Articles

Uncharted biodiversity in the marine benthos: the void of the smallish with description of ten new Platyhelminth taxa from the well-studied North Sea

Most of our planet’s biodiversity is still unknown, particularly in the sea. Although around the island of Sylt in the North Sea, the small zoobenthos (meiofauna) has been studied intensively since the 1950s, ...

Authors: Werner Armonies

Neohelice granulata burrow fidelity behaviour related to landscape heterogeneity

Neohelice granulata provides an interesting animal model for studying behavioural process because it is widely distributed, ensuring variability related to different environmental conditions. The aim of this stud...

Authors: J. D. Nuñez, P. D. Ribeiro, E. H. Ocampo and T. A. Luppi

Genetic and morpho-physiological differentiation in a limpet population across an intertidal gradient

Marine organism adaptive capacity to different environmental conditions is a research priority to understand what conditions are important in structuring the spatial distribution of natural populations. In thi...

Authors: Jesús Darío Nuñez, Pedro Fernández Iriarte, Emiliano Hernán Ocampo, Enrique Madrid and Maximiliano Cledón

Variability in the settlement of non-indigenous species in benthic communities from an oceanic island

The introduction of non-indigenous species (NIS) in new environments represents a major threat for coastal ecosystems. A good understanding of the mechanisms and magnitude of the impact of NIS colonisation on ...

Authors: Léa Riera, Patrício Ramalhosa, João Canning-Clode and Ignacio Gestoso

Nudibranchs out of water: long-term temporal variations in the abundance of two Dendrodoris species under emersion

The sudden appearance and disappearance of nudibranchs in intertidal areas have puzzled researchers all over the world, giving rise to a great diversity of theories to explain it. Here we conducted a five-year...

Authors: Ricardo Cyrne, Inês C. Rosa, Filipa Faleiro, Gisela Dionísio, Miguel Baptista, Ana Couto, Marta Pola and Rui Rosa

First record of the non-indigenous jellyfish Blackfordia virginica (Mayer, 1910) in the Baltic Sea

Marine invasions are of increasing concern for biodiversity conservation worldwide. Gelatinous macrozooplankton contain members, which have become globally invasive, for example the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi o...

Authors: Cornelia Jaspers, Bastian Huwer, Nancy Weiland-Bräuer and Catriona Clemmesen

The illusion of rarity in an epibenthic jellyfish: facts and artefacts in the distribution of Tesserogastria musculosa (Hydrozoa, Ptychogastriidae)

Epibenthic and benthopelagic medusae are rarely collected by standard benthic or pelagic sampling methods, and many species are considered uncommon and geographically restricted. Peer-reviewed scientific liter...

Authors: Luis Martell, Anne Helene S. Tandberg and Aino Hosia

Does rock type account for variation in mussel attachment strength? A test with Brachidontes rodriguezii in the southwestern Atlantic

Mussel attachment strength varies in space and time, frequently in association with variations in wave exposure. Yet, it remains uninvestigated whether different rock types can contribute to variation in musse...

Authors: Jorge L. Gutiérrez, María Bagur, Lorena P. Arribas and M. Gabriela Palomo

Microscopic species make the diversity: a checklist of marine flora and fauna around the Island of Sylt in the North Sea

Based on the past 150 years of research and ongoing time-series observations we give a comprehensive overview of marine species composition around the island of Sylt in the eastern North Sea. A total of 2758 s...

Authors: Werner Armonies, Harald Asmus, Christian Buschbaum, Dagmar Lackschewitz, Karsten Reise and Johannes Rick

Wulf Greve (1942–2018)

Authors: Karen H. Wiltshire, Dieter Hanelt and Maarten Boersma

Variation of sperm morphology in Pacific oyster precludes its use as a species marker but enables intraspecific geo-authentification and aquatic monitoring

According to recent reports, shell morphology is unreliable for the identification of oysters because of the high phenotypic plasticity of these bivalves. Using COI DNA barcoding and sperm morphology, we reinv...

Authors: Arkadiy Reunov, Evgenia Vekhova, Evgeny Zakharov, Yulia Reunova, Yana Alexandrova, Svetlana Sharina and Andrey Adrianov

Mysterious and elaborated: the reproductive behavior of the rhomboid mojarra, Diapterus rhombeus (Cuvier, 1829), in Brazilian mangrove habitats

Many fish species have behavioral traits related to reproduction that aim to improve egg conditions and survival of early life stages. Here, we provide the first detailed description of reproductive strategies...

Authors: José Amorim Reis-Filho and Antoine O. H. C. Leduc

Is the Wild Coast in eastern South Africa a distinct marine bioregion?

The South African coastline can be divided into at least four temperature-defined marine bioregions, including the tropical north-east coast, the subtropical east coast, the warm-temperate south coast, and the...

Authors: Candice M. Jooste, Jody Oliver, Arsalan Emami-Khoyi and Peter R. Teske

An annotated checklist of macrozoobenthic species in German waters of the North and Baltic Seas

The present compilation is the first attempt to generate a comprehensive list of all macrozoobenthic species recorded at least once in the German regions of the North Sea and Baltic Sea including non-indigenou...

Authors: Michael L. Zettler, Jan Beermann, Jennifer Dannheim, Brigitte Ebbe, Michael Grotjahn, Carmen-Pia Günther, Manuela Gusky, Britta Kind, Ingrid Kröncke, Ralph Kuhlenkamp, Claus Orendt, Eike Rachor, Anja Schanz, Alexander Schröder, Lisa Schüler and Jan Witt

The colonial ascidian Diplosoma listerianum enhances the occurrence of the hydrozoan Obelia sp. during early phases of succession

Recruitment patterns of sessile species often do not reflect the composition of the local propagule pool. This is, among other processes, attributed to the stimulation or inhibition of settlement by resident s...

Authors: I. Krüger, M. Lenz and M. Thiel

The influence of season and the tidal cycle on division of labour by the radula during feeding in the estuarine brooding gastropod Crepipatella dilatata (Calyptraeidae)

The brooding gastropod Crepipatella dilatata can feed by scraping the substrate with the radula and by suspension-feeding, which also requires use of the radula. There is a “division of labour” for the radula amo...

Authors: O. R. Chaparro, J. A. Montory, C. J. Segura, V. M. Cubillos, L. P. Salas-Yanquin and R. J. Thompson

Follower fish of the goldspotted eel Myrichthys ocellatus with a review on anguilliform fish as nuclear species

In a nuclear-follower fish foraging association, the follower benefits from food uncovered or flushed out when the nuclear fish disturbs the bottom, while nuclear species generally do not seem to be benefiting...

Authors: Maria L. F. Ternes, Vinicius J. Giglio, Thiago C. Mendes and Pedro H. C. Pereira

Site fidelity and population structure of blue land crabs (Cardisoma guanhumi Latreille, 1825) in a restricted-access mangrove area, analyzed using PIT tags

Understanding the patterns of displacement and site fidelity in blue land crabs (Cardisoma guanhumi Latreille, 1825) has important implications for their conservation and management. The central objective of this...

Authors: Denise Moraes-Costa and Ralf Schwamborn

Viral dynamics in two trophically different areas in the Central Adriatic Sea

To understand the activity of marine viruses, experiments on viral production, viral decay and the percentage of lytic and lysogenic bacterial cells among the total number of bacterial cells were carried out s...

Authors: Marin Ordulj, Nada Krstulović, Danijela Šantić, Slaven Jozić and Mladen Šolić

Cost/benefit and the effect of sample preservation procedures on quantitative patterns in benthic ecology

Some benthic assemblages studies have tested the effects of different preservation procedures on biomass, but their influence on quantitative patterns (number of species and abundance) is still unclear. We eva...

Authors: Gabriel Barros Gonçalves de Souza and Francisco Barros

Spatial variation of reef fishes and the relative influence of biotic and abiotic habitat traits

Patterns of distribution of reef fishes were examined across three spatial scales and related to habitat traits along 25 km of the northern Portuguese coast. Response variables included the multivariate assemb...

Authors: Iacopo Bertocci, I. Sousa-Pinto and P. Duarte

Host-use pattern of the shrimp Periclimenes paivai on the scyphozoan jellyfish Lychnorhiza lucerna: probing for territoriality and inferring its mating system

In symbiotic crustaceans, host-use patterns vary broadly. Some species inhabit host individuals solitarily, other species live in heterosexual pairs, and even other species live in aggregations. This disparity...

Authors: J. Antonio Baeza, Samara de Paiva Barros-Alves, Rudá Amorim Lucena, Silvio Felipe Barbosa Lima and Douglas Fernandes Rodrigues Alves

Non-indigenous species (NIS) of polychaetes (Annelida: Polychaeta) from the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts of the Iberian Peninsula: an annotated checklist

This study provides an updated catalogue of non-indigenous species (NIS) of polychaetes reported from the continental coasts of the Iberian Peninsula based on the available literature. A list of 23 introduced ...

Authors: E. López and A. Richter

Dynamics of a Limecola (Macoma) balthica population in a tidal flat area in the western Wadden Sea: effects of declining survival and recruitment

We followed the dynamics of the population of the bivalve Limecola (Macoma) balthica in the westernmost part of the Wadden Sea by monitoring for 44 years (1973–2016) its numbers and age composition at 15 sites in...

Authors: J. J. Beukema, R. Dekker and J. Drent

Distribution patterns of epilithic diatoms along climatic, spatial and physicochemical variables in the Baltic Sea

The species richness and community composition of the diatom communities were studied in the Baltic Sea, Northern Europe, to enhance knowledge about the diversity of these organisms in a brackish water ecosyst...

Authors: Leena Virta and Janne Soininen

Fatty acid compositions associated with high-light tolerance in the intertidal rhodophytes Mastocarpus stellatus and Chondrus crispus

The rhodophytes Mastocarpus stellatus and Chondrus crispus occupy the lower intertidal zone of rocky shores along North Atlantic coastlines, with C. crispus generally occurring slightly deeper. Consequently, M. s...

Authors: Kristina Koch, Wilhelm Hagen, Martin Graeve and Kai Bischof

Morphology and ultrastructure of the adult ovarian cycle in Mithracidae (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura, Majoidea)

The ultrastructure of the ovary during development and yolk production is poorly known in Brachyura and Majoidea in particular. Here, we describe the histology, histochemistry and ultrastructure of the adult o...

Authors: Michelle Mollemberg, Fernando José Zara and William Santana

Exploring the decline of oyster beds in Atlantic Canada shorelines: potential effects of crab predation on American oysters (Crassostrea virginica)

Atlantic Canada’s American oyster (Crassostrea virginica) beds, while economically and ecologically important, have been in decline over the past few decades. Predation by crabs, in particular by the European gr...

Authors: Luke A. Poirier, Lynn A. Symington, Jeffrey Davidson, Sophie St-Hilaire and Pedro A. Quijón

Long-term change of meiofaunal species composition in a sandy beach, with description of 7 new species of Platyhelminthes

Climate change and species introductions strongly changed macrobenthic community composition in the North Sea during past decades. To find out whether there was a similar change in meiofauna, I re-examined a s...

Authors: Werner Armonies

Fatty acid composition and lipid content in the copepod Limnocalanus macrurus during summer in the southern Bothnian Sea

The lipid reserves and occurrence of the cold-stenothermic, omnivorous copepod Limnocalanus macrurus were studied in the Bothnian Sea (northern Baltic Sea) during spring and summer 2013–2014 with a special emphas...

Authors: K. Mäkinen, M. Elfving, J. Hänninen, L. Laaksonen, M. Rajasilta, I. Vuorinen and J.-P. Suomela

Morphological descriptions of the eggcases of skates (Rajidae) from the central-western Mediterranean, with notes on their distribution

Eggcases of eight rajiform skates (Dipturus nidarosiensis, D. oxyrinchus, Leucoraja melitensis, Raja asterias, R. brachyura, R. clavata, R. miraletus and R. polystigma) present in the central-western Mediterranea...

Authors: Cristina Porcu, Martina F. Marongiu, Andrea Bellodi, Rita Cannas, Alessandro Cau, Riccardo Melis, Antonello Mulas, Giuditta Soldovilla, Laura Vacca and Maria C. Follesa

Orientation and food search behaviour of a deep sea lobster in turbulent versus laminar odour plumes

New Zealand scampi (Metanephrops challengeri) is a commercially important deep-water lobster species that is caught by bottom trawling on areas of muddy seafloor on the continental shelf below 300 m. Efforts are ...

Authors: Robert Major and Andrew Jeffs

Growth and reproduction of the north-eastern Atlantic keystone species Patella aspera (Mollusca: Patellogastropoda)

The growth and reproductive biology of the limpet Patella aspera were studied in the north-eastern Atlantic, Madeira archipelago, to enhance the knowledge concerning biological parameters and population dynamics ...

Authors: Ricardo Sousa, João Delgado, Ana Rita Pinto and Paulo Henriques

Maturation at a young age and small size of European smelt (Osmerus eperlanus): A consequence of population overexploitation or climate change?

Age of fish at maturation depends on the species and environmental factors but, in general, investment in growth is prioritized until the first sexual maturity, after which a considerable and increasing propor...

Authors: Timo Arula, Heli Shpilev, Tiit Raid, Markus Vetemaa and Anu Albert

Bacterial biota of shrimp intestine is significantly modified by the use of a probiotic mixture: a high throughput sequencing approach

The use of probiotics is a common practice of current shrimp aquaculture. Despite the immunophysiological responses that have been measured in shrimp exposed to probiotics, no information is currently availabl...

Authors: Francisco Vargas-Albores, Marco A. Porchas-Cornejo, Marcel Martínez-Porchas, Enrique Villalpando-Canchola, Teresa Gollas-Galván and Luis R. Martínez-Córdova

Life history told by a whale-louse: a possible interaction of a southern right whale Eubalaena australis calf with humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae

Southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) are known to host three species of whale-lice, Cyamus gracilis, Cyamus ovalis and Cyamus erraticus. Such cyamids usually are generalists in toothed whales (Cetacea: Odo...

Authors: Tammy Iwasa-Arai, Salvatore Siciliano, Cristiana S. Serejo and Ghennie T. Rodríguez-Rey

Fatty acid composition of sprat (Sprattus sprattus) and herring (Clupea harengus) in the Baltic Sea as potential prey for salmon (Salmo salar)

Sprat (Sprattus sprattus) and small herring (Clupea harengus) are the dominant prey fish of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in the Baltic Sea. If the fatty acid (FA) proportions of sprat and herring differ, the die...

Authors: Marja Keinänen, Reijo Käkelä, Tiina Ritvanen, Timo Myllylä, Jukka Pönni and Pekka J. Vuorinen

Light traps for sampling marine biodiversity

Standardised sampling methods are required to meet the Convention on Biological Diversity Aichi Targets to monitor trends in biodiversity. Currently the animals monitored in the marine environment are predomin...

Authors: Laura E. McLeod and Mark J. Costello

Large fluctuations but constant mean temperatures allow corals to persist in intertidal rock pools on the east coast of South Africa

Intertidal corals have been under-studied yet they provide scope for understanding adaptation and acclimatisation of corals to marginal conditions. Corals in intertidal rock pools along the east coast of South...

Authors: Kaylee Smit and David Glassom

Description, systematics and ecology of a new tanaidacean (Crustacea, Peracarida) species from mediterranean fish farms

An undescribed species of tanaidacean belonging to the genus Hexapleomera, tribe Pancolini, Hexapleomera bultidactyla sp. nov. was found in fouling community samples from off-coast fish farms cages in the western...

Authors: P. Esquete and V. Fernandez-Gonzalez

Synchronism of naupliar development of Sacculina carcini Thompson, 1836 (Pancrustacea, Rhizocephala) revealed by precise monitoring

Sacculina carcini is member of a highly-specialized group of parasitic cirripeds (Rhizocephala) that use crabs (Carcinus maenas) as hosts to carry out the reproductive phase of their life...

Authors: Fabien Trédez, Nicolas Rabet, Laure Bellec and Fabienne Audebert

A non-native macroalga is less attractive for herbivores but more susceptible to light limitation and grazing stress than a comparable native species

It has been suggested that non-native species are more tolerant towards abiotic stress than ecologically comparable native species. Furthermore, non-native marine macroalgae should be under lower grazing press...

Authors: Patrício Ramalhosa, Sarah-Lena Debus, Manfred Kaufmann and Mark Lenz

Modelling present and future global distributions of razor clams (Bivalvia: Solenidae)

Razor clams (Pharidae and Solenidae) are deep-burrowing bivalves that inhabit shallow waters of the tropical, subtropical, and temperate seas. Using ‘maximum entropy’, a species distribution modelling software...

Authors: Hanieh Saeedi, Zeenatul Basher and Mark J. Costello

A new species of Cephalorhyncha Adrianov, 1999 (Kinorhyncha: Cyclorhagida) from the Aegean Coast of Turkey

Kinorhynchs are marine, microscopic ecdysozoan animals that are found throughout the world’s ocean. Cephalorhyncha flosculosa sp. nov. is described from the Aegean Coast of Turkey. Samples were collected from int...

Authors: Nuran Özlem Yıldız, Martin Vinther Sørensen and Süphan Karaytuğ

Four new species of Chaetodermatidae (Mollusca, Caudofoveata) from bathyal bottoms of the NW Iberian Peninsula

Caudofoveata is a class of vermiform molluscs with bilateral symmetry and circular transverse section. There are at least 135 described species of Caudofoveata. Fourteen species have been reported from the coa...

Authors: M. P. Señarís, O. García-Álvarez and V. Urgorri

Basal articulation of the palps and ovigers in Antarctic Colossendeis (Pycnogonida; Colossendeidae)

Selected sea spider specimens of Antarctic Colossendeis species collected during the Italica XIX cruise and the Polarstern cruise ANT XXIII/8 were examined to provide new information about the external and intern...

Authors: Esperanza Cano-Sánchez and Pablo J. López-González

Substrate preference and settlement behaviour of the megalopa of the invasive crab Percnon gibbesi (Decapoda, Percnidae) in the Mediterranean Sea

The transition from a planktonic to a benthic life is a critical phase in which sub-adults are particularly exposed to the risk of predation and dispersion into unsuitable habitats, and plays a crucial role in...

Authors: Arturo Zenone, Fabio Badalamenti, Vincenzo M. Giacalone, Luigi Musco, Carlo Pipitone, Tomás Vega Fernández and Giovanni D’Anna

A reappraisal of Stegastes species occurring in the South Atlantic using morphological and molecular data

The taxonomic status of Pomacentridae species can be difficult to determine, due to the high diversity, and in some cases, poorly understood characters, such as color patterns. Although Stegastes rocasensis, ende...

Authors: Allyson Santos de Souza, Ricardo de Souza Rosa, Rodrigo Xavier Soares, Paulo Augusto de Lima-Filho, Claudio de Oliveira, Oscar Akio Shibatta and Wagner Franco Molina

Breadth and composition of polychaete diets and the importance of diatoms to species and trophic guilds

Polychaetes are important components of trophic webs in sandy beaches, mainly due to their abundance and diversity of feeding modes, acting as detritivores or primary/secondary consumers. We characterized diet...

Authors: Helio Herminio Checon, Erica Veronica Pardo and Antonia Cecilia Zacagnini Amaral

Species identification of echinoderms from the North Sea by combining morphology and molecular data

Taxonomic uncertainties in the morphological species identification and taxonomic revisions in individual groups are known for all echinoderm classes. These uncertainties in morphological species identificatio...

Authors: Silke Laakmann, Karin Boos, Thomas Knebelsberger, Michael J. Raupach and Hermann Neumann