Jourdan was the first to describe Eloactis mazeli. In 1880 he published Recherches zoologiques et histologiques sur les Zoanthaires du golfe de Marseilles (1), and in this paper E. mazeli is described under the name of Ilyanthus mazelii. Jourdan obtained his specimen from the muddy sand of the north-eastern part of the Gulf from a depth of 60-80 metres. He compares its external characters with those of Peachia, Ilyanthus, and Halcampa; the following is a translation:–

The life history of the hydrozoan, Hybocodon prolifer, was observed. The polyp from the actinula larva forms the stolon soon after metamorphosis. The stolon is dormant during the warm seawater season. The polyp does not produce the medusa. In early winter the stolon starts to form the polyp, and the polyp produces the medusae. Subsequently the polyp forms the stolon. Experimentally the stolon can be induced to form the polyp at any time during aestivation by treatment with low temperature seawater. Neither the polyp from the actinula nor that from the aestivating stolon forms the next polyp. In this case the hydrozoan is solitary. When the polyp forms the stolon with branches, a polyp is formed from each branch after aestivation. In this case the hydrozoan is colonial. If the stolon piece is divided into several pieces, a polyp is formed from each piece. When the contents of the stolon are extruded, the extruded cells form a cellular mass in several hours, and undergo morphogenesis to form a polyp, as does an intact stolon. The stolon is covered by a thick perisarc, and the endodermal cells contain large quantities of yolk-like granules. A few nematoblasts are found dispersed among the endodermal cells.

In one of the tanks at the Plymouth Laboratory containing pipe-fish and sticklebacks, a whiting was found recently which exhibited black specks scattered over its pigmented areas and on the conjunctiva. The spots were fairly evenly distributed and averaged .5 to .1 mm. in diameter. Around each black point there was a clear unpigmented area.

1. The alteration in soluble phosphate content of untreated sea-water during storage is governed by the conditions of storage—a strong light, favourable to growth, produces a decrease, while darkness, unfavourable to growth, produces an increase.

2. Samples from the surface layers of the sea give greater increases on storage in the dark than samples from deeper water, the extent of the increase being conditioned by the number and quantity of planktonic organisms included in the water sample.

Much valuable information on aquarium systems was assembled in the published papers of the 1960 1st International Congress of Aquarology held in Monaco. To date no further congress has been held but Clark & Clark (1964) have collected together a number of papers on sea-water systems and a number of institutes have published details of their aquarium designs, e.g. for the Marine Biological Association at Plymouth (Wilson, 1960), Biologische Anstalt on Helgoland (Anon, 1959), Fishery-Oceanography Center at La Jolla (Lasker & Vlymen, 1969), Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen (Hawkins, 1971) and Sea Research Institute on Texel (de Blok, 1975). A very ambitious aquarium at Dalhousie University, Halifax - the Aquatron Laboratory - has not been fully described although a pamphlet giving some information is available from the curator, Dr Carl Boyd.

The pattern of planktonic abundance of juvenile Hydrobia ulvae was investigated in the Ria de Aveiro, Portugal, with the use of floating artificial collectors made of ‘hoghair’ filter, which were deployed for 2-day consecutive periods during 3·5 months. Abundance in the collectors followed a remarkably regular semilunar pattern, being higher during spring tides around full and new moons. Cross-correlation analysis between tidal range and captures in the collectors indicated a period of oscillation of the captures of 15 d, with maximum captures tending to occur on the day of the highest amplitude tides. The physical and behavioural mechanisms responsible for the pattern remain largely unknown. However, results from a simple model assuming that migration from the sediment to the water is dependent on current velocity suggest there is a minimum threshold in average current velocity integrated along the tidal cycle (and, therefore, in tidal amplitude) above which juvenile H. ulvae exhibit the floating behaviour. Artificial collectors may provide an effective and relatively easy and inexpensive technique for the study of dispersal of post-metamorphic molluscs.

The capture of the cornich blackfish, Schedophilus medusophagus, larvae from the Adriatic Sea represents an easterly extension in range of this species, and the first larval record in Adriatic waters.

Schedophilus medusophagus Cocco, 1839, is a mesopelagic species from temperate waters of the north-eastern and north-western Atlantic and the western Mediterranean (Bini, 1968; Tortonese, 1975; Haedrich, 1986). The first record of this fish from the Adriatic Sea was reported in 1880 according to Ninni (1912). The second record was during the invasion of medusae Pelagia noctiluca (Malej, 1982; Rottini-Sandrini & Stravisi, 1982; Vučetić, 1982,1983) in Pelješac channel near the town of Korčula-island Koršula (central Adriatic) in 1982 (Onofri, 1986). Ten juvenile specimens, from 10·0 to 20·0cm total length (TL), were collected with medusae at 2m depth. This record Onofri (1986) connected with the ingression of inter-median waters (50–100 m) in the central Adriatic influenced the increase of salinity and temperature in 1982. Jardas (1996) noted that S. medusophagus is a very rare species in the Adriatic Sea.

Illustrations are given of successive stages of the gonadial products, of the European oyster (O. edulis) after the act of egg-spawning. Both, microscopic and fresh preparations are figured.

The effect of temperature on growth of butterfish, Pholis gunnellus on the west coast of Iceland was studied from September 1995 to March 1997. Butterfish were collected monthly at two sites with different temperature regimes. According to otolith readings butterfish can reach 12 years. The fish in the area with higher sea temperature were larger at all ages but had similar growth rates. Higher temperature seems to result in a shorter incubation time of butterfish eggs and/or higher growth rate of the larvae, leading to larger larvae size at settlement.

The behaviour of two intertidal chitons (Mollusca: Polyplacophora) from the western Indian Ocean (Acanthopleura gemmata and A. brevispinosa) and one from the Caribbean Sea (A. granulata) were analyzed in order to assess the spatial and temporal organization of their foraging activity. Individual paths were recorded in the field using a motographic method based on LED-tracking and the speed variation during each excursion used to reveal the places where the animals slowed down or stopped for the purpose of grazing. Foraging segments of each trajectory were selected according to a threshold speed which was individually calibrated. The three species of Acanthopleura exhibited graded foraging strategies of different spatial complexity. Acanthopleura gemmata focused its foraging on a few large feeding sites well separated from its permanent home. Acanthopleura brevispinosa exploited more subdivided feeding grounds not distinctly separated from its rest area. Acanthopleura granulata spreads its grazing activity over many small segments, throughout each excursion. Due to different tidal and diel constraints on their activity the three species allocated different absolute time to foraging, but the fraction of time spent foraging relative to the total excursion was similar in each.

Previous studies on cirral activity in thoracican cirripedes have established two basic patterns of feeding action. In the Lepadomorpha, the Verrucomorpha, and the chthamaloid and coronuloid Balanomorpha, prolonged cirral extension provides the basis for captorial feeding. The cirri are held extended and are used, individually or collectively, to capture small live prey. Investigations on these species have yielded no evidence of sustained rhythmic cirral activity as a component of food collection among a variety of species (Crisp, 1950, 1967; Southward, 1957, 1962, 1967; Mori, 1958, 1961; Southward & Southward, 1958, 1967; Barnes & Reese, 1959; Howard & Scott, 1959; Patel, 1959; Crisp & Southward, 1961; Southward & Crisp, 1965; Bieri, 1966; Jones, 1968; Stone & Barnes, 1973; Klepal & Barnes, 1975).

Two new species of Munida (M. gordoni and M. grieveae) and one new species of Agononida (A. nielbrucei) are described from volcanic seamounts off northern New Zealand (RV ‘Tangaroa’, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research [NIWA], New Zealand). Description of new species and preliminary examination of NIWA collections reveal unusually high endemism of volcanic seamount populations of Galatheidae.

Santelmoa is diagnosed by the following characters: anterior portion of frontals fused; scapular foramen open; anterior ceratohyal–posterior ceratohyal (=epihyal) articulation interdigitating; cranium narrowed; supratemporal commissure and occipital pores absent; intercalar reaching the prootic; ascending rami of the parasphenoid wing high; palatal arch well developed; posterior hyomandibular ramus short; post-temporal ventral ramus well developed; six branchiostegal rays; vertebrae asymmetrical; pelvic fin rays ensheathed; scales, lateral line, pyloric caeca, palatine and vomerine teeth present. A new species of Santelmoa, Santelmoa elvirae sp. nov., is described on the basis of four specimens collected from the Bellingshausen Sea, Southern Ocean, at a depth of 1837 m. The new species can be distinguished from Santelmoa carmenae, the type species of the genus and the sole known Santelmoa species, by the following characters: mouth inferior; vertical folds on posterior end of the upper lip and on the lower lip lobe; oral valve nearly reaching the anterior edge of vomer; two posterior nasal pores; lateral line double with ventral and medio-lateral branches; single row of palatine teeth; dorsal fin rays 108–111; anal fin rays 93–94; pectoral fin rays 18–19 and vertebrae asymmetrical, 26–27 + 90–93 = 116–119.

Recent advances in molecular phylogeny and increasing numbers of studies carried out worldwide in subtidal and deep-water marine sites have confirmed that monothalamid foraminifera represent a significant component of the marine benthos. Fewer studies have been carried out on monothalamids in littoral zones, and here I describe more than 13 novel morphotypes of soft-walled monothalamids found at several intertidal sites in the Lorn area of north-west Scotland. Samples of sediment were collected from these areas and monothalamid tests were removed from the mud by direct manipulation with brushes, by coverslip-capture, by capture with a magnet for those with magnetic particles or by extraction from mud balls. Attached forms of tests from the same sites were isolated from collected seaweed blades, pebbles and decaying shells. Monothalamids were observed live and photographed in their natural colours, followed by examination after preservation in alcohol and embedding in glycerol. The greatest diversity of species was found to be at estuaries near to the mouths of the sea lochs, and the abundance of some of the species varied with the time of the year, being different for each species. The observed taxa included a Vellaria sp. and Psammophaga sp., two allogromiids, three saccamminids and six undetermined species; each assemblage of specimens may have contained more than one species not readily discernible by morphological characteristics alone. Taxonomic parallels between the described specimens and those in reports for other parts of the world and in deeper waters in western Scotland are discussed.

Shortfin mako shark, Isurus oxyrinchus, is listed as an endangered species with declining global population. Thus, studies regarding its biology and ecology are important to recommend fishery management and conservation measures. This study aimed to determine the diet composition and feeding habits of I. oxyrinchus in Ecuadorian waters. Samples were obtained from Santa Rosa fishing port (Ecuador). The total length (LT), sex and sexual characteristics were recorded, and stomach contents were collected. A total of 142 individuals were recorded, comprising 81 females (104–295 cm LT) and 61 males (127–245 cm LT). A total of 24 prey species were identified, including crustaceans, cephalopods, teleosts and cetaceans. According to the Prey-Specific Index of Relative Importance (PSIRI), the main prey taxa were the ommastrephid squid, Dosidicus gigas (42.57%) and Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis (21.04%), followed by fish from the family Hemiramphidae (11.85%). Isurus oxyrinchus is a specialist predator that preferred a low number of prey (Bi = 0.25), both by sex (Bi; females = 0.29 and males = 0.34) and life stages (Bi; juveniles = 0.27 and adults = 0.37). The trophic overlap was medium for sexes (J = 0.54) and biological cycle phases (J = 0.42). Trophic level (TLk) was 4.47, indicating that I. oxyrinchus is a tertiary predator. This information will help in fisheries management based on an ecosystem approach, where this species fulfils an ecological role, and its interactions with other species allow us to understand how the flow of nutrients and energy occurs within an ecosystem.

The objective of this study was to assess the distribution patterns of dinoflagellates and ciliates communities during planktonic bloom and post-bloom development periods, in relation to environmental parameters. Their distribution was studied during spring and summer 2012, in coastal waters of Algeria at six sampling stations (four sampling layers). Overall, 116 species were identified, including 98 dinoflagellates. The species richness of microzooplankton was higher in summer (81 species: 67 dinoflagellates, seven tintinnids and seven ciliates) than in spring (76 species: 72 dinoflagellates, three naked ciliates and one tintinnid). Significant difference in total abundances was observed between spring (median = 145 ind l−1) and summer (median = 90 ind l−1) but no significance (P > 0.05, Mann–Whitney test) in Shannon–Wiener (H′spring: 3.31 bits ind−1; H′summer: 3.70 bits ind−1) and evenness (Espring: 0.77; Esummer: 0.84) indices. The ciliate average abundance was higher in summer (11.3 ind l−1) than in spring (1.95 ind l−1), whereas dinoflagellate average abundance was lower in summer (127.92 ind l−1) than spring (190.19 ind l−1). Non-metric multidimensional scaling was used to identify different sample assemblages. It showed that temperature and salinity influenced the distribution pattern in the canonical correspondence analysis followed by chlorophyll a, silicate and nitrate concentrations. Our framework provides insight regarding trait trade off with implications for feedbacks to ecosystems, aiming to bridge the gap of plankton community ecology in Algeria. It elaborates a taxonomic list of dinoflagellates and ciliates in the marine pelagic ecosystem and performs their ecological characterization in their environment.

Marine traffic has both short- and long-term effects on cetacean behaviour, yet fishing vessels present a unique situation as they disturb cetaceans whilst potentially offering alternative foraging opportunities. The Istanbul Strait is a key area for the study of anthropogenic disturbance on cetaceans due to heavy human pressure in a narrow space where at least three cetacean species are regularly encountered. The present study investigated changes in behaviour of bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins and harbour porpoises in relation to the presence of purse seiners using Markov chains analysis. The results revealed increased foraging in bottlenose and common dolphins' behavioural budgets and a decrease in the time spent foraging by harbour porpoises. Moreover, a loglinear model was used to analyse the effect of possible confounding variables on observed behaviours. The only variables found to be affecting behaviour were the previous recorded behaviour, seiner presence and marine traffic density. Consequently, the presence of purse seine vessels leads bottlenose and common dolphins to change their behaviour and are related with a decrease of energy intake in porpoises. The results of this study reveal that there is an effect of purse seine vessel presence on the cetaceans found in the Istanbul Strait with potentially significant impacts on their behaviour, therefore we suggest more research is needed in the area to identify the long-term impacts of these observed behavioural changes.

Polychaete abundance and assemblage structure were analysed from 144 zooplankton samples taken in eight seasonal campaigns between October 2007 and November 2008 on Babitonga Bay estuary (south Brazil). A total of 16 taxa were found, classified in three categories: (i) larvae (five taxa) dominated by Loimia sp. (Terebellidae) (up to 59 ind 100 m−3); (ii) syllid epitokes (three taxa) dominated by Procerastea sp.2 (up to 11 ind 100 m−3) and Myrianida sp. (up to 6 ind 100 m−3); and (iii) adults of typically benthic species (eight taxa) which were only occasionally sampled in low densities (<1 ind 100m−3). Larvae dominated mostly during spring and summer in the outer sector of the estuary, while syllid epitokes peaked during winter with higher abundances in the inner sector. The assemblage dynamics match the seasonal and spatial changes in the environmental conditions of the estuary. Descriptive variables explained 49.5% of the polychaetes variance according to Redundancy Analysis. Rainfall, temperature and salinity were the variables most influencing the assemblage, with rainfall and temperature regulating seasonal, and mostly salinity regulating spatial patterns, similar to meroplanktonic populations from both temperate and tropical latitudes. Dominant species had different hydrographic preferences, Loimia sp. was more abundant in warmer (>23°C) and saltier (>25) waters, Magelona papillicornis larvae were more abundant in saltier waters with intermediate temperatures (22–23°C), and the syllids were more common and abundant on lower temperatures (<20°C). In addition we highlight the occurrence of several benthic taxa suspended in the water column, probably due to bottom disturbance.

A SCUBA-based fast repetition rate fluorometer (FRRF) was used to study differences in the functional absorption cross-section of Photosystem II (σPSII) between areas of a coral colony of Astreoporamyriophthalma that were infested with spionid polychaetes vs areas lacking worms. The mean value of σPSII in infested areas (mean±SD=347.62±30.67 Å2) was significantly higher than in the areas that were not infested (316.32±17.49 Å2; P<0.0001). Several physiological mechanisms are discussed that may contribute to the observed differences.