Free-living scleractinian corals on reefs of the Seychelles Islands

Thirty-nine species of unattached scleractinian corals that belong to 22 genera of 9 families were found on the Seychelles reefs. Variations of the colony form of corals living on soft sediments under continuous wave action are described. Irrespective of their initial growth form and taxonomic position, corals assume a form close to spherical. Because of the worldwide deterioration of coral reefs, the adaptation to changing ecological conditions by reef-building corals needs to be studied.     

Sessile invertebrate coelobite communities from reefs of Bermuda: Species composition and distribution

Sessile invertebrate coelobite communities attached to the walls and roof of cavities in coralgal reefs on the annular rim of the Bermuda platform near North Rock (4 sites) and in the algal cup reef tract on the south shore (3 sites) have been studied by belt photo-transects and direct sampling. Irradiance measurements reveal a light gradient which appears to exert a strong influence on the composition, relative coverage and zonation of the attached biotic communities. Two main communities are recognised from cluster analysis and relative areal coverage data. Near the cavity entrances is a community dominated by crustose coralline algae, with subsidiary ascidians, demosponges, bryozoans and Foraminifera. Species richness is high and there is total biotic coverage of walls and roof. This community grades laterally into an exclusively animal community characterised by encrusting sponges and Foraminifera, with subsidiary bryozoans and unidentified branching organisms. Coverage varies from 100% to 30%, the substrate often exhibiting high micro-relief from the branching growth forms of the Foraminifera. Species richness is high at North Rock sites, less so on the south shore. The distribution of coelobite species is compared with that described from previous studies in Bermuda, Grand Cayman and Madagascar.     

Species composition and within archipelago co-occurrence patterns in the Canary Islands

The distribution of trees and shrubs, ferns, land birds, beetles, and butterflies on the Canary Islands were analysed according to the null hypothesis approach Deviations from the expected number of species were found in the species groups trees and shrubs and Tenebrionid beetles This was interpreted as the result of deterministic processes influencing the colonisation of the archipelago In an other analysis the relationship between species similarity and geographical distance between the islands was investigated It showed that species similarity between the island decreased with distance The decrease was steepest for Tenebrionid beetles and trees and shrubs so it was concluded that their dispersal ability was lower than in the other species groups     

Species composition and pattern of fish distribution in Siberia

At the end of the first half of the 20th century, 61 species and subspecies of fish, including one invader (bleak Alburnus alburnus) and 17 species—endemics of Baikal—were reported for Siberia (Berg, 1933, 1949). At the present time, in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs of Siberia, 96 fish species and subspecies are described, of which 80 are aboriginal and 16 are invaders; 33 species are endemics of Baikal. Each landscapegeographic zone of Siberia has its specific ichthyofauna: in rivers and lakes of the south of Siberia, species of boreal piedmont complex dominate; in water bodies of the steppe, forest-steppe, taiga, and southern parts of the forest-steppe zone boreal plain dominates; in the zone of tundra, arctic freshwater dominates; and in Baikal, the most part (35) of species belongs to the Baikal autochtonous complex. Most researchers, as before, distinguish in Siberia two ichthyogeographic sites—West Siberian and East Siberian—that enter the Arctic Province of the Circumpolar subregion of the Holarctic region. Baikal is considered in the rank of the suboblast of the Holarctic.     

西沙群岛海域造礁石珊瑚物种多样性与分布特点

2006年3-5月,采用国际通用的截线样带法对海南省西沙群岛主要珊瑚礁海域的18个岛礁造礁石珊瑚进行了实地调查,共记录13科45属188种,其中62个新记录种.整合文献资料,该海域共记录造礁石珊瑚13科50属204种,基本包括分布在我国(不含台湾省)的所有造礁石珊瑚科属和绝大多数种类.造礁石珊瑚以生长速度快的分枝状珊瑚为主.物种多样性最高的是华光礁海域、金银岛海域和永兴岛海域.聚类分析可以把18个调查岛礁分成3个类群:有人类居住的大型环礁群、独立岛礁群和无人居住的大型环礁群(华光礁).为了有效保护珍稀的造礁石珊瑚资源,按照其种类多样性和分布特点重点保护关键海域是十分必要的.     

Baselines and degradation of coral reefs in the Northern Line Islands

Effective conservation requires rigorous baselines of pristine conditions to assess the impacts of human activities and to evaluate the efficacy of management. Most coral reefs are moderately to severely degraded by local human activities such as fishing and pollution as well as global change, hence it is difficult to separate local from global effects. To this end, we surveyed coral reefs on uninhabited atolls in the northern Line Islands to provide a baseline of reef community structure, and on increasingly populated atolls to document changes associated with human activities. We found that top predators and reef-building organisms dominated unpopulated Kingman and Palmyra, while small planktivorous fishes and fleshy algae dominated the populated atolls of Tabuaeran and Kiritimati. Sharks and other top predators overwhelmed the fish assemblages on Kingman and Palmyra so that the biomass pyramid was inverted (top-heavy). In contrast, the biomass pyramid at Tabuaeran and Kiritimati exhibited the typical bottom-heavy pattern. Reefs without people exhibited less coral disease and greater coral recruitment relative to more inhabited reefs. Thus, protection from overfishing and pollution appears to increase the resilience of reef ecosystems to the effects of global warming.     

Species composition and distribution of the freshwater fish fauna of Southern Vietnam

Two hundred and fifty-five fish species occurring in freshwaters in the South of Vietnam are listed. Their geographical distribution is briefly discussed.     

披山岛海区浮游动物种类组成及数量分布特点

根据2007年披山岛海区春季和夏季2个季度浮游动物调查资料,分析和研究了浙江省玉环县披山岛海区浮游动物种类组成和数量分布特点.结果表明:浮游动物共有18种,属3门12属,其中桡足类的种类最多,占总种数的72.22%;主要优势种为中华哲水蚤(Calanus sinicus)、瘦拟哲水蚤(Paracalanus gracilis)、针刺拟哲水蚤(Paracalanus aculeatus)和红小毛猛水蚤(Microsetella rosea).浮游动物的平均丰度及生物量均为春季比夏季高,春季的平均丰度为6.55×103个/m3,夏季为6.13×103个/m3;春季的平均生物量为216.49 mg/m3,夏季为98.26 mg/m3.桡足类的生物量占浮游动物总量的75.97%～97.55%,是决定披山岛浮游动物数量分布和变动的主要成分.与历史资料和邻近海域相比较,披山岛海区生物量与其接近或大于东海各海域.春、夏两季生物多样性(H′)有显著性差异(P<0.05),春季具有较高的生物多样性,且远海的生物多样性大于近海.     

Species composition and distribution of ichthyoplankton in the waters of northeast Sakhalin

Data on the species composition and abundance of the ichthyoplankton obtained in 2012, 2014, and 2015 in the waters of northeast Sakhalin are presented; these data were collected during the standard accounting surveys to estimate the egg concentration and breeders of Alaska pollock Theragra chalcogramma. The areas of the main concentrations of eggs and larvae of a number of commercial fish species have been determined, interannual variations in their abundance have been analyzed, and the distribution of ichthyoplankton with some parameters of the environment, such as depth, temperature, and main currents, has been linked. During the study period, 30 species representing 11 families were recorded in the ichthyoplankton. The average concentration of ichthyoplankton varies within the range of 113–201 ind./m². The pollock eggs absolutely dominated by 78–89%; followed by the eggs of the Bering flounder Hippoglossoides robustus (5–8%). It was found that the number of eggs and larvae of flounders and of a number of the other fish species in the northern part of the study area increases during the years characterized by a large volume of runoff of Amur River.     

Occurrence and distribution of some novel bromine containing pigments in scleractinians

The occurrence and isolation of two new yellow pigments, leptopsammin A and B, from methanolic extract of Leptopsammia pruvoti are described. The spectral properties (UV and MS) and colorimetric reactions of the leptopsammins suggest they are bromophenol compounds, characterised by a previously unknown chromophore. Among twelve different species of scleractinians examined, leptopsammins were found to be present in only two genera, Leptopsammia and Dendrophyllia.     

Zoosporic fungi from Tunisia,and the Seychelles Islands (Indian Ocean)

Twenty-two zoosporic fungi were recovered from soil samples collected in Tunisia and in the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean. One, Phlyctochytrium chandlerii is described as new. Most of the others are referred, sometimes tentatively, to existing species or genera.     

Late Triassic reefs from the Northwest and South Tethys: distribution, setting, and biotic composition

The paleolatitudinal distribution patterns during Ladinian and Carnian time are characterized by an increasing expansion of reefs from the northern to the southern hemisphere. The optimum of reef diversity and frequency in the Norian is associated with the development of extended attached or isolated carbonate platforms. Norian-Rhaetian sponge and coral reefs of the Northern Calcareous Alps developed (1) as reef belt composed of patch reefs in platform-edge positions facing the open-marine northwestern Tethys basins and (2) as patch reefs in intraplatform basins as well as in ramp positions.Carnian and Norian-Rhaetian sponge and coral reefs of the Arabian Peninsula are formed (1) as reef complexes at the margins of carbonate platforms on the tops of volcanic seamounts in the southern Tethyan ocean, as small biostromes on these isolated platforms, and (2) as transgressive reef complexes on the attached platform of the Gondwana margin. The Norian Gosaukamm reefal breccia of the NW Tethys is a counterpart of Jabal Wasa reefal limestone of the Gondwana margin with similarities in geological setting and biotic composition. Rhaetian coral biostromes of low diversity known from the Austrian Koessen basin resemble to the time equivalent Ala biostromes of the isolated Kawr platform in the southern Neo-Tethys by forming a discontinuous layer in shallow intraplatform basin setting.     

Species composition and distribution of the freshwater fish fauna of the North of Vietnam

Two hundred and three fish species and subspecies occurring in fresh water in the North of Vietnam are listed. The geographical and ecological problems connected with these fishes are discussed.