Taxonomy,natural history and zoogeography of sand beach isopods from the coast of Southern Chile

Seven species of marine isopods were collected on sandy beaches of Southern Chile (from about 37° S until 42° S). From these, Excirolana hirsuticauda Menzies, Excirolana monodi Carvacho, Chaetilia paucidens Menzies, Macrochiridothea setifer Menzies and M. mehuinensis Jaramillo are known only from the Chilean coasts. Another species, Excirolana braziliensis Richardson, is known from other areas of American coasts. One species is identified here as Macrochiridothea aff. lilianae by its resemblance with M. lilianae Moreira from Southern Brazil. All these species are here briefly described and some aspects of their ecology added. Also Zoogeographic characterization of the studied area is discussed in relation to the distributional patterns of isopods living in them.     

Paramunnidae (Grustaea: Isopoda: Asellota) from the Magellan Strait

Seven new species of Paramunnidae from the Magellan Strait are described, two of which are placed in new genera: Paramunna magellanensis sp. nov., P. menziesi sp. nov., P. parasimplex sp. nov., P. patagoniensis sp. nov., Allorostrata ovalis gen. et sp. nov., Austrosignum dentatum sp. nov., and Magellianira serrata gen. et. sp. nov. Four known paramunnid species from the same location are redescribed: Parammunna integra, P. simplex, P. subtriangulata and Munnogonium tillerae . While investigating the genus Paramunna , two species of this group, Acutomunna foliacea (Chardy, 1975) gen. nov. and Paramunna foresti Carvacho , 1977 were removed, which involved the erection of a new genus. The allocation of P. foresti remains uncertain. Some diagnostic characters of the Paramunnidae and a key to the Magellanic species of Paramunna are presented.     

Book Reviews

Reynolds, C.S. (1984) The Ecology of Freshwater Phytoplankton.
Baker, M.D., Dorda, N.L. & Dodson, S.I. (1984) Zooplankton of the Great Lakes. A guide to the identification and ecology of the common crustacean species.
Olah, J. (Ed.) (1984) Fish, Pathogens and Environment in European Poly culture.
Salomons, W. & Förstner, U. (1984) Metals in the Hydrocycle.
Moore, J.W. & Ramamoorthy, S. (1984) Heavy Metals in Natural Waters: Applied Monitoring and Impact Assessment.     

An eight year phenological study of a local drosophilid community in Central Chile

In the outskirts of Santiago, Chile (La Florida), collections of drosophilids were performed every month from 1984 to 1991. Some of the species are cosmopolitan, like D. melanogaster and D. simulans, or subcosmopolitan, like D. subobscura. A few others are endemics, like D. pavani and some Scaptomyza. The population sizes of all the species show annual and monthly periodic fluctuations, detected by autocorrelations analyses, excepting D. melanogaster, that exhibits very weak monthly correlations. This seems to indicate that D. melanogaster is weakly coupled to periodic phenomena that are acting on the rest of the drosophilid fauna. Furthermore, biogeographic categories, like cosmopolitan, or subcosmopolitan, or endemic species, are of very little importance when applied to single localities, since species cluster irrespective of them being endemic or cosmopolitan.     

云南牛毛藓属的分类

本文对牛毛藓属(Ditrichum Hamp.)的几次调动及模式种的变更情况作了较详细的报道,并在系统研究了昆明植物所及云南大学生物系历年从云南各地所采标本后,发现云南现有该属植物7种,其中3种:D. brevidens Nog., D. darjeelingense Ren. et Card.和D. tortuloides Grout为云南新分布种。     

Long-term monitoring of the coral reef fish communities around a nuclear power plant

Over the past 21 years (1979–1999) we have observed temporal changes in the fish communities on a coral reef around a nuclear power plant in southern Taiwan. Data used for analyses were collected bimonthly by scuba-diving ichthyologists at four sub-tidal stations (Stations A, B, D, E). The commercial operation of the nuclear power plant was launched in the summer of 1984. During the study period the number of fish species varies, with the coefficient of variation (CV) ranging from 19.0% (Station A) to 25.2% (Station D). Nevertheless, the sequential data on number of species follow a random trend in terms of runs up and down at all four stations. This characteristic persists both before and after the initiation of power plant operation. Dendrograms drawn using UPGMA (unweighted pair-group method using arithmetic averages) on the dissimilarity coefficients between yearly fish occurrences show that the years 1980–1984 are more closely grouped than any other years. This phenomenon prevails at all stations, indicating that wide-scale change occurred between 1984 and 1985. After the power plant began operation, changes in water temperature were minute at these sub-tidal stations. Impacts from other sources such as chlorine release and fish impingement seem remote. We believe temporal variations in the studied fish communities can be better explained as arising from natural fluctuations of environmental factors as well as physical disturbance caused by typhoons. The latter factor is also thought to account for the major faunal change between 1984 and 1985.     

Temporal changes in zooplankton composition in a hypersaline,Antarctic lake subject to periodic seawater incursions

Colonisation of Lake Fletcher, a hypersaline, meromictic lake in the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica, by the calanoid copepod Drepanopus bispinosus, the cyclopoid copepod Oncea curvata and an undescribed cydippid ctenophore is discussed. In 1978, salinity directly under the ice was 66‰ and repeated net hauls found no zooplankton. In 1983, adults of D. bispinosus were found, and in 1984, a reproductively active population of this species. Surface water salinity in 1984 was 56‰. During winter 1986, surface salinity was 54‰ and three zooplankton species (D. bispinosus, O. curvata and an undescribed cydippid ctenophore) had established populations in the lake. In 1986/87, high tides caused nearby Taynaya Bay to flood into the lake, and three further species (the calanoid, Paralabidocera antarctica, and two harpacticoids, Harpacticus furcatus and Idomene sp.) were found in the lake. It appears that periodic flooding after 1978 caused a salinity decrease in the lake from 66 to 54‰, and this enabled some invertebrate species to maintain year-round populations, whereas others require marine incursions to re-establish summer only populations.     

Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Wootton , R. J. (1984): A functional biology of sticklebacks (Funktionsbiologie der Stichlinge) Johnston , R. F., ed. (1983): Current Ornithology (Fortschritte der Ornithologie). Vol. 1 Nicolai , J., D. Singer & K. Wothe (1984): Großer Naturführer Vögel (A field guide to European birds) Odening , K. (1984): Antarktische Tierwelt (Animals of the Antarctic) Rasa , A. E. (1984): Die perfekte Familie: Leben und Sozialverhalten der afrikanischen Zwergmungos (The perfect family: Life and social behaviour of African dwarf mungos) Berger, G., bis F. Zwirner, Autorenkollektiv (1982): Wildtiere in Menschen-hand (Wild animals in captivity) Austin , C. R., & R. V. Short, eds. (1976–1981): Fortpflanzungsbiologie der Säugetiere (Reproduction in mammals Austin , C. R., and R. V. Short (1984): Reproduction in mammals. Vol.3: Hormonal control of reproduction (Fortpflanzung bei Säugetieren. Bd. 3: Hormonale Steuerung) Willmann , R. (1985): Die Art in Raum und Zeit. Das Artkonzept in der Biologie und Paläontologie (The species in space and time. The species concept in biology and paleontology) Steitz , E., und G. Stengel (1984): Die Stämme und Klassen des Tierreichs. Eine Übersicht (A survey of animal phyla and classes) Baer , K. E. von (1834–1876): Entwicklung und Zielstrebigkeit in der Natur (Development and goal-directedness in nature)     

Resource partitioning among three woodpecker species Dendrocopos spp. during the breeding season

Food composition, prey size utilization and foraging behaviour of three sympatric woodpecker species ( Dendrocopos major, D. medius, D. minor ) were studied in an oak forest near Budapest during the breeding season in 1983 and 1984. Considering these three aspects of feeding, the great spotted woodpecker is a generalist species. Food composition of this species resembled the arthropod supply on the bark of trees more than those of the other two species. The bark of the trees seems to be a relatively unproductive microhabitat in the breeding season, so woodpecker species use, to different degrees, the food supply of the foliage as well. The food and the foraging behaviour of the middle spotted woodpecker show that this species feeds on prey living both on barks and in the foliage; it occupies-an intermediate position between the great and the lesser spotted woodpeckers. Prey size did not correlate with predator size suggesting that woodpeckers adapted not to the summer resources but rather the winter ones.     

Localization of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dras1</Emphasis> gene in polytene chromosomes of sibling species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila virilis</Emphasis> group

The Dras1 gene was mapped by in situ hybridization to polytene chromosomes of several sibling species of the Drosophila virilis group and their hybrids. A 1037-bp fragment of Dras1 gene from the D. virilis genome was used as the probe. The gene sequence was localized in the region of a 25 A-B disk in chromosome 2 (in accordance with the D. virilis polytene chromosome map (Gubenko and Evgen’ev, 1984).     

What makes a species common? No evidence of density-dependent recruitment or mortality of the sea urchin Diadema antillarum after the 1983–1984 mass mortality

A potential consequence of individuals compensating for density-dependent processes is that rare or infrequent events can produce profound and long-term shifts in species abundance. In 1983–1984 a mass mortality event reduced the numbers of the abundant sea urchin Diadema antillarum by 95–99 % throughout the Caribbean and western Atlantic. Following this event, the abundance of macroalgae increased and the few surviving D. antillarum responded by increasing in body size and fecundity. These initial observations suggested that populations of D. antillarum could recover rapidly following release from food limitation. In contrast, published studies of field manipulations indicate that this species had traits making it resistant to density-dependent effects on offspring production and adult mortality; this evidence raises the possibility that density-independent processes might keep populations at a diminished level. Decadal-scale (1983–2011) monitoring of recruitment, mortality, population density and size structure of D. antillarum from St John, US Virgin Islands, indicates that population density has remained relatively stable and more than an order of magnitude lower than that before the mortality event of 1983–1984. We detected no evidence of density-dependent mortality or recruitment since this mortality event. In this location, model estimates of equilibrium population density, assuming density-independent processes and based on parameters generated over the first decade following the mortality event, accurately predict the low population density 20 years later (2011). We find no evidence to support the notion that this historically dominant species will rebound from this temporally brief, but spatially widespread, perturbation.     

Actinomyces denticolens Dent & Williams sp. nov: a new species from the dental plaque of cattle

D ent , V.E. & W illiams , R.A.D. 1984. Actinomyces denticolens Dent & Williams sp. nov: a new species from the dental plaque of cattle. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 56 , 183–192.
Six strains of actinomyces isolated from the dental plaque of cattle were assigned presumptively to the genus Actinomyces on the basis of Gram reaction, cellular and colony morphology and acid end-products of metabolism. This assignment was confirmed by the peptidoglycan composition which is shared with Actinomyces species from dental plaque. These cattle strains formed a homogeneous group on the basis of cell wall carbohydrate components, DNA base composition, polypep-tide molecular weight distribution and physiological reactions but could not be classified with any recognised species of Actinomyces . A new taxon Actinomyces denticolens is proposed for these strains.     

Dunaliella salina from saline environments of the central coast of Peru

An evaluation of the algal flora of the Salinas de Huacho on the coast of Peru between 1984 and 1990 was carried out by collection of algal mats and natural waters from a variety of habitats and by microscopic examination. D. salina occurred in lagoons and pools with a salinity range of 165\% to 350\% and formed planktonic and benthic communities. The benthic palmelloid stage of D. salina was found at higher salinities. Aplanospore formation was also observed. Associated halophilic species included D. viridis, Oscillatoria tenuis and Pleurocapsa entophysaloides. D. salina was also found at two other salinas on the central Peruvian coast (Chilca and Otuma).     

Changes in the macrozoobenthos of the intertidal zone at Helgoland (German Bight, North Sea): a survey of 1984 repeated in 2002

Changes in the presence and absence of invertebrates as well as in species conspicuousness were documented in a rocky intertidal community based on surveys in 1984 and 2002. In 2002 six vertically and/or morphologically different stations of an intertidal platform were sampled. Five of these six habitats had already been surveyed in 1984. Replicating precisely the method of the first assessment, presence/absence changes as well as changes in species conspicuousness of 83 invertebrate species were documented, indicating that this intertidal community changed considerably during the 18-year interval. Compared with the study in 1984, 27 species newly appeared, whereas 32 species disappeared. Furthermore, 16 species increased in conspicuousness, whereas eight invertebrates decreased. The total number of species in 2002 was 154 versus 158 in 1984. Although algal species were not recorded as thoroughly as invertebrates, a massive decline in cover of Halidrys siliquosa was noted. Conversely, two invasive algal species became established after 1984, Sargassum muticum (since 1988), a cosmopolitan fucoid alga that prefers shallow subtidal areas for colonization, and Mastocarpus stellatus (introduction in the 1980s) that particularly colonized areas in the mid intertidal. In 1984 the mid intertidal zone was dominated by the brown alga Fucus serratus, whereas in 2002 the blue mussel Mytilus edulis and the periwinkle Littorina littorea were the most conspicuous organisms. Annual mean sea surface temperature (BAH measurements) warmed by 1.1°C over the past four decades. Range-related community shifts, introductions of non-indigenous species and the input of pollutants, are considered to explain long-term ecological changes in the invertebrate community at Helgoland.     

Revision of the monogenean subfamily Thoracocotylinae Price, 1936 (Polyopisthocotylea: Thoracocotylidae), with the description of a new species of the genus Pseudothoracocotyla Yamaguti, 1963

Members of the subfamily Thoracocotylinae are gastrocotylid monogeneans of Spanish mackerels (scombrid fishes of the genus Scomberomorus) from warm to warm-temperate seas around the world. We revise the diagnosis of the subfamily and recognise two genera and three species as valid. The genus Paradawesia Bravo Hollis & Lamothe Argumedo, 1976 is synonymised with Thoracocotyle MacCallum, 1913, and Dawesia Unnithan, 1965 and Methoracocotyle Lebedev, 1984 are synonymised with Pseudothoracocotyla Yamaguti, 1963. Thoracocotyle crocea MacCallum, 1913 (syns T. paradoxica Meserve, 1938 and Paradawesia bychowskyi Bravo Hollis & Lamothe Argumedo, 1976) is recorded from two species of Scomberomorus in the eastern Pacific (California to Peru) and four in the western Atlantic (South Carolina to Brazil). Pseudothoracocotyla ovalis (Tripathi, 1956) Yamaguti, 1963 (new syns Dawesia indica Unnithan, 1965, D. incisa Lebedev, 1970, Methoracocotyle scomberomori (Young, 1968) Lebedev, 1984, M. gigantica (Rohde, 1976) Lebedev, 1984 and Thoracotyle indica (Unnithan, 1965) Murugesh, 1995) is recorded from the gills of seven species of Scomberomorus from the Indo-west Pacific (eastern South Africa north to the Persian Gulf, and east to Fiji). Pseudothoracocotyla whittingtoni n. sp. is described from an eighth Indo-west Pacific scomberomorid, S. munroi, in Australian waters.     

Emergence and dynamics of cyclopoid copepods in an unpredictable environment

SUMMARY. 1. We studied species composition, abundance and population dynamics of cyclopoid copepods emerging from dormancy from the sediments of a temporary pond in South Carolina in 1985, 1988 and 1989. During a drought in 1988–89, the maximum hydroperiod was 19 days; in 1985 and late 1989-early 1990, the hydroperiods were 57 and 118 days. We also report on species present in 1984 and 1987, two years that had longer hydroperiods, and on abundance of cyclopoids in 1984. 2. Within a day after standing water appeared, fourth-instar copepodids of Diacydops haueri and D. crassicaudis brachycercus became active. These two species appeared every time the pond filled in winter, spring, or autumn. Other species, including Acanthocyclops vernalis, were usually not collected until weeks or months after the pond filled. Because the times and durations of fillings were extremely variable, species composition differed among years, with the most species (eleven) appearing in 1984, the year with the longest hydroperiod. 3. The abundances of emerging Diacydops were much lower in 1988 and 1989 (range of means from seven fillings in spring and autumn: 675–7382 animals m^?2) than 1985 (range of means from three fillings in winter: 26,037–107,418 animals m^?2). Low abundances of emerging animals could have been caused by poor survival of dormant animals, poor production during preceding seasons, or incomplete emergence of the dormant populations. 4. Substrate samples from the dry pond were collected in spring, summer, and autumn 1988 and winter 1989 to measure emergence of the cyclopoids in laboratory incubations. Population densities of emerging animals were much lower in 1988 and 1989 (range of means from seven experiments: 0–120 animals m^?2 over the first 3 days) than in similar experiments in 1984 (Taylor & Mahoney, 1990, means from two experiments: 3630 and 6890 animals m^?2). 5. Despite the low abundance of animals emerging from dormancy in late 1989, the cyclopoid populations in 1990 reached similar densities of copepodids (10^4?-10⁵ animals m^?2) to those reached in 1984 and 1985. These results suggest that short generation time and high reproductive capacity permit rapid recovery from population reductions.     

Observations on the in vitro sensitivity and resistance of Gram positive intestinal bacteria of farm animals to growth promoting antimicrobial agents

D utta , G.N. D evriese , L.A. 1984. Observations on the in vitro sensitivity and resistance of Gram positive intestinal bacteria of farm animals to growth promoting antimicrobial agents. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 56 , 117–123.
Results of qualitative in vitro sensitivity tests made with growth promoting antimicrobial agents on clostridia, lactobacilli and enteric streptococci, isolated from caeca of pigs, cattle and poultry, are summarized. The compounds were active in vitro against most of the 19 bacterial species studied. However, their activity spectra differed markedly. Only four bacterial species were naturally sensitive to all agents. The natural resistances, typical for many species and compounds, could be differentiated from the acquired resistances found with all growth promotors except avoparcin. High resistance and complex patterns of cross-resistance involving one or more of the macrolide, lincosamide and streptogramin antibiotics were detected.     

Book Reviews

Holme, N.A. & Mclntyre, A.D. (Eds) (1984) Methods for the Study of Marine Benthos.
Lewis, W.M., Saunders, J.F., Crumpacker, D.W. & Brendecke, CM. (1984) Eutrophication and Land Use: Lake Dillon, Colorado.
McKeown, B.A. (1984) Fish Migration.
von Brandt, A. (1984) Fish Catching Methods of the World
Barnes, R.S.K. (1984) Estuarine Biology.
Dumont, H.J. & Tundisi, J.G. (Eds) (1984) Tropical Zooplankton.
Wootton, R.J. (1984) A Functional Biology of Sticklebacks
Fernando, C.H. (Ed.) (1984) Ecology and Biogeography in Sri Lanka.
Haworth, E.W. & Lund, J.W.G. (Eds) (1984) Lake Sediments and Environmental History.
Petts, G.E. (1984) Impounded Rivers. Perspectives for Ecological Management.
Whitton, B.A. (Ed.) (1984) Ecology of European Rivers.