Research Interests: Geography and Zooplankton
Malaspina 2010 (Consolider CSD-2008-00077); (BIO-PROF). Proyecto 10MMA604024PR. Xunta de Galicia)
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Megalopas of 15 brachyuran crab species collected in the open sea plankton, and unknown until now, were identified using DNA barcodes (COI and 16S rRNA). Specimens belonging to the families Portunidae, Pseudorhombilidae and Xanthidae... more
Megalopas of 15 brachyuran crab species collected in the open sea plankton, and unknown until now, were identified using DNA barcodes (COI and 16S rRNA). Specimens belonging to the families Portunidae, Pseudorhombilidae and Xanthidae (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura), and corresponding to the species Achelous floridanus, Arenaeus mexicanus, Callinectes amnicola, C. arcuatus, C. ornatus, C. toxones, Charybdis (Charybdis) hellerii, Portunus hastatus, Thalamita admete, Scopolius nuttingi, Etisus odhneri, Liomera cinctimanus, Neoliomera cerasinus, Pseudoliomera variolosa, and Williamstimpsonia stimpsoni, are described and illustrated, and compared with other congeneric species previously described. We also provide a new geographical record for N. cerasinus and the most remarkable features for each species.
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The biological pump transports organic carbon produced by photosynthesis to the meso- and bathypelagic zones, the latter removing carbon from exchanging with the atmosphere over centennial time scales. Organisms living in both zones are... more
The biological pump transports organic carbon produced by photosynthesis to the meso- and bathypelagic zones, the latter removing carbon from exchanging with the atmosphere over centennial time scales. Organisms living in both zones are supported by a passive flux of particles, and carbon transported to the deep-sea through vertical zooplankton migrations. Here we report globally-coherent positive relationships between zooplankton biomass in the epi-, meso-, and bathypelagic layers and average net primary production (NPP). We do so based on a global assessment of available deep-sea zooplankton biomass data and large-scale estimates of average NPP. The relationships obtained imply that increased NPP leads to enhanced transference of organic carbon to the deep ocean. Estimated remineralization from respiration rates by deep-sea zooplankton requires a minimum supply of 0.44 Pg C y−1 transported into the bathypelagic ocean, comparable to the passive carbon sequestration. We suggest that...
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West African species of ScyllarusFabricius, 1775 (Achelata, Scyllaridae) are poorly known, mostly due to the difficulties of sampling Eastern Atlantic tropical waters. Recent expeditions carried out by the Universidad de Cádiz and the... more
West African species of ScyllarusFabricius, 1775 (Achelata, Scyllaridae) are poorly known, mostly due to the difficulties of sampling Eastern Atlantic tropical waters. Recent expeditions carried out by the Universidad de Cádiz and the Instituto Español de Oceanografía collected phyllosoma larvae from Cape Verde Islands (CVI) and fresh Scyllarus adults from continental West Africa. Larval stages VII, IX, and X (final stage) of S. capartiHolthuis, 1952 are analyzed using DNA barcoding methods and described for the first time. A comprehensive identification key is provided, summarizing our current knowledge on the phyllosomas of Scyllarus. Together with a revision of museum collections, the new molecular and morphological data obtained here supports the polyphyletic origin of AcantharctusHolthuis, 2002. The West African A. posteli (Forest, 1963) is found to belong to Scyllarus and it is closest to another species from Atlantic shallow waters (i.e. S. paradoxusMiers 1881), whereas the P...
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The first five zoeal stages of Plesionika narval were obtained from 15 days of laboratory culture. All larval stages are described and illustrated in detail. Zoeal characters are compared with the previous described larvae of Plesionika... more
The first five zoeal stages of Plesionika narval were obtained from 15 days of laboratory culture. All larval stages are described and illustrated in detail. Zoeal characters are compared with the previous described larvae of Plesionika acanthonotus and Plesionika edwardsii and with undetermined zoeas of Pandalidae from plankton samples.
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Global patterns of planktonic diversity are mainly determined by the dispersal of propagules with ocean currents. However, the role that abundance and body size play in determining spatial patterns of diversity remains unclear. Here we... more
Global patterns of planktonic diversity are mainly determined by the dispersal of propagules with ocean currents. However, the role that abundance and body size play in determining spatial patterns of diversity remains unclear. Here we analyse spatial community structure - β-diversity - for several planktonic and nektonic organisms from prokaryotes to small mesopelagic fishes collected during the Malaspina 2010 Expedition. β-diversity was compared to surface ocean transit times derived from a global circulation model, revealing a significant negative relationship that is stronger than environmental differences. Estimated dispersal scales for different groups show a negative correlation with body size, where less abundant large-bodied communities have significantly shorter dispersal scales and larger species spatial turnover rates than more abundant small-bodied plankton. Our results confirm that the dispersal scale of planktonic and micro-nektonic organisms is determined by local ab...
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DNA methods may contribute to better understand larval dispersal of marine lobsters. The molecular analysis of phyllosoma specimens from the East Atlantic facilitated for the first time here the description of Scyllarus subarctus... more
DNA methods may contribute to better understand larval dispersal of marine lobsters. The molecular analysis of phyllosoma specimens from the East Atlantic facilitated for the first time here the description of Scyllarus subarctus Crosnier, 1970 larvae. The identification of S. subarctus phyllosomae from Cabo Verde confirmed that this species has a much wider geographic distribution than previously thought. Moreover, the phylogenetic analyses placed S. depressus from the Western Atlantic together with the African species S. subarctus, instead of other American Scyllarus. In fact, S. depressus and S. subarctus formed a strongly supported clade with comparatively low genetic differentiation, suggesting the possibility that they might be recently-diverged sister taxa with an amphi-Atlantic distribution. Support for this is provided by the examination of S. subarctus larvae and the lack of any qualitative character that would allow for differentiation between the adults of S. subarctus a...
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The subtropical ocean gyres are recognized as great marine accummulation zones of floating plastic debris; however, the possibility of plastic accumulation at polar latitudes has been overlooked because of the lack of nearby pollution... more
The subtropical ocean gyres are recognized as great marine accummulation zones of floating plastic debris; however, the possibility of plastic accumulation at polar latitudes has been overlooked because of the lack of nearby pollution sources. In the present study, the Arctic Ocean was extensively sampled for floating plastic debris from the Tara Oceans circumpolar expedition. Although plastic debris was scarce or absent in most of the Arctic waters, it reached high concentrations (hundreds of thousands of pieces per square kilometer) in the northernmost and easternmost areas of the Greenland and Barents seas. The fragmentation and typology of the plastic suggested an abundant presence of aged debris that originated from distant sources. This hypothesis was corroborated by the relatively high ratios of marine surface plastic to local pollution sources. Surface circulation models and field data showed that the poleward branch of the Thermohaline Circulation transfers floating debris ...
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Research Interests: Marine Biology, Biology, Ecology, Morphology, Decapoda, and 5 morePinnotheridae, Plankton, Fishery, Temperature Effects, and Larva
The role of the ocean as a sink for CO2 is partially dependent on the downward transport of phytoplankton cells packaged within fast-sinking particles. However, whether such fast-sinking mechanisms deliver fresh organic carbon down to the... more
The role of the ocean as a sink for CO2 is partially dependent on the downward transport of phytoplankton cells packaged within fast-sinking particles. However, whether such fast-sinking mechanisms deliver fresh organic carbon down to the deep bathypelagic sea and whether this mechanism is prevalent across the ocean requires confirmation. Here we report the ubiquitous presence of healthy photosynthetic cells, dominated by diatoms, down to 4,000 m in the deep dark ocean. Decay experiments with surface phytoplankton suggested that the large proportion (18%) of healthy photosynthetic cells observed, on average, in the dark ocean, requires transport times from a few days to a few weeks, corresponding to sinking rates (124–732 m d−1) comparable to those of fast-sinking aggregates and faecal pellets. These results confirm the expectation that fast-sinking mechanisms inject fresh organic carbon into the deep sea and that this is a prevalent process operating across the global oligotrophic ...
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The first four zoeal stages of the shrimp Heterocarpus ensifer ensifer were obtained under laboratory conditions. The morphology of each larval stage was described and illustrated in detail. The Heterocarpus's larval features fit into... more
The first four zoeal stages of the shrimp Heterocarpus ensifer ensifer were obtained under laboratory conditions. The morphology of each larval stage was described and illustrated in detail. The Heterocarpus's larval features fit into the characteristics of the family Pandalidae, and indicate a close relationship with the genus Plesionika.
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Two ovigerous females of the processid shrimp Processa macrodactyla were caught in April 1997 at 13 m depth in coastal waters of Rota, Cádiz Bay, south-western Spain (36°36′N 6°18′W). Rearing was terminated after nine zoeal stages, when... more
Two ovigerous females of the processid shrimp Processa macrodactyla were caught in April 1997 at 13 m depth in coastal waters of Rota, Cádiz Bay, south-western Spain (36°36′N 6°18′W). Rearing was terminated after nine zoeal stages, when larvae moulted to the first juvenile instar. Descriptions of the appendages of every instar have been made so as to: (1) compare the larval morphology with that of other previous described known species in the genus Processa (P. canaliculata, P. edulis, P. elegantula, P. modica, P. nouveli); and (2) with those larvae not ascribed to a certain species in order to facilitate the specific identification of unknown collected planktonic larvae. When describing P. macrodactyla some characters remained, with few exceptions, invariable in their setation form ZI to ZIV or ZV, to then change and maintain until the last zoeal stage. This can be due to intermediate moults, with the result that some larvae unite the characters of Stages ZIV and ZV and others thos...
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Research Interests: Zoology, Western Europe, Plant Biology, Crustacea, Taxonomy, and 6 moreBiology, Ecology, Morphology, Hydrobiology, Decapoda, and Crustacean
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Concentrations of floating plastic were measured throughout the Mediterranean Sea to assess whether this basin can be regarded as a great accumulation region of plastic debris. We found that the average density of plastic (1 item per 4... more
Concentrations of floating plastic were measured throughout the Mediterranean Sea to assess whether this basin can be regarded as a great accumulation region of plastic debris. We found that the average density of plastic (1 item per 4 m2), as well as its frequency of occurrence (100% of the sites sampled), are comparable to the accumulation zones described for the five subtropical ocean gyres. Plastic debris in the Mediterranean surface waters was dominated by millimeter-sized fragments, but showed a higher proportion of large plastic objects than that present in oceanic gyres, reflecting the closer connection with pollution sources. The accumulation of floating plastic in the Mediterranean Sea (between 1,000 and 3,000 tons) is likely related to the high human pressure together with the hydrodynamics of this semi-enclosed basin, with outflow mainly occurring through a deep water layer. Given the biological richness and concentration of economic activities in the Mediterranean Sea, ...
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ABSTRACT Although Parthenopidae is a brachyuran decapod family comprising almost 140 species, there is little knowledge about its larval morphology. There are only two complete larval developments reared in the laboratory and some larval... more
ABSTRACT Although Parthenopidae is a brachyuran decapod family comprising almost 140 species, there is little knowledge about its larval morphology. There are only two complete larval developments reared in the laboratory and some larval stages described seven species. In the present work these data are compared and analysed. A summary is made of the larval features that characterize parthenopids that can be used to distinguish them from other brachyuran larvae. In addition, the megalopa stage of Derilambrus angulifrons and Parthenopoides massena was collected from plankton and identified by DNA barcodes. The morphology of the megalopa of D. angulifrons is described for the first time, and that of P. massena is compared with a previous description.
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There is a rising concern regarding the accumulation of floating plastic debris in the open ocean. However, the magnitude and the fate of this pollution are still open questions. Using data from the Malaspina 2010 circumnavigation,... more
There is a rising concern regarding the accumulation of floating plastic debris in the open ocean. However, the magnitude and the fate of this pollution are still open questions. Using data from the Malaspina 2010 circumnavigation, regional surveys, and previously published reports, we show a worldwide distribution of plastic on the surface of the open ocean, mostly accumulating in the convergence zones of each of the five subtropical gyres with comparable density. However, the global load of plastic on the open ocean surface was estimated to be on the order of tens of thousands of tons, far less than expected. Our observations of the size distribution of floating plastic debris point at important size-selective sinks removing millimeter-sized fragments of floating plastic on a large scale. This sink may involve a combination of fast nano-fragmentation of the microplastic into particles of microns or smaller, their transference to the ocean interior by food webs and ballasting proce...
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Previous studies on intra-specific interactions among green shore crabs have been undertaken in very large populations, in which individuals concentrate at high densities in physically complex substrates. Under such conditions,... more
Previous studies on intra-specific interactions among green shore crabs have been undertaken in very large populations, in which individuals concentrate at high densities in physically complex substrates. Under such conditions, cannibalism and interference competition often override initial density patterns delivered by larval supply. In this study, we focused on a Carcinus maenas population receiving a low supply of settlers. We
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ABSTRACT The morphology of the megalopa stage of the panopeid Rhithropanopeus harrisii is redescribed and illustrated in detail from plankton specimens identified by DNA barcode (16S mtDNA) as previous descriptions do not meet the current... more
ABSTRACT The morphology of the megalopa stage of the panopeid Rhithropanopeus harrisii is redescribed and illustrated in detail from plankton specimens identified by DNA barcode (16S mtDNA) as previous descriptions do not meet the current standard of brachyuran larval description. Several morphological characters vary widely from those of other panopeid species which could cast some doubt on the species’ placement in the same family. Besides, some anomalous megalopae of R. harrisii were found among specimens reared at the laboratory from zoeae collected in the plankton. These anomalous morphological features are discussed in terms of problems associated with laboratory rearing conditions.