Falcidens halanychi, a new species of Chaetodermomorpha (=Caudofoveata) (Mollusca) from the northwest Atlantic Ocean

During a cruise with R/V Oceanus out of Woods Hole organized by the National Science Foundation project WormNet, a new species of chaetodermomorph aplacophoran was found in the northwestern Atlantic on the continental rise, between 1100 and nearly 2900 m. An investigation into the material of older collections revealed that the species had previously been collected on numerous occasions but remained undescribed. We here describe the species under the name Falcidens halanychi sp. nov. The species is compared with F. limifossorides Salvini-Plawen 1992 that has the most similar overall morphology, but occurs in the eastern Pacific at lower slope and abyssal depths between 3700 and 4300 m. We illustrate the radula of limifossorides and the birefringent colours of the sclerites photographically for the first time. We also include two DNA barcodes of F. halanychi (cytochome oxidase I) to aid future molecular identification.     

Anthozoa from the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone

An annotated list of deep-sea Anthozoa of the orders Actiniaria, Antipatharia, Scleractinia, Alcyonacea and Pennatulacea collected on the G.O. Sars MAR-ECO cruise to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between the Azores and the southern tip of the Reykjanes Ridge is given. A total of 33 species is reported of which 32 were identified to species or genus level. The groups most rich in species were Actiniaria (nine species), Scleractinia (eight species) and Pennatulacea (eight species). Scleractinia, Antipatharia and Pennatulacea were mainly represented by species with a wide or cosmopolitan geographical distribution. In contrast, most of the actiniarians had been rarely recorded in the North Atlantic. Three species, Schizopathes affinis Brook, 1889 (Antipatharia), Dendrobrachia multispina Opresko & Bayer, 1991 and Heteropolypus cf. insolitus Tixier-Durivault, 1964 (Alcyonacea) are reported from the North Atlantic for the first time.     

Phylogenetic analysis of bacterial communities associated with larvae of the Atlantic halibut propose succession from a uniform normal flora

Halibut, the largest of all flatfishes is a valuable species with a great potential for aquaculture. Bacteria play an important role in regulating the health of the early life stages. The present article is the first broad-range molecular analysis of bacterial communities in larvae of the Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus). DNA was extracted from larvae, water and silo biofilm from hatcheries in Norway, Scotland, Iceland and Canada. Eubacterial 16S rRNA gene fragments were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with broad-range primers. Sequences spanning the hyper variable V3 region representing individual bacterial species were separated into community profiles by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The profiles revealed simple communities after hatching and bacterial succession following growth. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of excised DGGE bands suggested aerobic heterotrophs related to groups of Pseudomonas, Janthinobacterium and possibly Marinomonas to be the primary colonisers of the larvae. After onset of feeding, fermentative species (Vibrio) were detected as well. Comparative analysis of bacterial communities from different geographical regions indicated that larvae of the Atlantic halibut possess a distinct and specific normal flora.     

Comparative phylogeography of two coastal polychaete tubeworms in the Northeast Atlantic supports shared history and vicariant events

The historic processes which have led to the present-day patterns of genetic structure in the marine coastal fauna of the Northeast Atlantic are still poorly understood. While tectonic uplifts and changes in sea level may have caused large-scale vicariance, warmer conditions during glacial maxima may have allowed pockets of diversity to persist to a much wider extent than in the Northwestern Atlantic. The large-scale geographic distribution of deeply divergent lineages of the coastal polychaete tubeworms Pectinaria koreni (two clades) and Owenia fusiformis (three clades) were compared using a fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene (mtCOI). All lineages were present along the biogeographic transition zone on the north coast of Brittany (France) and we found evidence pointing towards congruence in the timing of cladogenic events between Pectinaria sp. (P. auricoma/P. belgica and P. koreni) and Owenia sp., suggesting a shared history of vicariant events. More conserved 16SrRNA sequences obtained from four species of Pectinariidae together with mtCOI sequences of P. koreni seem consistent with an initial establishment of pectinariids in the north, and a southward colonization of the Northeast Atlantic. Phylogeographic patterns in O. fusiformis were also consistent with a north/south pattern of lineage splitting and congruent levels of divergence were detected between lineages of both species. We observed signatures of both persistence in small northern glacial refugia, and of northwards range expansion from regions situated closer to the Mediterranean. However, whether the recolonization of the Northeast Atlantic by both species actually reflects separate interglacial periods is unclear with regards to the lack of molecular clock calibration in coastal polychaete species.     

Asteroid fauna of the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge with description of a new species Hymenasterides mironovi sp. nov.

Asteroids collected on the north part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge by the RV G.O. Sars in summer 2004, under the MAR-ECO programme, were studied. Asteroids were found at 17 stations, at depths ranging from 966 to 3509 m. The collection includes 32 species. One species of Hymenasterides is here described as new to science. This is the first record of the genus Hymenasterides Fisher, 1911a in the Atlantic Ocean. Previously the genus Hymenasterides included only one species, Hymenasterides zenognathus Fisher, 1911a, from the West Pacific. The new species differs from it by a larger number of paxillar spines (9-20 instead of five to seven) and by alternate adambulacral plates with one and two spines instead of one and three. An annotated check-list is given of the asteroids in the MAR-ECO collection.     

Four new species of Desmosomatidae Sars, 1897 (Crustacea: Isopoda) from the deep sea of the Angola Basin

From a total of 104 species and 1741 individuals of Isopoda, the material from DIVA-1 (DIVersity of the Atlantic benthos) contained 364 specimens belonging to Desmosomatidae Sars, 1897. They are represented by 10 genera and 27 species. Most species (93%) are new to science. Four species are described in this study (Eugerdella theodori sp. nov., Desmosoma renatae sp. nov., Torwolia tinbiene sp. nov. and Momedossa longipedis sp. nov.). A discussion of the genera Desmosoma Sars, 1864, Momedossa Hessler, 1970 and Torwolia Hessler, 1970 is presented.     

Delineation of Chondrus (Gigartinales, Florideophyceae) in China and the origin of C. crispus inferred from molecular data

Complete nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences were obtained for 18 Chondrus populations collected at 15 sites from eight countries worldwide. Pairwise comparisons with the multiple alignment revealed that intraspecific divergences of ITS sequences ranged from 0.3 to 1.8% in C. crispus Stackhouse (except for the entity SVLH from France) and from 0.0 to 0.6% in C. ocellatus Holmes, whereas interspecific divergences in Chondrus varied from 1.4 to 5.0%. Three phylogenetic methods (neighbour joining, maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood) confirmed three main lineages: the North Atlantic lineage containing entities of C. crispus from Canada, France, Germany, England, Portugal, Ireland and Wales; a second lineage comprising three species: C. sp. 1, C. armatus (Harvey) Yamada et Mikami, and C. pinnulatus (Harvey) Okamura from the Northern Pacific; and a third lineage containing just one species: C. ocellatus from the Northern Pacific. Chondrus yendoi Yamada et Mikami separated from other Chondrus species singly. nrDNA ITS data indicate that a previous assignment of C. sp. 2 to Mazzaella japonica (Mikami) Hommersand may be incorrect, and additional evidence is needed to resolve the generic placement of this entity. It is inferred from the nrDNA ITS data that three Chondrus species are presently known in China with two, C. ocellatus and C. nipponicus, in Qingdao and two, C. armatus and C. nipponicus, in Dalian. We hypothesize that the ancestor of North Atlantic C. crispus had a Pacific origin, and that the present distribution of C. crispus in the Atlantic Ocean correlates with a trans-Arctic dispersal and vicariance events associated with Pleistocene glaciation maxima.     

东北虎豹生物多样性红外相机监测平台概述

东北虎豹生物多样性红外相机监测平台始建于2006年, 位于中国东北温带针阔混交林区, 覆盖老爷岭、张广才岭和完达山, 面积达1.5万多平方公里。平台的监测目标是从生态系统水平上对东北虎(Panthera tigris altaica)、东北豹(P. pardus orientalis)、有蹄类猎物及同域分布的其他哺乳动物、森林栖息生境、环境要素和人类活动等进行全面系统的调查和观测。截至2019年6月, 平台产生视频记录超过78.5万条, 有效相机工作日173.6万多天, 记录了28种野生兽类和32种野生鸟类。另外, 利用红外相机平台已经在野生动物多样性本底调查、虎豹种群分布、数量与扩散限制、同域食肉动物种间关系、动物生境利用等方面取得一些成果, 同时为东北虎豹国家公园生物多样性监测、评估和管理提供了科技支撑。     

中国东北地区石松类和蕨类植物区系研究

中国东北地区是我国北方石松类和蕨类植物最丰富地区,对其区系的系统研究是区域石松类和蕨类植物资源管理的基础和前提。本研究在文献分析和标本查阅的基础上,探讨了东北地区石松类和蕨类植物区系及其特征。结果表明：①东北地区有石松类和蕨类植物19科48属141种（含种下分类群）。②东北地区石松类和蕨类植物区系属温带性质,且包含一定的热带和寒带性质的成分,体现其地理成分的复杂性。③优势科属明显,7个优势科的种数占全部种数的63.83%,6个优势属的种数占全部种数的46.10%;单种和寡种属较多,占总属数的83.33%,所包含的种却只占总种数的47.52%。④东北地区是木贼科（Equisetaceae）在中国的重要分布区。⑤东北地区分布有石松类和蕨类植物的中国特有种30种,东北地区特有种4种（长白石杉Huperzia asiatica、宽鳞蹄盖蕨Athyrium yokoscense var. kirismaense、长齿对囊蕨Deparia pycnosora var. longidens和长白山金星蕨Parathelypteris changbaishanensis）。本研究是东北地区植物区系研究的必要补充,具有重要的理论和实践意义。     

Sinking rates of late-stage fish larvae: Implications for larval ingress into estuarine nursery habitats

Many species spawn in oceanic waters yet their juvenile stages use nearshore and estuarine habits and the bio-physical mechanisms by which late-larvae enter these juvenile habitats may be an important bottleneck in the population dynamics of these species. To provide parameters for the development of larval ingress models, sinking rates were measured of the late-stage larvae of six fish species: Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus), spot (Leiostomus xanthurus), Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus), summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus), southern flounder (P. lethostigma), and gulf flounder (P. albigutta). Species-specific differences were found in sinking rates; Atlantic croaker had the slowest sinking rates and Atlantic menhaden and the three flounder species had the fastest sinking rates. Additionally, sinking rates increased for all species as length increased. The total amount of variability explained in sinking rates was low (20–50%), indicating a large amount of variability at the level of the individual. The observed patterns in sinking rates were then combined with previous studies on the mechanisms of larval ingress to present species-specific conceptual models of ingress.     

The chemistry of the cystoseiraceae (Fucales: Pheophyceae): Chemotaxonomic relationships

This review presents the chemistry of secondary metabolites isolated from the Cystoseiraceae and its contribution to the identification of species belonging to the major genera of this family. It completes Piattelli's review on the chemistry and taxonomy of Sicilian Cystoseira species which was presented at the Sixth International Symposium on Marine Natural Products, held in Dakar, 1989 [Piatelli, M. (1990) New J. Chem. 14, 777–782]. In particular, the chemical studies of Cystoseira species from Atlantic and some other Mediterranean Coasts are reported with those of other genera from the Cystoseiraceae family, such as Bifurcara, Halidrys and Cystophora. This review is limited to secondary metabolite—diterpenoids essentially—isolated from the lipid extract of studied species (literature up to January 1995).     

Glass sponges (Porifera, Hexactinellida) of the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Glass sponges (Hexactinellida) collected under the framework of the MAR-ECO project on the G.O. Sars cruise to the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge, between the Azores and the Reykjanes Ridge, and on the 49th cruise of Akademik Mstislav Keldysh to the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone are described. Fourteen species were identified in the material. This relatively rich fauna includes several novel findings, indicating that the hexactinellid fauna of the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge is poorly investigated. One genus, Dictyaulus, has never before been reported from the Atlantic Ocean. Two species belonging to the genera Heterotella and Amphidiscella are new to science. Two other species, Rossella nodastrella Topsent, 1915 and Doconestes sessilis Topsent, 1928, have been collected just one other time. Finally, a probable new genus of Euplectellidae, which unfortunately cannot be adequately described because of how small the specimens are, is represented among these collections. A large portion of dead, rigid skeletons of Euretidae and spicule mats of Rossellidae are also reported but not described in detail. Representation of some genera in the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone, coupled with recent observations from elsewhere along the Mid-Atlantic mountain chain, suggests that this fauna is as similar to those of the Indian Ocean and Indo-West Pacific as it is to West or East Atlantic faunas.     

A New Species of Kinorhynchus (Homalorhagida, Pycnophyidae) from Australia with a Redescription and Range Extension of Other Kinorhyncha from the South Pacific

Kinorhynchus phyllotropis sp.n., from Sydney Harbour, is the first species of the phylum Kinorhyncha to be described from Australian coasts. It appears to be most closely related to K. anomalus (Lang, 1953) from the Chilean coast and possibly, but to a lesser extent, to K. spinosus (Lang, 1949) from the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. Kinorhynchus anomalus is rede-scribed and, along with the new species, is compared with the South Atlantic species, the two species known from the Northeast Pacific and the remaining four members of this genus from the North Atlantic, Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea. Cateria styx Gerlach, 1956, is reported from beaches north of Valparaiso, Chile, the first report of this mesopsarnmic cryptorhagid kinorhynch from the Pacific Ocean.     

中国丝膜菌属李玉丝膜菌组一新种：李玉丝膜菌

本研究报道了丝膜菌属的一个新种：李玉丝膜菌,该种采自中国吉林省蒙古栎林中,其主要特征为担子体小型、幼时具蓝紫色调,菌盖强水浸状、具条纹,担孢子近球形。该种在系统发育树中形成一个独立的分支,与斑丝膜菌组形成姐妹关系,但遗传关系较远,属于新组李玉丝膜菌组。本文对新分类单元进行了详细描述,并对其系统发育上相近的物种进行了比较。     

Pourtalesiid sea urchins (Echinodermata: Echinoidea) of the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Five species of deep-sea pourtalesiid echinoids were collected by the RV G.O. Sars MAR-ECO expedition to the northern part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge: Solenocystis imitans new genus, new species, Echinosigra phiale (Thomson, 1872), Echinosigra (Echinogutta) fabrefacta Mironov, 1974, and two unidentified species of Pourtalesia. Three types of plastron plating are distinguished within the family Pourtalesiidae; in Solenocystis new genus the plating is similar to that in Spatagocystis, a genus known only from the deep-sea Antarctic. Each of three groups with distinctive plastron plating shows a continuous morphological gradation from a less elongated test without subanal rostrum to an extraordinarily elongated test with large rostrum and wide subanal fasciole; the ratio width/length of test varies from 0.86 to 0.12. Some morphological characters of the pourtalesiids are regarded as adaptations to burrowing and appear to be correlated with test elongation. The family is represented in the northern Atlantic only by 'advanced' genera (Echinosigra, Pourtalesia and Solenocystis) with very elongated tests.     

Quickly identifying tree species susceptible to extinction: a case study of seven tree species at Northeast China Transect

Quickly predicting which species are most susceptible to extirpation in a defined area is important for conservation and environmental monitoring. We hypothesised that the susceptibility of tree species to extinction in an area could be inferred by the spatial and temporal dynamics of its populations. Here we use change in population size, population spatial variability, spatial autocorrelation, spatial cohesion, crash rate, and recovery rate to characterise the relative susceptibility to extirpation for seven tree species along the Northeast China Transect from 1986 to 1994. Betula dahurica Pall. and Populus davidiana Dode. were found to have a higher susceptibility to loss than Pinus koraiensis Siebold et Zucc., Betula costata Trautv., and Larix olgensis A. Henry in this area during this time period. The same methods could be useful to monitor and predict the susceptibility of species extinction at a larger regional scale.     

东北4种林木干基腐朽病原真菌潜在分布范围预测及其生态位分析

东北地区木生真菌物种资源丰富, 包括了数十种林木干基腐朽病原真菌。过去对该类真菌曾进行多次调查, 获取了大量物种分布数据, 但对于非重点调查区域是否存在某种真菌物种却不明确。本文选取东北地区具有代表性的4种林木干基腐朽病原真菌, 即红缘拟层孔菌(Fomitopsis pinicola)、落叶松锈迷孔菌(Porodaedalea laricis)、桦剥管孔菌(Piptoporus betulinus)和香栓孔菌(Trametes suaveolens), 根据其地理分布数据和分布地的环境因子数据, 以最大熵模型(MaxEnt)对这些种类在东北地区可能的分布范围进行了模拟预测, 以曲线下面积(area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, AUC)对模型有效性进行评价, 并对各物种的生态位进行了分析。结果显示, 以MaxEnt方法获得的各物种预测模型均获得了较高的AUC值, 分别为0.990, 0.990, 0.989和0.967, 表明4种林木干基腐朽病原真菌预测模型的有效性较高。物种分布模型涉及的环境变量对模型的贡献率显示, 最暖季降水量(Bio18)、温度的年较差(Bio7)、最干季均温(Bio9)等变量对各物种模型贡献率较高。该研究结果为预测4种病原真菌在东北地区的分布范围和科学防治该类病原真菌提供了依据。     

Discord in the family Sparidae (Teleostei): divergent phylogeographical patterns across the Atlantic-Mediterranean divide

The Strait of Gibraltar has been proposed to be the divide between two marine biogeographical regions, the Mediterranean Sea and the Northeast Atlantic. Intraspecific studies have shown, for several of the examined species, a reduction of gene flow between the two basins. The present study examines genetic variation at nuclear and mitochondrial loci in five marine teleost species belonging to the family Sparidae. Four samples for each species were analysed spanning the Northeast Atlantic and the Mediterranean. For all individuals 17 allozyme loci were scored and a combined single strand conformation polymorphism-sequencing approach was used to survey approximately 190 bp of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop region. All five species share similar biological features. For three species, namely Lithognathus mormyrus, Spondyliosoma cantharus, and Dentex dentex, large mtDNA divergence was observed between Atlantic and Mediterranean samples. Little or no mtDNA differentiation was found in the other two species, Pagrus pagrus and Pagellus bogaraveo. Allozyme data revealed strong differentiation when comparing Atlantic and Mediterranean samples of L. mormyrus and D. dentex, moderate for P. pagrus, and no differentiation for P. bogaraveo and S. cantharus. These results provide evidence for a sharp phylogeographical break (sensu Avise) between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean for two (or possibly three) sparid species of the five investigated. At the same time, the obtained results for the other two species raise the question on which ecological/historical factors might have caused the observed discrepancy in the geographical distribution of genetic variation among otherwise biologically similar species.     

Hemiasterid echinoids (Echinodermata: Spatangoida) from the Cretaceous Tethys to the present-day Mediterranean

Hemiasterid echinoids form one of the oldest and most varied spatangoid groups. Current data on stratigraphical and geographical distribution pattern show that their biogeographical history is closely related to Mediterranean-Tethyan structural and climatic changes. The group first appeared in the Aptian in the central Tethys (southwestern Europe) and developed and diversified remarkably in the Late Cretaceous through the subgenera Hemiaster (Hemiaster), H. (Bolbaster) and H. (Leymeriaster). Marked morphological changes arose in the early Paleogene when new Tertiary forms H. (Trachyaster), Opissaster and Ditremaster, originating in the Caribbean and Madagascan regions, respectively, replaced H. (Bolbaster) which partly survived and H. (Hemiaster) and H. (Leymeriaster) which disappeared entirely. These new forms achieved their greatest diversity during the Eocenee and thrived in the Mediterranean basin until it was sealed off from the Indo-Pacific in the Middle Miocene. Then Late Neogene climatic and structural events reduced hemiasterids to only a few Mediterranean species. The survivors of modern groups persisted in refuge areas of the western Mediterranean until middle Messinian times before being reduced to only one species, the last fossil one, during the Pliocene. Then, the Cenozoic groups H. (Trachyaster) and Opissaster definitively disappeared. Outside the Mediterranean basin primitive H. (Bolbaster) and modern Ditremaster, which colonized deep-water Atlantic environments from the Late Cretaceous and Middle Miocene respectively, survived the Messinian and Plio-Pleistocene climatic crises. They flourished in the northern Atlantic where their present-day descendants Ditremaster (Sarsiaster) griegii and H. (Bolbaster) expergitus still survive. H. (Bolbaster) expergitus spread worldwide and colonized the western Mediterranean in the Plio-Pleistocene via the Straits of Gibraltar.