Shade-adapted Algae beneath Ice and Snow in the Northern Bothnian Sea

The winter-spring phytoplankton flora in the coastal waters of the northern Bothnian Sea consists mainly of marine cold water species even adapted to low light. These dinoflagellates and diatoms seem to be selectively promoted by the seven months of low light and water temperature. They are able to grow during this period of subsaturated light and have their abundance maxima around ice-break. Solar radiation measured under ice and snow cover was in the same order of magnitude as the compensation points of some of the species. In summer, these algae species vanish from the water, and surely survive in the form of inactive life stages.     

Cirolana songkhla,a new species of brackish-water cirolanid isopod (Crustacea,Isopoda, Cirolanidae) from the lower Gulf of Thailand

Cirolana songkhla sp. n. was collected from brackish-water habitats including lagoons and estuaries in the coastal zone of the lower Gulf of Thailand. C. songkhla sp. n. is described and fully illustrated; C. songkhla sp. n. can be recognized by the presence of abundant chromatophores dorsally, lack of ornamentation on the posterior pereonites, pleonites and pleotelson, the number of robust setae on the uropodal and pleotelson margins (uropod exopod lateral margin with 12–14 RS, mesial margin with 5–8 RS; endopod lateral margin with 8–10 RS, mesial margin with 11–13 RS; pleotelson with 12–15 RS) and lack of setae on the endopods of pleopods 3–5. A dichotomous key of brackish Cirolana species in Thailand is given.     

The distribution of Chironomid larvae in relation to Chloride concentration in a brackish water region of the Netherlands

Drainage ditches are a familiar and common habitat in the Netherlands. Until recently however they have been the focus of few ecological studies. Extensive studies on Walcheren, a brackish water region of The Netherlands, have shown that chironomid larvae form a major component of the animal communities in the mud. The spatial distribution of some of these species can be correlated with the chloride concentration of the water. Biometric data are included for the speciesChironomus salinarius, C. halophilus andC. plumosus. Communication nr. 151 of the Delta Institute for Hydrobiological Research     

The distribution of aquatic oligochaetes in brackish inland waters in the SW Netherlands

Macrobenthic fauna was sampled in inland waters with unstable environmental parameters in the SW Netherlands. The distribution of 23 species of aquatic oligochaetes was related to chlorinity. Oligochaetes and other macrofaunal taxa were grouped by cluster analysis. Brackish-marine oligochaetes appeared to have a similarly large tolerance for chlorinity variations, as is known for the better researched euryhaline macrofauna.Communication no. 221.     

The Occurrence of Bulbella abscondita (Bryozoa,Ctenostomata) in Brackish Waters of Northern Italy

The victorellid bryozoans, Tanganella muelleri and Bulbella abscondita, have been found in the delta of the River Po, Northern Italy. Our finds seem to be the first recorded of B. abscondita in waters in Italy.     

The macrofauna distribution in brackish inland waters in relation to chlorinity and other factors

The macrofauna of small isolated brackish waters on a barrier island in the Dutch Wadden Sea was sampled qualitatively. An attempt was made to correlate species composition and species richness to chlorinity characteristics and to data on the water regime of the localities studied.It is shown that the observed differences in the macrofauna cannot be explained by differences in chlorinity only. Present and former connections to other water bodies seem equally important.     

30 years' eutrophication in shallow brackish waters – lessons to be learned

The anthropogenically induced eutrophication of theDarss-Zingst bodden chain, a tidelessshallow brackish water, has been followed over a period ofmore than 30 years. The wholeprocess was dominated by increasing nutrient loads and irregular exchange processes withthe Baltic Sea.Dramatic changes started between 1964/72 in the western partsof the system, which ismore influenced by nutrient loads and less connected to theexchange with the Baltic Sea.The first signs of increased anthropogenic loading were amassive reduction in submergedmacrophytes.10 to 15 years later the same processes occurred in a slightlymodified form in the easternparts of the bodden chain.The whole eutrophication process could be followed in moredetail in the Barther Bodden.Since 1968 there have been:– no changes in soluble reactive phosphate– increases in the spring values of nitrate– stepwise changes in the community composition leading to aremarkable increase of theimportance of the microbial food web.The influences and consequences of eutrophication on thephytoplankton, bacterioplankton,protozooplankton and metazooplankton are generalized.The first signs for remesotrophication have been observed inthe last two years. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Ultrastructure and formation of the bursa mouthpiece of Philocelis cellata (Plathelminthes,Acoela)

Philocelis cellata has a strengthened bursa mouthpiece which is arranged in front of the male copulatory organ. The main components of the bursa mouthpiece are numerous ring-shaped bursa mouthpiece cells whose central parts contain strengthened elements forming a tube around the sperm duct. Each of the peripheral areas of the bursa mouthpiece cells is separated by similarly ring-shaped gap cells. The end of the bursa mouthpiece towards the bursa is formed by a so-called sorting apparatus which consists of different cells; opposite the bursa the sperm duct ends in a globe-shaped sperm vestibule. The bursa mouthpiece is differentiated successively, beginning at the distal part at the bursa and proceeding proximally.     

Recent human-induced invasions of fresh waters by saltwater animals?

In a review Lee and Bell (1999) state that recent invasions of fresh waters by saltwater species in many cases have been made possible by human activities. A considerable number of their examples are based on impoundments of brackish estuaries in the Netherlands. I show that they have wrongly interpreted the original literature and missed important publications. Lee & Bell (1999) define freshwater invaders as salt- or brackish-water populations that gain the ability to complete their entire life cycle in fresh water. I suggest that at least in the Dutch cases the species involved already possessed that ability before they developed new populations in freshwater lakes. Moreover, these lakes are still slightly brackish.     

Diversity and Community Structure of Primary Wood-Inhabiting Bacteria in Boreal Forest

DNA-based pyrosequencing analysis of the V1- V3 16S rRNA gene region was used to identify bacteria community and shift during early stages of wood colonization in boreal forest soils. The dataset comprised 142,447 sequences and was affiliated to 11 bacteria phyla, 25 classes and 233 genera. The dominant groups across all samples were Proteobacteria, followed by Bacteroidetes, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Amatimonadetes, Planctomycetes and TM7 group. The community structure of the primary wood-inhabiting bacteria differed between types of forest soils and the composition of bacteria remained stable over prolonged incubation time. The results suggest that variations in soil bacterial community composition have an influence on the wood-inhabiting bacterial structure.     

Circum-Antarctic continental distribution patterns in pteridophyte species

Four major austral continental distribution patterns are evident in pteridophytes. Twenty-two species are completely circum-Antarctic. Another 39 species are partially circum-Antarctic, occurring in Australasia (Australia and New Zealand) and Africa (including Madagascar) but not South America, while 29 are in Africa and South America but not Australasia, and 13 are in South America and Australasia but not Africa. Two hypotheses are considered as explanations for the patterns: continental drift following the breakup of Gondwana and long-distance dispersal. Fossil evidence indicates that the majority of pteridophyte families involved appeared after the southern continents had drifted apart, so long-distance dispersal is likely to explain the distribution of species in these families on now widely separated continents. For those families extant before the break-up, there is no indication in the fossil record that the species involved were present in Gondwana. Aspects of the ecology of the species that are partly or completely circum-Antarctic indicate that long-distance dispersal, rather than continental drift, is a likely explanation for the patterns.     

Dynamics of phytoplankton in the brackish-water inlet Pojoviken,southern coast of Finland

The water exchange between the brackish-water firth Pojoviken and the Baltic Sea is restricted by a shallow sill (6 m). An outflowing, oligohaline surface layer is isolated from the nutrient-rich mesohaline deep water by a pycnocline at a depth of 6–10 m. During the ice-free period phytoplankton production is chiefly regulated by the river discharge regime. Contrary to the situation in the outer archipelago and the sea zone, in Pojoviken phytoplankton production continues until late autumn, because the stable salinity stratification prevents the phytoplankton from sinking below the critical depth for production. The phytoplankton composition seems to be regulated chiefly by salinity. The salinity interval 2–2.5 is apparently the critical range where brackish-water phytoplankton changes to an assemblage composed of typical freshwater species.     

A new type of photoreceptor in Anthopharynx sacculipenis (Plathelminthes,Solenopharyngidae)

The unpaired eye of A. sacculipenis consists of two sensory cells and one pigmented mantle cell. The light-sensing organelles are formed by flattened and rolled lamellae, which are not of ciliary origin but derive from the surface membrane of the sensory cells. The pigment of the mantle cell appears black in living animals, but electron-lucent in the EM picture. The significance of these special features is discussed.     

Comparative morphology of statocysts in the Plathelminthes and the Xenoturbellida

The general fine-structural organization of statocysts in Catenulida, Nemertodermatida, Acoela, Proseriata, Lurus (Dalyellioida), and Xenoturbella are summarized. In lithophorous (statocyst-bearing) members of the Catenulida, the statocysts exhibit a few parietal cells and one or several movable statoliths within a spacious intracapsular cavity. Statocysts in the Nemertodermatida have several parietal cells and two lithocytes, each equipped with one statolith, whereas those of the other acoelomorphan taxon, the Acoela, always have two parietal cells and one movable lithocyte. The statocysts of lithophorous members of the Proseriata represent more sophisticated systems: each has two clusters of accessory cells in addition to several parietal cells and a voluminous lithocyte in which the statolith is movable. In catenulids and proseriates, processes of outer neurons penetrate the capsule of the statocyst, whereas such innervations have not been found in the Nemertodermatida and Acoela. I conclude that the different types of statocysts have evolved independently within the Plathelminthes. Xenoturbella displays an intraepidermal statocyst with many monociliary parietal cells and several mobile cells (lithocytes) within the central cavity of the statocyst. Each of these mobile cells carries a statolith-like structure and one prominent cilium. The statocyst of Xenoturbella does not correspond to any type of plathelminth statocyst.