The mudskipper Boleophthalmus dussumieri (Teleostei, Gobiiformes, Oxudercidae) is an amphibious goby native to the Indian Ocean, from Kuwait Bay and Persian Gulf to the northeast of the Arabian Sea and the western coast of India. This study reports on the first record of B. dussumieri in the Atlantic Ocean, based on morphological and molecular evidence. A single specimen was collected in September 2024 in São Marcos Bay, on the coast of the state of Maranhão (Brazilian Amazon Coast). This is the second exotic species of oxudercid goby reported for the coast of Maranhão, possibly accidentally introduced through ballast water discharge.

Scientists still debate whether small groups of Paleolithic hunter-gatherers caused the extinction of large Ice Age animals like prehistoric elephants, giant sloths and cave lions. Beyond paleontology, this question has deep sociological implications and is relevant for how we understand the role of humankind in today’s environmental crisis. A human-driven megafauna extinction has often fostered the idea of a naturalization of human environmental impacts and the belief that all people (modern or ancient, rich or poor, from any part of the world) share responsibility for the current crisis. But is that true? In the review, I discuss whether a long evolutionary history of impacts really makes us inevitably destructive, compelling humanity to accept a devastating anthropocentric dominance as the fateful destiny natural selection built for us. In contrast, I argue that, while our exceptional ability to shape environments has made us a ‘hyper-keystone’ species, benefiting only a few species and humans, this same ability also has the potential to help us restore balance to the world. That requires rejecting anthropocentric supremacy and placing ecosystems at the center stage of our relationship with nonhuman nature. We may have wiped out the mammoths and mastodons, but human destructiveness is not fate.

Three motor sledges were taken on Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s expedition to Antarctica in 1910. They performed poorly, making only small contributions to the polar journey and making no contribution to the expedition’s scientific programme.

The motor sledges have received little attention from historians and researchers. No definitive work has been published. The purpose of this article is to provide an authoritative, reliable and complete history of Scott’s Antarctic motor sledges.

This article studies Belton Hamilton’s concept for a “chain track” vehicle, then traces its development path through two prototype vehicles and two snow trials in Norway. The outcomes of the snow trials and associated recommendations are reviewed. The article then considers Scott’s detailed plans to reach the South Pole and his instructions to the Motor Party in pursuit of that goal. Four major problems that prevented the motor sledges from satisfying Scott’s instructions are identified.

Several conclusions are drawn. It is apparent that the vehicles were flawed from the outset by poor engineering decisions about track design, engine power and carburetion/airflow. It is unlikely that experimentation or minor refinement in the Antarctic would have produced vehicles reliable enough to make a major contribution to the polar journey.

The family Kogiidae, comprising the pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps) and the dwarf sperm whale (K. sima), represents some of the least-known cetaceans worldwide. Their small size, deep-diving behaviour, and elusive surface activity result in very few live sightings, particularly in the North Atlantic Ocean. Here, we report two significant observations from the Azores in July 2025: a group of six K. breviceps, the largest reported group size of this species, and a confirmed sighting of K. sima off Pico Island – representing only the sixth record for the archipelago. Photographic evidence and expert validation confirmed the identification of K. sima based on body proportions. We also review records of both species, including other live encounters and strandings, across the Macaronesian archipelagos (Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands, and Cape Verde). Together, our observations and synthesis document an exceptional group size for K. breviceps, emphasise the rarity of K. sima in the region, and highlight the value of whale-watching platforms and citizen science for monitoring elusive cetaceans.

To reveal the community structuring mechanism of the pebble interstitial macrofauna, we examined the community structure and its relationship with abiotic environmental factors on a pebble beach in Honshu, central Japan (northwest Pacific). Throughout the year-round survey, we found 66 species from 18 classes in 9 phyla, most of which were either endemic or undescribed species. This is a noticeably higher species diversity compared to the common theory (quite low biodiversity) for pebble beaches and also indicates independence from other environments. Moreover, the communities were divided into five groups through clustering, which were significantly explained by sediment particle size and tidal level using RDA (Redundancy Analysis). However, their interpretabilities were moderate, suggesting that the community structure was moderately controlled by environmental factors. This could be owing to the optimization of the benefit of interspecific ecological niche isolation and the cost of recovering from the disturbance. Consequently, the present study reveals the presence of diverse and unique macrobenthic communities that inhabit the pebble beach environment in Japan and are controlled by the abiotic environmental characteristics of microhabitats.

The cold, low carbon dioxide (CO2) conditions of the Pleistocene epoch fundamentally structured ecosystems, profoundly influencing the evolutionary trajectory of Homo sapiens and other large mammals. Although often considered uniquely stable, the Holocene is more usefully viewed as just another Pleistocene interglacial interval that was naturally trending towards a renewed glacial phase. However, rapid anthropogenic greenhouse gas emission rates have reversed this trajectory and might have now foreclosed the prospect of returning to cyclic glacial climates for millennia. A large set of flora and fauna has benefited from low CO2 conditions, which we define as low-CO2 dependents. By elevating atmospheric CO2 concentrations beyond levels seen for millions of years, we have accelerated global warming beyond the adaptive capacities of many species and ecosystems. African savannas and grasslands are particularly relevant in this context because this was the environment in which the human species evolved. These biomes have been previously maintained by fire and carbon scarcity but are now experiencing woody encroachment driven by rising CO2. The resultant global reforestation further threatens biodiversity adapted to open ecosystems, while rewilding initiatives must therefore pair prehistoric analogues with explicit climate-fitness tests that anticipate mid-century CO2 trajectories. Addressing these complex challenges requires both targeted local interventions and systemic policy reforms, grounded in a pragmatic recognition of the transient nature of the Holocene. Recognising the transience of any single baseline allows conservation and agriculture to plan for a dynamic, overshoot-prone future.

Shortages of kerosene, used to cook food and melt ice for drinking water on the Terra Nova Expedition of 1910–13, hastened the death of Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his three remaining companions in March 1912. Various explanations for the losses have been proposed, but no definitive account has been published. This article aims to provide a reliable, authoritative and complete history of Scott’s kerosene shortages.

A review of primary expedition records (personal journals in particular) has been undertaken, assembling information about fuel shortages and related matters, and identifying and evaluating seven potential explanations for shortages. The evidence indicates that many of the potential explanations are inconsistent with trusted historical evidence, and that one appears to be based upon a widespread misinterpretation of Scott’s diary. The prevalent explanation is a complex interplay of facts, omissions, distractions and fiction, traceable to an Editor’s Note in the expedition’s official book “Scott’s Last Expedition.”

This article identifies four significant factors that contributed to fuel shortages: an intentional reduction of their fuel allowance in some depots by one third, their reduced speed of travel on later barrier stages, unseasonably cold weather and the unplanned use of fuel to cook pony meat.

This short report provides the first observations of deep-sea corals belonging to the class Octocorallia and order Antipatharia surveyed during the KM24-03 Leg 2 cruise in the waters around Minamidaito and Kitadaito Islands in Okinawa, Japan between approximately 200 and 1,000 m. It also lists and illustrates the specimens that were collected. Based on field observations, deep-sea corals occupied the niches inside and around caves and crevices, as well as non-cave environments such as flat seabeds and slopes. Our morphological and phylogenetic analyses of the collected specimens revealed the presence of Callogorgia cf. korema, Pleurocorallium inutile, and Acanthopathes undulata. We provide the first documentation of deep-sea corals found in this area, as well as extend the known geographic distribution of these species. In particular, the black coral A. undulata, which until now has only been reported from the western and central Pacific Ocean, is reported for the first time in the northwestern Pacific. Our preliminary findings warrant further investigation and more stringent protection of the deep-sea species and habitats found in the waters around these karstic islands from anthropogenic impacts, perhaps with inclusion in regional Marine Protected Areas.

Host specificity in symbionts is a key factor driving their phylogenetic diversification. However, since the host utilization of symbionts can be influenced by environmental heterogeneity and the presence of potential hosts, a careful evaluation is necessary to clearly determine the host specificity. Stylochoplana parasitica is an acotylean flatworm that inhabits the mantle groove of the intertidal chiton Liolophura japonica around Japan. The Stylochoplana flatworms, including this species, are suggested to have evolved host specificity that has influenced their phylogenetic divergence. In this study, host specificity was examined based on field and laboratory observations. A field survey revealed that S. parasitica was exclusively found on L. japonica and not on the sympatric chiton Acanthochitona defilippii. A laboratory experiment confirmed that S. parasitica selectively attached to L. japonica, with significantly fewer individuals attaching to A. defilippii. These results suggest that the host specificity of S. parasitica is not shaped by environmental factors, but is likely the result of host adaptation. This study emphasizes the importance of combining field surveys and laboratory experiments in evaluating host specificity.

During a biodiversity survey conducted in the Gulf of Izmit (Sea of Marmara, Türkiye), 87 individuals of bat star Asterina stellifera, whose native distribution is along the South Atlantic coasts of South America and Africa, were identified. The population seems to be well adapted to a mixed substrate composed of coarse sand, silt, and shell fragments of Mytilus galloprovincialis between 4 and 8 meters of depth range. DNA barcoding of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene showed over 99% identity with the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) GenBank sequences from South America, indicating the possible origin and shipping as the mode of introduction. This is the first record of this species outside of its native range.

Sea urchins can have considerable ecological impacts on benthic habitats through grazing and bioerosion and many are exploited as fisheries resources. Of the abundant temperate sea urchins, Centrostephanus tenuispinus is among the least studied. We determined the reproductive seasonality of C. tenuispinus off western Australia at Hall Bank where a high density (2.94 ± 0.14 individuals m−2) of small to medium size (66.23 ± 0.24 mm mean test diameter) urchins has been found to suppress macroalgae recruitment and facilitate hard coral dominance of the benthos and at Minden Reef where, typical of most reefs in the region, a low density (0.14 ± 0.01 individuals m−2), larger sized (100.69 ± 0.45 mm) population occupies a habitat dominated by dense macroalgae. Centrostephanus tenuispinus exhibited a clear synchronized annual reproductive cycle. Gametogenesis began in autumn coincident with lowering sea water temperature and decreasing day length and spawning occurred in late winter and spring. The larger urchins from Minden Reef had significantly larger gonads and a higher % GSI (percentage gonadosomatic index) value than Hall Bank Reef. % GSI increased significantly at both sites between winter and summer, but the magnitude of the increase was much greater at Minden Reef (76%) compared to Hall Bank (10%). The results indicate that both populations have the same reproductive cycle but raise questions about the relative contribution the two populations make to the reproductive output of the species in southwestern Australia.

Dinoflagellates play a key ecological role in marine environments, contributing significantly to primary production and, in some cases, causing harmful algal blooms (HABs). They exhibit diverse morphologies and ecological strategies to colonize a wide range of habitats. Research has predominantly focused on HAB-forming species due to their associated health risks, potentially underrepresenting benthic diversity. In this study, we bring the first report of the unarmored benthic dinoflagellate Bispinodinium angelaceum from a sandy-bottom tide pool in Tenerife, Canary Islands. Morphological identification was based on the observation of live cells using light microscopy (LM) to identify diagnostic features such as dorsoventral cell flattening, a centrally located epicone with a circular apical groove, symmetrical cingulum, brownish-yellow lobular chloroplasts, and a U-shaped spinoid apparatus connecting two lateral pyrenoids. B. angelaceum specimens from Tenerife were slightly larger when compared to previous descriptions but exhibited consistent proportions and structural organization which likely reflected methodological rather than taxonomical differences. This new record extends the known geographic range of the species and provides valuable baseline data for future ecological and taxonomic studies of benthic dinoflagellates, emphasizing the need to better explore and document the hidden diversity of non-HAB taxa.

Ring sea anemones (Cnidaria, Actiniaria) engage in symbiotic associations with octocorals by attaching to their branches and surrounding them with tissue junctions, causing a significant reduction of the host’s coenenchyme. They have previously been reported from the North Atlantic, Western Indian, and Pacific Oceans, from 30 m to aphotic depths, colonising species of sea fans and sea pens in potentially parasitic relationships. Here, we report the first record of ring sea anemones from the Saudi Arabian Red Sea mesophotic waters, living on an octocoral host of the family Ellisellidae at 97 m depth. Through morphological and phylogenetic analyses based on the sequencing of the 12S small subunit rRNA region, we confirmed the identification of these ring sea anemones as Peronanthus sp. (Actiniaria, Amphianthidae). While expanding our knowledge on the geographic range of this genus, this finding emphasises the importance of explorations of coral-associated fauna at mesophotic depths, to better understand their diversity, their relationships with their hosts, and their potential ecological roles within these ecosystems.

Fishing has historically altered marine ecosystems around the Mediterranean, so that present assessments often reveal a distorted representation of past, pristine marine assemblages and food webs. Marine protected areas (MPAs), where fishing is restricted or prohibited, could provide reference information about the structure of fish assemblages under healthier (protected) conditions. Here, we collected rocky reef fish data using visual census at three MPAs in the Ligurian Sea (Bergeggi Island, Portofino, and Cinque Terre; NW Mediterranean) across a protection gradient: fully and partially protected conditions within the MPAs, and conditions open to fishing outside MPAs. Results show that: (i) fish assemblages’ structures (i.e. taxa composition and relative biomasses) change with the protection level; (ii) total fish biomass and the biomass of high-level fish predators are positively correlated with the level of protection; (iii) biomass of target species (i.e. Epinephelus marginatus, Sciaena umbra, Diplodus sargus, and D. vulgaris) are positively correlated with the protection level. In conclusion, this study shows that: (i) effective protection against fishing may allow the recovery of rocky reef fish assemblages; (ii) MPAs may enable us to better understand the structure of coastal assemblages, which are dominated in terms of biomass by high-level fish predators under healthier (protected) conditions. This study thus offers grounds for discussion of how important is the adoption of systematic ecological monitoring to assess the effectiveness of each individual MPA, but also, more importantly, to properly effectively achieve international conservation targets, such as the ‘30×30’ target, agreed by the international community.