Many studies have already assessed how wave action may affect morphology of intertidal species among sites that vary in wave exposure, but few attempted to look to this issue in smaller scales. Using the most common limpet of the Brazilian coast, Lottia subrugosa, and assuming position on rocky boulders as a proxy for wave action at small scale, we tested the hypothesis that waves may also influence limpet morphology at a smaller spatial scale by investigating how individual size, foot area and shell shape vary between sheltered and exposed boulder sides on three shores in the coast of Ubatuba, Brazil. Limpets consistently showed a proportionally larger foot on exposed boulder sides for all shores, indicating that stronger attachment is an important mechanism to deal with wave action dislodgement at a smaller scale. Shell shape also varied in the scale investigated here, with more conical (dissipative) shells occurring in exposed boulder sides in one exposed shore across time and in the other exposed shore in one year. Shell shape did not vary regarding boulder sides across time in the most sheltered shore. Although we did not assess large spatial scale effects of wave action in this study, variations of the effect of waves at small spatial scale observed for shell shape suggest that it may be modulated by the local wave exposure regime. Our work highlights the importance of wave action at small spatial scales, and may help to understand the ecological variability of limpets inhabiting rocky shores.

It has been concluded from studies of the elemental composition of the jaws of four Glycera species that a high concentration of copper is a structural feature of the glycerid jaw (Gibbs & Bryan, 1980). In Glycera gigantea Quatrefages, for example, the whole jaw when dried contains about 1–5% of copper, whilst zinc, calcium and magnesium, in roughly equal amounts, account for a further 1%. Copper is mainly confined to the distal half of the jaw and a concentration of 13% is present in the extreme tip; the other metals are more evenly distributed. Of non-metals, chlorine is concentrated in the distal tip along with the copper but sulphur is fairly evenly distributed and probably accounts for several percent of the dry weight.

In view of these findings, it was decided to investigate the Family Goniadidae, a group of worms that are closely related to the Glyceridae (and often included in that family) but which are readily separated by the different structure of the jaw apparatus and also of the parapodia (see Hartman, 1950). In goniadids the jaw apparatus consists of a pair of larger toothed jaws (macrognaths) plus dorsal and ventral arcs of smaller, H- and Y-shaped jaws (micrognaths), the whole forming a circle around the tip of the proboscis. The present observations were made on Goniada maculata Oersted, the only goniadid species present in the Plymouth area, and a total of four specimens, all about 5 cm in length, from different areas (Salcombe, Rame Grounds and Cawsand Bay: see Marine Biological Association, 1957) were examined.

The ninhydrin-positive patterns produced by chromatography of foot tissue of Nassariics reticulatus from Plymouth and North Wales and of specimens of Nassarius from Essex were established. The similarities and differences between the two are described and the consistent differences found are considered to be indicative of genetic differences between the specimens from Essex and those from the other two areas. The only factor found to affect the otherwise remarkably reproducible pattern given by individuals from the same area was the degree of starvation; the effect was reversible. The pattern given by another marine gastropod, Littorina littorea (L.), is also described. Reference is made to the potentialities of the technique.

Sponges are an integral part of marine benthic communities with a high-impact role in benthic–pelagic coupling processes, as an important source of food for demersal grazers and predators, as hosts of a highly diverse microbial biomass, and as bio-eroders. Sponges provide age-old (hygienic) services to humans and continue to be of interest in modern times as sources of an unprecedented array of useful substances.

Rock oysters of the genus Saccostrea are the dominating group of filter-feeding communities on rocky beaches worldwide. The edible rock oyster (Saccostrea cucullata) is used as food and fish bait along the Indian coast. Morphometric analyses of S. cucullata from Baindur, Karnataka (India) were performed from June 2010 to May 2011, aiming to establish relationships between length and weight (total weight, shell weight, meat wet weight and meat dry weight). Morphometric relationships between length (L)-breadth (B) and length (L)-width (W) were B = 6.4952 + 0.4619 L and W = 3.1806 + 0.3276L, respectively. The equations of the length (L)-total weight (TW), length (L)-shell weight (SW), length (L)-meat wet weight (WW) and length (L)-meat dry weight (DW) were TW = 0.001227L2.3973, SW = 0.001165L2.3164, WW = 0.000037L2.1327 and DW = 0.000030L2.3289, respectively. The allometric growth pattern revealed changes in shell shape and weight variation throughout ontogeny in rocky habitats. The condition index and meat yield of S. cucullata exhibited seasonality, with higher values recorded during the periods post-monsoon and pre-monsoon.

It is difficult to determine the weight or nitrogen content of the living tissues of an operculate barnacle without destroying it. It has been customary, there-fore, in ecological work to express growth in terms of various parameters determined from repeated measurements of the shell. Moore (1934) employed shell volume calculated from the height and basal diameters; others (Costlow & Bookhout, 1953, 1956; Mawatari, Hirosaki & Kobayashi, 1954a, b) have used the area of the basis. Most commonly, however, in growth-rate studies the length of the basis measured through the rostro-carinal axis has been used (Hatton, 1938; Barnes & Powell, 1953). Recently, working with animals cultured in the laboratory when the cast of an individual could be obtained subsequent to ecdysis, Costlow & Bookhout (1957) have used the size of the mouthparts as a measure of growth after first establishing their relation to body size. The space, both areal and volumetric, occupied by a sedentary animal is of primary importance in studies of its ecology and measurements of shell-size are, therefore, adequate for many purposes. For some aspects of growth and ecology it is, nevertheless, very desirable that the relation between such parameters and others, more directly connected with the living material, should be established.

Recent investigations of the bottom fauna off Plymouth by Spooner (1959 a, b) have revealed the existence of a number of unusual and interesting crustaceans. The copepods collected during this investigation were very kindly placed at the disposal of the writer for study. A careful examination of the collection revealed the presence of a second and new species of Paramisophria Scott. This genus was established in 1897 by Scott on the basis of females collected in Scotland. Sars (1903) described the male for the first time. Paramisophria cluthae, the only species known previously, has been recorded from Plymouth.

Through a series of ichthyoplankton surveys carried out off central Chile, we characterize the offshore spawning and coastal nursery ground of the bigeye flounder Hippoglossina macrops. Eggs were collected in higher abundances over the continental shelf during late winter, over the shelf-break in mid spring, and at the continental slope in late summer, showing a seasonal depth gradient in spawning. No significant spawning was detected nearshore (less than 8 km offshore). Field data suggest a longitudinal progression from offshore to onshore of larval stages from preflexion to transformation stage. Finally, vertically stratified samples showed that eggs and larvae were present mainly in the upper 100 m. We discuss the potential onshore transport of early life stages of H. macrops through the compensatory flow of Equatorial Subsurface Waters that balances the surface offshore transport in the Ekman layer during upwelling events. Additionally, larval development from yolk-sac to transformation stage is briefly described.

A positive relationship between the number of locations where a species occurs and the average density of individuals across those locations has been found in a wide variety of taxa and has been described as one of the most general and widespread relationships in macro-ecology. However, exceptions to this general rule have been found and this study tested whether abundance–occupancy relationships exist within the cetacean community of the west coast of Scotland. Data were collected in 2003–2006 and occupancy rates were calculated and compared to two density indices (relative density of groups per km2 surveyed and relative density of individuals per km2 surveyed) for four cetacean species (harbour porpoise, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin and minke whale). Significant positive intraspecific abundance–occupancy relationships were found for both relative density of groups per km2 and relative density of individuals per km2 for two out of the four cetacean species tested (harbour porpoise and minke whale). When the relationships between the different species were compared, all four were found to conform to the same interspecific relationship when relative density of groups was used as the density index. However, some species were found to conform to different relationships when relative density of individuals was used as the density index, potentially due to differences in social structure between cetacean species. These relationships mean that when cetaceans are at a higher density within an area, they also occupy a greater number of locations and vice versa. The existence of positive abundance–occupancy relationships in cetaceans has a number of potential implications for their conservation and management. In particular, it means that when a potential impact is likely to positively or negatively affect the size of the range of a species or population, such as noise pollution or climate change, it is likely to also affect the species' or population's abundance in the same direction. It also has implications for the design and extent of protected areas, such as marine protected areas; as such relationships could be used to determine the area required to maintain a viable population size.

Somewhere about 1914 D. J. Matthews maintained the sea-water in the Plymouth aquarium tanks at a pH value close to that of the outside sea-water by the addition of suitable quantities of sodium carbonate.

Currently, little is known about the helminth fauna in sirenian species. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the frequency of infection by Pulmonicola cochleotrema in Antillean manatees (Trichechus manatus manatus), in the North-eastern region of Brazil. Between the years of 1989 and 2014, 88 manatees found on the North-eastern Brazilian coast were clinically examined. They included animals that were found dead, animals maintained in captivity and specimens reintroduced into conservation areas. During their physical examination, helminths present in necropsied carcasses and in reintroduced animals were collected, as well as faecal samples. Parasites were detected in 7.95% (7/88) of the animals; all specimens collected being identified as P. cochleotrema. Only adult manatees were infected, and in two cases clinical signs were observed. This is the first report on the occurrence of P. cochleotrema in Antillean manatees in the states of Paraíba and Sergipe, in the North-eastern coast of Brazil.

A long-established population of Jaera hopeana living ectocommensally upon Sphaeroma serratum is described from Wembury. This is a new record for the British fauna and is the northernmost record of a species which is found predominantly in the Mediterranean and Black Sea.

The first record of the ophiuroid family Ophiohelidae from the Mediterranean Sea is reported. It consists of the description of the new record of Ophiomyces grandis from the Mallorca Channel seamounts in the Balearic Islands, western Mediterranean, where it shows high abundances. We present both the morphological description of the individuals collected and, for the first time, the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) sequence of this species. The morphological traits of our specimens match the available descriptions of O. grandis. On the other hand, molecular analyses show a large genetic distance between O. grandis and Ophiomyces delata, the two species being very similar morphologically. Despite the high abundances of O. grandis reported here, previous surveys in the Mallorca Channel seamounts using ROV did not detect it, emphasizing the importance of beam trawl sampling to improving the biodiversity description of these geomorphological sea bottom features.

The family Ectocarpaceae currently contains the simplest, and probably also the most primitive, members of the Phaeophyceae. The thallus form of every species is a heterotrichous filament with little or no structural modification. Some species may possess quite extensive cortication of axial filaments by adventitious rhizoids but advanced pseudoparenchyma is never formed. Periclinal cell divisions within filaments have also been reported, particularly in the course of sporangium development, but true parenchyma is unknown. Growth of the erect system of filaments is diffuse, for although intercalary sites of relatively active cell division may sometimes be observed, these lack the permanence of position and sustained activity of true intercalary meristems. The growth of the horizontal branch system is probably mainly apical, but is also too diffuse to be considered meristematic. Sporangia and gametangia are formed from vegetative cells and occur either as intercalary structures within filaments or as modified branch apices. Sexual fusion of gametes may be isogamous or anisogamous.

The geographic distribution of Verruca stroemia and V. spengleri are reviewed. Verruca stroemia ranges from the White, Barents, Norwegian, and North Seas south to Portugal to the Algarve and to Gorringe Bank. All of the records of this species from the Mediterranean Sea are considered to be V. spengleri. Verruca spengleri occurs in the Azores and Madeira archipelagos, in southern Spain (Cádiz), throughout the Mediterranean Sea from Gibraltar to Lebanon, and in the Black Sea. But a distinct deep-water Verruca species seems to occur in the deep Mediterranean.

Data are presented on the density of ten species of Amphipoda and two species of Isopoda from terrestrial to aquatic (freshwater through brackish water to marine) habitats, derived using a new modification of the displacement method involving batch testing of animals and subsequent Probit Analysis of data.

Surprisingly few data are available in the literature concerning the densities of marine organisms. Extensive work on this topic was published some half a century ago by A.G. Lowndes. He reported widely on crabs and lobsters (Lowndes, 1943a), echinoderms (Lowndes, 1953) and fishes (Lowndes, 1955). In his paper to the Linnean Society (Lowndes, 1938a) he included data on some of the smaller freshwater Crustacea. Gross & Raymont (1942) have published on the specific gravity of the marine copepod Calanus finmarchicus.

In espousing the displacement method for dealing with live individuals (Lowndes, 1938a,b, 1942, 1943b, 1955), he dismissed summarily earlier techniques that involved ascertaining whether killed or narcotized animals sank or floated in liquids of known density. While we recognize the limitations of the old methods, Lowndes’ displacement technique, although very accurate for individuals (he quoted figures to five decimal places), is very tedious to replicate [“elegant if somewhat exacting”, according to Hutchinson, 1967] and so reliance tends to be placed on figures obtained for very few individuals, typically only one or two. Even Lowndes himself was wary of attributing significance to the last two decimal places in his estimations, since individuals will vary in density according to sex, the contents of the gut etc. (Eyden, 1923; Lowndes, 1938b; but see Fox & Mitchell, 1953).

A new species of sponge: Higginsia ciccaresei sp. nov. (Demospongiae: Desmoxyidae) is described from a marine cave of the Ionian Apulian coast (Mediterranean Sea). It lives in complete darkness, 250 m from the cave entrance, in a basin of anchialine waters of low salinity and relatively cool temperature. The spicule formation process seems to be affected by some of the peculiar characteristics of the ambient water, resulting in spicules of unusual shape and irregular surface. This is the second record of the genus Higginsia – which has a world-wide distribution – from the Mediterranean Sea. The hypothesis that H. ciccaresei could be considered as a tethyan relic which survived in the peculiar habitat of an anchialine cave is also suggested.

This study provides the first quantitative description of the emetic reflex (vomiting) in the dogfish (Scyliorhinus canicula) by using veratrine HC1 (lOmgkg−1, i.p.), the sodium channel activator as a stimulus. Vomiting occurred within 10 min of injection. The most notable features of the response in the correct temporal sequence were: (i) head shaking with wide gaping of the mouth; (ii) lowering of the ventral buccal cavity and expansion of the pharyngeal cavity; (iii) contraction of the gill arches, the buccopharyngeal musculature and lowering of the jaw rapidly followed by the expulsion of gastric contents (pieces of fish). The expulsion sequence (ii and iii) took ~ 1 s. The significance of the vomiting reflex in the dogfish is discussed in terms of its protective function and as a component of normal feeding to periodically eject indigestible food residues.

Consistent with most other closely-related polychaete species which have been analysed cytogenetically to-date, Pomatoceros triqueter and P. lamarckii share an identical chromosome number (2n=24) and have a number of other karyotypic features in common. However, commensurate with their separate species status, their karyotypes differ at least in four chromosome positions as a result of structural chromosomal rearrangements. With a rDNA probe using the FISH technique, we have been able to demonstrate that the nucleolar organizer region (NOR) occurs at the same site on the same pair of chromosomes in the two species, which indicates that an inversion event is unlikely to have been the cause of the species variation in this particular case. Taken together, these karyotypic differences may be indicative of a chromosomal barrier to the formation of fertile offspring; an important feature for maintaining species integrity where the two forms occur sympatrically, such as in parts of south-west England.