The mortality of the bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, on the southern portion of Rio Grande do Sul State coast was investigated based on 914 beach surveys conducted between 1969 and 2006. A total of 188 stranded bottlenose dolphins were recorded during this period, indicating a 1.8M:1F sex-ratio of those animals sexed (N = 79). Mortality was low in calves, high in juveniles and sub-adults and slightly lower than in adults. The overall mortality was clearly seasonal overlapping with higher fishing efforts in the Patos Lagoon Estuary and adjacent coastal areas, where most individuals washed ashore. Analysis of a continuous 14-year long subset (1993–2006) of the data indicated relatively low levels of mortality between 1995 and 2000 and a marked increase between 2002 and 2005 followed by an apparent drop in 2006. By-catch was responsible for at least 43% of the recorded mortality between 2002 and 2006. Juvenile males were more susceptible to incidental catches. Among females, by-catch of adults represented 75%. Results of a potential biological removal analysis suggest that current levels of fishing-related mortality are unsustainable for the small resident population of bottlenose dolphins that inhabits the Patos Lagoon Estuary, and that this population may be declining.

We examined the population dynamics and life history characters of the boreal larvacean Oikopleura vanhoeffeni in Conception Bay over two years and determined its role in secondary production. Based on the analysis of age structure inferred from statolith diameter, the generation time was approximately one year. Recruitment of new cohorts and maximum population growth rate occurred in the spring. Somatic growth rate was 0.017 d−1 from the year 2001 to 2002 and 0.043 d−1 from 2002 to 2003, with an acceleration in growth rate during April in response to the spring diatom bloom despite the coldest water temperatures. The annual production rate (i.e. somatic + house production) of 8.7 g C m−2 y−1 in 2001/2, and 3.8 g C m−2 y−1 in 2002/3, represented 2.9–6.7% of primary production and 37–87% of estimated mesozooplankton production, suggesting that O. vanhoeffeni is a major secondary producer in Conception Bay. Individuals matured at seasonally variable body size throughout the year and potential fecundity peaked as the individuals matured at their largest body size during the spring bloom, most likely resulting in maximum egg production and population growth rates at that time of year. Thus, a seasonal pulse of food is a major driving force that regulates the variation in life history characters and population dynamics of the boreal O. vanhoeffeni.

The edible cockle Cerastoderma edule is one of the most common soft sediment bivalves in Europe and of commercial relevance in some areas of its range. Information on the parasite fauna of cockles is available from several North Sea and Atlantic shore locations. However, little is known from the British Isles in this context. This study provides an inventory of the macroparasites of C. edule sampled from fourteen localities along the south coast of Ireland. Altogether, we identified ten taxa of macroparasites belonging to three major groups. The majority of them were digenean trematodes using cockles as second intermediate host. Infection rates and levels were comparatively low, with the exception of the gymnophallid Meiogymnophallus minutus, which was found to be prevalent at all sampling sites and often very abundant. Whilst parasite species composition in Irish cockles was similar to the one found in conspecifics from northern Europe, it showed distinct differences from the macroparasite fauna reported from C. edule collected in southern Europe and northern Africa.

Temporal and spatial fluctuations of environmental parameters are normally assigned as causes of variations in morpho-phenological characters of seaweeds and in their epibionts, but formal tests of such hypotheses are lacking, especially in narrow gradients. The present study evaluated the influence of a very small depth gradient (1 to 3 m) and of subtle seasonality characteristic of tropical areas on morpho-phenological traits and on the occurrence of sessile epiphytic organisms using a controlled orthogonal sampling design in a sublittoral population of the tropical brown alga Sargassum cymosum. Four temporal samples were obtained over a one-year period at three depths using nine replicates. The wet weight, maximum length, number of primary and secondary branches, and proportion of secondary branches with receptacles were recorded. Epibiosis was estimated by visual evaluation of percentage cover on secondary branches. Algal morphology varied as a function of the period of the year (weaker effect) and depth (stronger effect) but in different ways for each variable analysed. In general, fronds tended to be shorter, heavier, and more ramified in shallower areas. In relation to time, the morphological characters tended mostly to present higher values in January (summer) and/or April (autumn). Frequency of receptacles did not depend on algal morphology and depth at all but varied in time, although only in the deepest area. Epibiosis also did not depend on algal morphology but varied in relation to time (stronger effect) and, to a lesser extent, depth (weaker effect). The effect of time upon epibiosis also depended on the biological group analysed. These data support the hypothesis that algal morphology varies in relation to period of the year and depth, even under small temporal and spatial environmenal gradients.

Recent sampling surveys (2004–2008) of the shallow (12–20 m) soft-bottom homogeneous fine-sand community have allowed the collection of 55 marine amphipod species (53 Gammaridea and 2 Caprellidea) along the 250 km of Iberian Peninsula east coast (Spain, Mediterranean Sea). Among the species recorded, one recently described is new to science, five were collected for the first time in the Spanish Mediterranean and 14 were recorded for a second time confirming their presence. Of these 20 species; six are considered to be endemic to the Mediterranean Sea, seven are also north-eastern Atlantic species, and the last seven have a wide geographical distribution in the Indo-Pacific or Arctic and the Atlantic Oceans. Finally, multivariate analyses of species distribution showed changes among locations according to the north–south axis and depth, parameters that highly influence the benthic communities.

The present paper reports the first record of occurrence of puffer fish Torquigener brevipinnis (Regan, 1903) from the Indian coast. This extends its geographical distribution range north-west from the Indonesian coast of the eastern Indian Ocean. A systematic account of this species and a description and notes on its distribution are provided. Its relation with a similar species, T. hypselogeneion (Bleeker, 1852), described by Day, is also discussed and compared.

The parapagurid hermit crab, Paragiopagurus ventilatus, is reported from hydrothermal vents on the Nikko Seamount, Mariana Trough, at a depth of 410 m. This is the first record of this species outside Taiwan, and represents a major range extension. The animals were found using empty tubes of the siboglinid worm Lamellibrachia satsuma for housing, representing the first example of this carcinoecium for a hermit crab. However, it was observed that some of them changed their housing to gastropod shells during rearing in aquaria. Originally, this species was reported to use gastropod shells for housing. It is considered that the use of siboglinid tubes is due to necessity rather than preference, because empty gastropod shells are very scarce in the collection site.

Recently settled turbot Psetta maxima and brill Scophthalmus rhombus are difficult to distinguish, as they are almost identical in appearance and lack the diagnostic adult characteristics. Fin ray counts, which can be used as an aid in the identification of flatfish juveniles, are reported to show some overlap between turbot and brill. 0-group flatfish were collected from sandy beaches along the west coast of Ireland by beach seining in 2009. When counted and plotted, the dorsal and anal fin ray counts clearly separated the specimens into two groups. The two groups were assumed to be brill and turbot on the basis of literature data, suggesting higher dorsal and anal fin ray counts occur in brill. This confirmed that fin ray counts can probably be used as a diagnostic tool in these 0-group flatfish from west of Ireland waters. Additionally, temporal and spatial variability in fin ray counts was also revealed in the present study, emphasizing that regional difference need to be taken into account when using this diagnostic method.

The lemonpeel angelfish (Centropyge flavissima) was recorded for the first time at Lord Howe Island, Australia, whilst SCUBA diving at 20 m depth on 26 March 2009. This represents a southward range expansion of more than 1000 km for this coral reef fish into temperate waters. The range expansion was probably facilitated by the dispersal of larvae from the southern Great Barrier Reef via the southward flowing East Australian Current and enhanced overwinter survival due to rising sea temperatures.

We found viable non-culturable (VNC) Vibrio cholerae O1 attached to the cell envelope of the dinoflagellate Noctiluca scintillans. The significance of this find lies in the fact that N. scintillans could be a reservoir organism of VNC forms of V. cholerae in inter-epidemic periods, particularly when the extensive geographical distribution and the frequently high abundance of this dinoflagellate in marine environments is taken into account.

Six specimens of the slender ponyfish Equuilites elongatus were collected from a bottom trawl net operated by the RV ‘Al-Mustaqila 1’ on the Arabian Sea coast of Oman during August and September 2008. This report indicates the extension to the distribution-range of the species to the north-western Indian Ocean region.

Mantis shrimp larvae were collected by a shore seine net operated at Nagamayapalem, Visakhapatnam, India at a depth of 10–12 m during the early hours of 20 March 2008. Larvae were classified into one group and were identified to a single species of the genus Harpiosquilla. Although mantis shrimp larvae have been found in these waters, there have been no studies that identify them to the species level.

In the present paper the authors record the occurrence of two hermit crabs, Coenobita brevimanus Dana and C. rugosus H. Milne-Edwards, for the first time from the Indian coast. The records show the extended distribution of both the species of hermit crabs and suggest their possible continuous distribution from the east coast of Africa to the south-west Pacific Ocean.

Halicarcinus planatus is the only species of the genus occurring at the southern tip of South America, in sub-Antarctic, cold-temperate waters. Previously it has been shown that the population from the estuary of the Deseado River presents a spatial segregation by sex, a complete overlapping of sizes among adolescents and adult females. Females go through two reproductive seasons, separated by a resting period during late summer and early autumn, and 7 to 8 spawns are produced following a single mating. The aims of the present work were to evaluate the duration of the embryonic development until hatching during successive spawning, to determine the fecundity and to discuss the adaptive reproductive strategies of this population. Breeding occurs from nearly 2°C to above 16°C. The incubation period lasts nearly 100 days in winter and between 30 and 40 days in summer. The fecundity ranged from 210 to 2150 eggs, it differs between successive spawning and a positive relationship was found between fecundity and carapace width. This population has the highest fecundity compared to other populations, but also compared to other species of the genus. The high number of successive spawns is directly linked to the increase of seawater temperature by the end of spring and during summer. This way, this species would be very well adapted to live in the more temperate waters of Patagonian coasts.

The galatheid crab Shinkaia crosnieri, is the sole member of the subfamily Shinkaiinae. It is abundant and forms dense beds around active hydrothermal vents in the Okinawa Trough. Thousands of filamentous bacteria attached to the plumose setae on the ventral surface of this crab were observed using field-emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Nucleic acids were extracted from the filamentous bacteria, and the phylotypes of 16S rRNA genes were identified from 81 clones. These phylotypes were divided into three groups: Epsilonproteobacteria (74%); Gammaproteobacteria (20%); and Bacteroidetes (6%). Gamma- and major phylotypes of Epsilonproteobacteria were also detected using fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis. These Epsilon- and Gammaproteobacteria were closely related to cultured and uncultured bacteria from hydrothermal vent fields including episymbionts of vent-associated invertebrates such as Rimicaris exoculata, Alvinella pompejana, the scaly-foot snail, Kiwa hirsuta etc. The carbon isotopic compositions of the muscle of S. crosnieri and in filamentous bacteria were similar. The muscle of S. crosnieri contained monounsaturated C16 and C18 fatty acids, which are known to be characteristic of sulphur-oxidizing bacteria in H2S-rich marine habitats. Through the video images transmitted by a submersible and a remotely operated vehicle, S. crosnieri was observed to comb out its ventral setae using the third maxilliped and appeared to consume the contents. These evidences suggest the epibiotic association between S. crosnieri and the filamentous bacteria attached to the ventral setae of the crab, but the details of role and function are still unclear at the present study.

Despite the increasing number of reports on the deep-sea molluscs from the south-western Atlantic, we know very little about the protobranchs. The lack of information on the protobranch Pelecypoda off southern Brazil is reflected in the genus Yoldiella. This contribution is part of an effort to increase the knowledge about this group off the Brazilian coast. Eight species of Yoldiella are recognized here. For Yoldiella biguttata, previously reported from Brazil, the known distribution is extended southwards to the Campos Basin. For Yoldiella similis this is the first record in the western Atlantic Ocean. For Yoldiella extensa and Yoldiella aff. jeffreysi this is the first record for Brazil. Four previously unknown species are described, Yoldiella lapernoi sp. nov., Yoldiella paranapuaensis sp. nov., Yoldiella arariboia sp. nov. and Yoldiella curupira sp. nov. Considering only conchological features for the Atlantic species we could propose some clusters of species of Yoldiella.