Description of the first specimen of Chloroscombrus chrysurus, caught in the Spanish waters of the Gulf of Cadiz, a rare species in north-east Atlantic waters. The nearest zone of frequent occurrence for this species is the Mauritanian coast, about 11 degrees south. Different hypotheses to account for the increase in reports are discussed.

This paper reports the first documented record of bathyal fish Glyptophidium oceanium Smith & Radcliffe, 1913 from the Indian Ocean. The species is redescribed and meristics and morphometrics were compared with its holotype. Glyptophidium oceanium is very similar to the closely related species G. japonicum Kamohara, 1936 in terms of the number of pseudobranchial filaments and pectoral fin rays, but differs from the latter in having more developed gill rakers, a larger orbit and a more slender body. The report of this poorly known bathyal fish species helps in unravelling the rich deep-sea ichthyofaunal biodiversity of India, which is still not fully investigated.

Branchiomma bairdi, a fouling non-indigenous sabellid polychaete has been detected in the south-eastern Gulf of California, representing the first record in the eastern tropical Pacific, as its original distribution is the Caribbean Sea. The species was commonly found as isolated specimens but small aggregates with 4–12 individuals were also found on floating docks, on dock pilings, buoys and on hulls of vessels in the port of Mazatlán. Branchiomma bairdi is a simultaneous hermaphrodite with male and female gametes developing separately in the same segments. The sperm morphology suggests that the species is a free-spawner with external fertilization (ect-aquasperm type). A complete diagnosis is provided and a discussion about its systematics, reproduction and ecology is included.

This is the first work describing some biological aspects of the arrowhead dogfish, Deania profundorum. The specimens were captured in two surveys (2004–2005) between 151 and 1200 m off the Madeira archipelago (north-east Atlantic Ocean). A total of 351 females (36–110 cm) and 169 males (27–94 cm) were sampled. The smallest (27 cm) and the biggest (110 cm) specimens ever caught were recorded. Females were most abundant in the overall depths, apart from the middle range of 451–1050 m where the sex-ratio was 1:1. A vertical stratification by size occurred, since all the juveniles less than 40 cm length were caught deeper than 950 m. This species was sexually dimorphic with females growing to larger sizes than males and being larger at first maturity. All stages of maturity were found during the sampling period. Nineteen gravid females with six to 11 embryos (9–18 cm length) were found. The data obtained indicate that the Madeira slopes are a nursery and reproductive area for D. profundorum.

Swordfish in the Mediterranean Sea have been caught with harpoon since 1000 BC, when, from May to August, these animals come to the surface often in male–female pairs. At this time, swordfish exhibit a variety of swimming behaviours largely only known by fishermen targeting swordfish. Over four years from 2002 to 2005, we observed the behaviour of swordfish in surface waters from the sighting platform of a harpoon fishing boat. The behaviour of 207 swordfish pairs, 73 single females and 124 single males, were recorded. On the basis of behaviours identified by the fishing fleet, we classified a priori, the behaviour of single males, single females and pairs of swordfish across seven categories. After capture, the maturity stage of each fish was determined macrocospically and assigned to a gonadosomatic index (GSI). Both male and female of a higher GSI were more frequently observed in surface waters during June and July (analysis of variance (ANOVA) F(3,276) = 70.107; P = 0.001) and individual GSI was observed to be associated with differing behavioural grouping. The most frequent behaviours observed were: a female that swam rectilinear closely followed by the male, or two fish that swam near the surface and turn out going full circle. Both behaviours were associated with the maturity Stage IV. Our data suggest that reproductive behaviour of swordfish involve a long lasting surface courtship display with different phases influenced by gonad development.

The concentrations of Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni and Fe were determined in the gastropod Nerita lineata collected from 15 sites in the west intertidal area of Peninsular Malaysia (shell length 11.5–33.8 mm). The results of the present study showed that metal concentrations in the shells, opercula and soft tissues of N. lineata were distributed differently at different sampling sites. The mean concentrations (μg/g dry weight) of Cd, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn in the samples were 2.99, 6.38, 35.05, 23.34, 48.22 and 16.59 in the opercula, 3.15, 5.59, 49.78, 24.18, 48.86 and 7.86 in the shells and 1.03, 2.65, 566.63, 5.85, 92.72 and 92.75 in the soft tissues. All the populations of N. lineata showed similar trends in the accumulation of Cd, Ni and Pb which decreased as follows: shell > operculum > soft tissue, Cu and Zn deceased in the order: soft tissue > operculum > shell and Fe in the order: soft tissue >shell > operculum. In general, higher concentrations of metals were recorded in samples collected from the stations closed to the anthropogenic sites. In particular, snail samples collected from KSAyam accumulated higher Pb concentrations when compared to other sites in the opercula, shells and soft tissues. This may indicate high bioavailability and contamination via Pb of the study site. The snail N. lineata is therefore suggested as a potential biomonitor of bioavailability and contamination of heavy metal in general and Pb in particular for the tropical intertidal area of Peninsular Malaysia.

A single trophic interaction between two major biotic components within similar ecosystems can reveal high variability. In fact, in situ measurements of the trophic interactions, as provided by the field application of stable isotopes, are likely to reveal strong differences in patterns. An illustration of such a geographical plasticity is provided when regarding the trophic interaction between two major components of intertidal habitats namely, the oyster Crassostrea gigas and the microphytobenthos. The contribution of benthic diatoms to oysters' diets ranged from 4.4±3.5% in the Mont St Michel bay to 69.6±1.1% in the Marennes-Oléron bay, as estimated from δ13C and δ15N analyses. Concerning food web investigations, these results point out serious limits for extrapolating qualitative and quantitative observations related to the major trophic links between identical food sources and consumers inhabiting similar ecosystems.

Specimens of Isopoda: Anthuridea belonging to the genus Mesanthura, a recent record for the western Mediterranean Sea, were collected from the fouling of the harbour of Salerno (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy) and from cryptic environments in the roadstead of the harbour of Taranto (Ionian Sea, Italy). Morphological characters and pigmentation patterns indicate that they belong to the same species whose taxonomic identity has yet to be established. Harbour fouling seems to constitute the preferential habitat of the species. At Taranto, in addition to specimens collected from fouling, two gravid females were found in dead sheaths of the endemic seagrass Posidonia oceanica. An introduced origin is suggested by several attributes of the species.

A total of fifteen adult specimens of the so-called ‘lessepsian sprinter’ Fistularia commersonii were captured by bottom trawlers and gill-netters operating along the Latium coasts, Italy, in October–November 2007. This non-native species is established in the eastern Mediterranean but it has been sporadically reported beyond the Strait of Sicily. Never before has the species been recorded in such large numbers from a single locality in the western Mediterranean. These records may suggest an incoming establishment of a self-sustained population of the species also in the western Mediterranean and they document for the first time the presence of a lessepsian fish in Latium waters. Biometry and meristics of the available specimens of F. commersonii and data on their diet and reproductive condition are given.

Three consecutive generations of the oval squid, Sepioteuthis lessoniana, were cultured between October 2000 and May 2002 to investigate the life history of this species. Starting with the parental generation (wild-caught sub-adult squid from Tokushima Prefecture, Japan), we successfully obtained first and second generations. Life span and maturation of cultured oval squid and wild oval squid caught from the same habitat during April 2001 through to March 2002 were compared. Captive squid matured earlier and had a shorter life span (189–247 days) than the wild-caught squid (approximately one year) but reached an equivalent final body size. More ova were found in the oviducts of cultured females than in the oviducts of wild-caught females. Ultimately, collapse of the culture population was mainly due to the low rate of embryonic development of spawned ova, which might have resulted from the abnormal arrangement of ova in egg cases produced by later generations of females.

The presence of Orcinus orca in Venezuelan waters has remained somewhat unclear. On 15 April 2007 a group of three killer whales was recorded on video interacting with a leatherback turtle off north-eastern Venezuela. This report is based on an extensive review of the original video taken during the sighting event and a detailed interview with the observers. This record of killer whales interacting with Dermochelys coriacea, as well as opportunistic sightings recorded in photographs between 2001 and 2008, represent the most solid confirmation of the species occurrence in Venezuelan territorial waters.

This communication presents observations of predatory and non-predatory encounters between white sharks and Cape fur seals in a shallow (3–6 m) channel between Geyser Rock and Dyer Island, South Africa. Within the channel Cape fur seals raft extensively for thermo-regulatory purposes, to play, or due to terrestrial competition for space. The channel's physical environment effectively limits a white shark's approach orientation to the horizontal plane, thus inhibiting it to effectively utilize depth, and associated stealth, to capture pinnipeds. In the absence of effective camouflage, sharks may patrol this area in search of unaware, incapacitated or dead seals. Here, predator mobbing is a behavioural strategy adopted by Cape fur seals to lower predation risk. Specific benefits of mobbing may include: (a) perception advertisement to sharks; (b) intra-specific communication of a shark's locality; (c) driving the shark away from the area; (d) increased vigilance; (e) advertisement of a mobber's good health to a shark; and (f) possibly learning about a predator's behavioural capabilities by inexperienced prey. Mobbing expression is further promoted by the channel's shallow nature which enhances a seal's ability to visually detect the shark, and therefore makes it easier for a seal to evade it (reducing immediate predation risk). This environment thus promotes the widespread use of mobbing amongst Cape fur seals when confronted with a patrolling white shark.

Intervals between sampling are a major concern in studies of behaviour. Objective choices compromise accurate definition, collection of enough data and avoidance of time dependence between samples. This paper tests whether significant differences occur in the proportion of activities of Sotalia guianensis when the protocols of observation using different intervals between registers are varied. The study was carried out at Formosa Bay, south coast of Rio Grande do Norte over a period of 40 days (251 hours). The results show that the use of different intervals of data registering result in non-significant differences in the quantification of behaviour. However, a tendency to over-estimate forage and under-estimate travel at 2 minutes relative to 8 minutes intervals was detected. This warns of the need to define a proper interval between behavioural sampling and addresses the question of the adoption of a common protocol for fast and continuous assessment of different estuarine dolphin populations throughout the Brazilian coast.

The growth rate of two species of whip black corals belonging to the genera Cirrhipathes and Stichopathes has been evaluated in different experiments conducted in the Marine Park of Bunaken (Indonesia) for over one year. Unbranched, unpinnulated black corals result among the fastest growing colonial organisms, with maximal growth rates of 13.25 cm month−1 for Cirrhipathes cfr anguina and 1.3 cm month−1 for Stichopathes cfr maldivensis. Several observations made both on transplants and on natural colonies add new information on the growth strategy of black corals. The easy handling, the high rate of survivorship and the fast growth of transplants indicate that black corals can be successfully employed in the recovery projects of harvested reefs.

In April 2006 a heavy storm caused large quantities of ocean quahogs to be transported from their natural habitat, the soft bottom, where they live buried in the sediment, up onto a hard substratum at a lower depth. There, unable to burrow down again and escape, the clams were easy prey for predators. A year later, the diver revisited the site and observed empty shells and shell fragments, but no living clams.

Specimens of the swimming crabs, Thalamita admete and Thalamita prymna, were collected on intertidal zones of Chabahar Bay (Gulf of Oman) in 2007. A literature review on the distribution of these two species revealed that this is the first report of T. admete from the Gulf of Oman and T. prymna from the Iranian coasts of the Gulf of Oman. A note on the morphological features of these specimens is given in this paper.

On 25 March 2008, a stranded Cuvier's beaked whale was discovered on the southern coast of the Moray Firth in north-east Scotland. Whilst strandings of the species are not uncommon in Scotland, the vast majority occur along the Atlantic coasts to the west of Scotland and Ireland. By comparison, records from the North Sea coast are notably absent, and this event is believed to be the first documented stranding of a Ziphius cavirostris from this mainland coastal region until now. Due to the severe state of decomposition of the specimen, no necropsy was made and therefore the cause of death could not be determined. However, this event may have been linked to a number of other beaked whale strandings in Scotland at this time. Whilst the North Sea region is considered to be an entrapment area for several species of oceanic whale, the Cuvier's beaked whale is rarely thought to travel far enough north to enter this trap. However, the phenology of these and other recent Cuvier's beaked whale strandings would suggest a possible northern range expansion for this species in UK waters, which may explain the increasing number of incidental events now being observed.

Potamon fluviatile is one of four freshwater crabs to be found in the Balkan Peninsula. It was previously recorded from a north-western locality in Corfu during 1977. This paper reports a second site for this species, in the southern half of the island, and discusses the general prognosis for the continued presence of this and other freshwater crabs in habitats across their natural range in the Mediterranean region.

This paper documents the arrival of Diplosoma listerianum into a habitat with no previously known history of the species. Once established, D. listerianum exploited rapid growth rates relative to the other fouling species present, to quickly become the dominant species in a local fouling assemblage. Most resident macrofoulers were out-competed for space and overgrown, although some resistance to overgrowth was demonstrated by the bryozoan Umbonula littoralis and the tunicate Ascidiella aspersa. In this instance, traits traditionally considered to be relevant for community resistance towards invasion, such as diversity, richness, dominant species identity and open space were not important in controlling the spread of D. listerianum.

In this note, we registered the occurrence of shell diseases and carapace abnormalities in a natural population of Neohelice granulata from a tropical mangrove forest, in South America, as a part of a wide ecological study. The occurrence of 32 adult crabs (1.77%) with black or brown spotted shells, or deformities on the carapace was registered, collected in the autumn and winter seasons. The low prevalence of shell diseases and abnormalities in this natural population is considered normal and probably caused by injuries occurring during the moult period of crabs.