survival rate between the control (no control specimens died) and the three concentration groups except 10 000 ng l−1 (all specimens died), regardless of sex. However, the survival rate in response to exposure to TBT has been found to be similar among all combinations of TBT concentration except 10 000 ng l−1, in both sexes. Furthermore, no significant differences were observed in the survival rate in response to exposure to each concentration of TBTCl between sexes. These findings suggest that the risk of survival in response to exposure to TBT between sexes is similar in the caprellids. No sex-specific differences of mortality by TBT exposure were observed in the species although feminization by TBT exposure was found in the caprellids in a previous study. These results all lead to the conclusion that TBT disturbs the mechanism of sex determination during the embryonic stage of the species.

The sodium, potassium, calcium, iron and copper have been determined in sixteen marine gastropods, and the results are briefly discussed. A noteworthy finding is the large amount of potassium, calcium and (or) magnesium which may be present in these animals. Lacuna vincta for example may contain over I-I % of potassium, Archidoris britannica 1-58 % of magnesium per 100 g. of live weight