The food habits of 81 organisms of the raucous grunt Haemulopsis leuciscus were analysed. The organisms were captured in Bahía Almejas, Baja California Sur, Mexico, during five bimonthly samplings (March–November 1998). The index of relative importance indicated that H. leuciscus consumed a total of eight prey-items, and the dominant prey were the gastropod Oliva spp., Conus spp., and scaphopod Dentalium spp.

The occurrence of Nemanthus californicus on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, the first record outside the type locality in Baja California, is reported. A re-description of its anatomy and notes on its biology are provided. Nemanthus californicus settled on the antipatharian Myriopathes panamensis with the pedal disc surrounding the branch in part or totally, and showed traces of asexual reproduction, an expected adaptation to colonize the black coral. Damage to colonies was significant, causing the death of the black coral. This type of relationship could be parasitism.

We present a list with 10 new records of reef fish on the coast of Santa Catarina State, the southernmost site of tropical reef fish occurrence on the Brazilian coast. We also comment on the distribution-range of the recently described Halichoeres sazimai (Labridae).

The sacoglossan Elysia tímida is recorded from São Tomé Island and its species-specific locomotion is documented in a film.

The first occurrence for Azores Chromis in the south-western Atlantic is given with photographic records and meristics.

A blackfin goosefish, Lophius gastrophysus, was caught in international waters off the coast of Argentina, south of its known distribution. This extends its southern range from 39°S to 45°S.

In this study, an ophiuroid species was reported from the Sinop coast (Black Sea, Turkey). They were photographed and brief diagnoses and descriptions, general distributions and ecology are presented. The occurrence of the ophiuroid Amphiura filiformis in the Black Sea was confirmed for the first time. This finding extends the known geographical distribution of this species in the Mediterranean basin.

Herbivory is one of the most important biological processes influencing coral reefs. In the highly diverse Indo-Pacific reef fish communities, different herbivores can have strikingly different functions. We investigated the extent of functional diversity among herbivorous parrotfish of the more species-depauperate Caribbean Sea. We carried out observations of seven species of parrotfish (Scarus taeniopterus, Sc. vetula, Sc. iserti, Sparisoma viride, Sp. aurofrenatum, Sp. rubripinne and Sp. chrysopterum) on four Barbadian coral reefs to collect information on foraging techniques, rates, and targets, and found marked interspecific variation. Species of the genus Scarus had higher foraging rates than those of the genus Sparisoma. Different species took varying amounts of live coral, turf algae and macroalgae. A functional categorization based first on foraging technique (contact or no contact with the substratum) and secondarily on the more conventional criterion of foraging target (macroalgae, turf algae and live coral) allowed us to classify Sc. taeniopterus and Sc. iserti as ‘scrapers’, Sp. aurofrenatum, Sp. rubripinne and Sp. chrysopterum as ‘grazers’, Sp. viride as a ‘bioeroder’ and Sc. vetula as a ‘bioeroder/scraper’. This functional group affiliation, together with species-specific foraging rates, allows us to predict the role of Caribbean parrotfish on major coral reef processes and their impact on coral reef benthic communities.

Suspected viral erythrocytic necrosis (VEN) was detected in blood films from an immature blackbar triggerfish, Rhinecanthus aculeatus, captured on a patch reef at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef in November 2005, probably the first record of such an infection from Australia. The fish was kept in captivity and sampled intermittently until December 2007. Giemsa-stained blood films showed initially ~18% of mature erythrocytes affected by the VEN-like condition, but accompanying erythroblasts appeared free from infection. Erythrocytes with VEN-like bodies were smooth or crenated in outline, while the inclusion bodies were intracytoplasmic, single or paired, round in outline, stained deep magenta and were between 0.5–1.7 μm across. Bodies associated with clouds of granular material, fine eosinophilic haloes, and distinct pink-stained comet-tails, were also observed. The DNA content of the VEN-like bodies was confirmed by their green fluorescence following acridine orange staining. Infection levels in this fish fell to 0.4% of mature erythrocytes by May 2006 and persisted at this level until December 2007, when the fish died after just over two years in captivity. Squashes of haematophagous, juvenile gnathiid isopods taken from this fish on initial capture, also contained eosinophilic VEN-like bodies within digesting erythrocytes, suggesting that these crustaceans may be vectors of the condition observed.

This contribution reports on the occurrence of the estuarine cirolanid isopod Cirolana (Anopsilana) jonesi, from the Brazilian coast, significantly extending its geographical range. The material analysed was obtained in estuaries in the state of Bahia, associated with beds of Crassostrea rhizophorae, in salinities of 14 and 16. The huge gap in the species distribution in northern and north-eastern Brazil is probably due to the lack of collections in mangroves or other estuarine microhabitats.

The distribution and abundance patterns of the caprellids (Crustacea: Amphipoda) associated with the alga Stypocaulon scoparium (L.) Kützing were studied on a spatial scale along the Iberian Peninsula. Fourteen stations and five environmental factors were considered (seawater temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity and pH). The Atlantic coast was characterized by lower temperature and conductivity as well as higher values of oxygen and turbidity than the Mediterranean coast, probably associated with a higher swell. Cover of S. scoparium was higher in the Strait of Gibraltar than in the remaining stations, coinciding with maximum values of number of caprellid species and Shannon diversity, while abundances were higher in the Mediterranean. Caprella acanthifera and C. liparotensis were dominant at the stations of the Strait of Gibraltar, C. penantis and C. danilevskii were restricted to Atlantic stations, while C. grandimana and C. hirsuta were very abundant in all the Mediterranean stations; Deutella schieckei, C. acanthifera discrepans, Phtisica marina and Pseudoprotella phasma, were only found at some Mediterranean sites. Multivariate analysis showed that some species, such as C. penantis, significantly correlated with oxygen concentrations, while other species, such as P. phasma, D. schieckei and Phtisica marina were associated with stations with higher values of conductivity, temperature and turbidity. Number of caprellids associated with S. scoparium was significantly higher than in other dominant algae from the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, probably due to the optimal morphological structure of this seaweed for caprellids to cling.

An anglerfish, Himantolophus appelii, was caught in the waters of the Falkland Islands outside its normal sub-tropical distribution. This extends its range southwards across the South Atlantic Current.

Patella ferruginea is a highly endangered species and the knowledge of its reproductive strategy is essential for suitable management and conservation. In this context, its strategy remained unclear and several authors argued that the species could be gonochorist. The evidence of length specific sex ratios in the sense of protandrous strategy has been confirmed by direct observation of sex change in the species.

The occurrences of Thysanoteuthis rhombus in the Adriatic Sea are critically reviewed and discussed in relation to the records of this cephalopod in the Mediterranean during the last decade.

In this study a checklist of the Amphipoda known from the Tunisian coasts up to the present is given. To establish this list, we reviewed all available records of Amphipoda on the Tunisian coasts. In addition, fieldwork conducted in 22 stations distributed along the Tunisian coasts allowed us to identify 70 species; among them 19 are newly reported in Tunisian waters. Information about the distribution and habitats preference of each species are also provided. By the end of this study, the number of amphipod species known on the Tunisian coasts reaches 133 species belonging to 72 genera and 29 families.

The finding of sixteen alien species collected around Cyprus reveals that Indo-Pacific alien species are spreading at an increasing rate in the Levantine Sea leading to homogenization of the basin. This work reports on the occurrence of six alien species previously unknown to Cyprus namely: Dendrostrea frons, Gafrarium pectinatum, Paphia textile, Septifer forskali, Spondylus spinosus, Psammotreta praerupta and many more that seem to be now well established. Purpuradusta gracilis notata an Indo-Pacific cowry, known from the Levantine basin, is currently well established along the Cypriot coast. The literature review after the CIESM Atlas and Ozturk et al. (2004) has revealed another three new alien species, namely Aplysia dactylomela, Melibe viridis and Thais lacera. Outstanding is the finding of Fulvia fragilis, an Indian Ocean species widespread throughout the Mediterranean.

We analysed variations in swordfish capture and total by-catches, under different oceanographic and technical conditions, in the artisanal longline fishery operating in the Alboran Sea during the summer period. The oceanographic variable Sea Surface Velocity absolute component (SSV; m s−1) was the variable with the greatest explanatory power, as it was present in all models.

The present study provides a check list of elasmobranchs from the Paraná State coast, southern Brazil. Information from fish collections, literature data, field surveys and personal communications were included. Results indicated that 83 species from seven orders and 28 families were recorded. According to the results 51 species belonging to six orders and 17 families of sharks; and 32 species belonging to one order and eleven families of rays occur in this region. The most species-rich families were Carcharhinidae (14 species) and Arhynchobatidae (eight species).

The razor clam Ensiculus cultellus, originally described from the East Indies, is reported for the first time from the Mediterranean Sea. A single live adult specimen was collected in Haifa Bay, Israel. Possible pathways of introduction are discussed.

The parasite–host interactions among two isopod species Cymothoa spinipalpa and Rocinela signata and five marine fish species, Chloroscombrus chrysurus, Caranx crysos, Oligoplites saliens, Lutjanus synagris and Trichiurus lepturus, are described here and registered for the first time on the coast of Bahia, north-eastern Brazil. Based on samples using different fishing techniques in different seasons from 2006 to 2009, discussions of the ecological and clinical association of these interactions are presented in this paper. Most fish species showed high prevalence indices associated with a high abundance of host fish.