Marine Invertebrate

An unprecedented mass mortality event has been observed at the end of the summer 1999 along the coasts of Provence (France) and Ligury (Italy). This event has severely affected a wide array of sessile filter-feeder invertebrates from hard-substratum communities, such as sponges (particularly the keratose sponges Hippospongia and Spongia), cnidarians (particularly the anthozoans Corallium, Paramuricea, Eunicella and Cladocora), bivalves, ascidians and bryozoans. Along the Provence coasts, the outbreak spread from east to west. Exceptionally high and constant temperatures of the whole water column (23–24 °C, for over one month, down to 40 m) could have determined an environmental context favourable to the mass mortality event. Like the thermal anomaly, the mortality is limited in depth. However, we cannot ascertain whether temperature had a direct effect on organisms or acted in synergy with a latent and/or waterborne agent (microbiological or chemical). Taking into account the global warming context in the NW-Mediterranean, monitoring programs of physical-chemical parameters and vulnerable populations should rapidly be set up.Un événement de mortalité massive sans précédent en Méditerranée a été observé à la fin de l’été 1999 sur les côtes de Provence (France) et de Ligurie (Italie). Cet événement a sévèrement affecté une grande diversité d’invertébrés sessiles et filtreurs des communautés de substrats durs, parmi lesquels des spongiaires (en particulier, les éponges cornées Hippospongia et Spongia), des cnidaires (en particulier, les anthozoaires Corallium, Paramuricea, Eunicella et Cladocora), des bivalves, des ascidies et des bryozoaires. Sur les côtes de Provence, l’épidémie s’est propagée d’est en ouest. Une température exceptionnellement élevée et stable sur l’ensemble de la colonne d’eau (23–24 °C pendant plus d’un mois jusqu’à 40 m) a constitué un contexte environnemental probablement déterminant pour le phénomène de mortalité massive. Comme l’anomalie thermique, la mortalité est limitée par le profondeur. Cependant, on ne peut pas préciser si la température a eu un effet direct ou a agi en synergie avec un altéragène (microbiologique ou chimique) latent et/ou véhiculé par les courants. Compte tenu du contexte actuel de réchauffement global de la Méditerranée nord-occidentale, il convient de mettre en œuvre des programmes de surveillance de paramètres physicochimiques et de populations vulnérables.

Compared with most animal phyla, the Nematomorpha, also known as hair worms, is a relatively understudied metazoan phylum. Although nematomorphs make up only 1 of 3 animal phyla specializing solely on a parasitic life style, little attention has been focused on this enigmatic group scientifically. The phylum contains two main groups. The nectonematids are parasites of marine invertebrates such as hermit crabs. The gordiids are parasites of terrestrial arthropods, such as mantids, beetles, and crickets. Members of both of these groups are free-living as adults in marine and freshwaters respectively. In recent years, large strides have been made to understand this group more fully. New information has come from collection efforts, new approaches in organismal biology, modern techniques in microscopy and molecular biology. This review will focus on the advances made in four main areas of research: (1) morphology, (2) taxonomy and systematics, (3) life cycle and ecology and (4) host beh...

Le Burdigalien inférieur dans la région type de l'étage (Gironde, Sud du Bordelais) comprend des dépôts marins de faciès assez variés, souvent riches en mollusques. Localement est présente la formation, très basale, des « Sables à Mactres », anciennement connue à Léognan, mais très peu étudiée in litteris. Nous avons découvert pour la première fois à Martillac des dépôts s'y rattachant, et étudions leur contenu paléontologique. La macrofaune s'avère plus diversifiée qu'on ne le penserait au vu du sédiment : 210 espèces de mollusques ont par exemple été recensées dans ces sables fins gris, lités et très carbonatés, où les coquilles de Bivalves, dominantes dans la paléobiomasse recueillie et bien préservées, apparaissent soit dispersées, soit regroupées en lits. Sont aussi présents des oursins, astérides, crustacés, annélides, scléractiniaires, brachiopodes, restes de poissons, algues Rhodophycées…, ainsi qu'un microbenthos abondant. Des observations taphonomiques sont faites sur la séquence sableuse, et des remarques taxonomiques concernent certaines espèces de mollusques, de même que des considérations biostratigraphiques. D'un point de vue paléoécologique, au sein de la malacofaune, les formes endobiontes apparaissent largement dominantes, elles sont accompagnées par divers taxons épibiontes et semi-fouisseurs, et quelques pélagiques et endolithes. Concernant le régime trophique, les suspensivores comptent le plus de spécimens, en particulier chez les Bivalves, souvent très abondants, et par ailleurs les carnivores, détritivores, herbivores et commensaux/parasites sont plus ou moins bien représentés. Globalement, les espèces de substrat meuble sont nettement majoritaires. Ce paléobiofaciès à Mactres – Donax – Capsa – Pitar – Loripes – Ringicula correspond à un dépôt en zone côtière tidale assez abritée, de type baie peu profonde, avec très peu d'apports détritiques, et soumise à un hydrodynamisme modéré et à un climat subtropical à tropical. Les remaniements s'avèrent très faibles dans la séquence peu coquillière (espèces parautochtones), et les transports ont dû être limités dans le cas des lits faluniens (petits chenaux, action des marées). Les modalités de mise en place des phases précoces de la transgression burdigalienne sont ainsi précisées régionalement.The Early Burdigalian in the type area of the stage (Gironde, South of Bordeaux) comprises marine deposits with rather various facies, often rich in molluscs. Locally, the very basal Formation of “Sables à Mactres” is present, formerly known in Léognan, but very little studied in litteris. We have discovered first at Martillac deposits allocated to this Formation, and we study their paleontological contents. The macrofauna is more diversified than it was expected from the aspect of sediment; for instance, 210 mollusc species have been inventoried in these grey fine sands, bedded and very carbonatic, where Bivalvia shells are well preserved and dominant among the whole fauna. These shells are either scattered in the layers or accumulated in small beds. Echinoids, Asteroids, Crustacea, Annelida, Scleractinia, Brachiopoda, fishes, Alga Rhodophycea, are present, as well as an abundant microbenthos. Taphonomic observations are made on the sandy sequence, and taxonomic and biostratigraphic remarks concern some mollusc species. From a paleoecologic point of view, the endobiont forms are dominant within the malacofauna, they are accompanied by several epibiont and semi-endobiont taxa, and few pelagic and endolith ones. Concerning the trophics, the suspension-feeders molluscs are dominant in specimens number, notably amongst Bivalvia, and carnivores, detritivores/deposit-feeders, herbivores and commensal/parasites are more or less well represented. On the whole, the soft-substrate species are obviously in a majority. This paleobiofacies with Mactrids – Donax – Capsa – Pitar – Loripes – Ringicula corresponds to a deposit in a coastal tidal area, rather calm, of a shallow embayment type, with very few detritics, and submitted to a moderate hydrodynamism and to a subtropical to tropical climate. The reworking is insignificant in the sequence where shells are dispersed (parautochthonous species), and the transport has been limited to the falun beds (e.g. little channels, tides action). The conditions of settlement of the earliest phases of Burdigalian transgression are thus specified in this type area.

Numerous marine invertebrates form endosymbiotic relationships with dinoflagellates in the genus Symbiodinium. However, few studies have examined the fine-scale population structure of these symbionts. Here, we describe the genetic structure of Symbiodinium type “B1/B184” inhabiting the gorgonian Gorgonia ventalina along the Florida Keys. Six polymorphic microsatellite loci were utilized to examine 16 populations along the Upper, Middle, and Lower Keys spanning a range of ~200 km. Multiple statistical tests detected significant differentiation in 54–92% of the 120 possible pairwise comparisons between localities, suggesting low levels of gene flow in these dinoflagellates. In general, populations clustered by geographic region and/or reefs in close proximity. Some of the sharpest population differentiation was detected between Symbiodinium from deep and shallow sites on the same reef. In spite of the high degree of population structure, alleles and genotypes were shared among localities, indicating some connectivity between Symbiodinium populations associated with G. ventalina.

A central reason that undergirds the significance of evo-devo is the claim that development was left out of the Modern synthesis. This claim turns out to be quite complicated, both in terms of whether development was genuinely excluded and how to understand the different kinds of embryological research that might have contributed. The present paper reevaluates this central claim by

The Terlingua local fauna is a rich assemblage of predominantly terrestrial micro vertebrates from the Upper Cretaceous Aguja Formation of Trans-Pecos Texas. Marine invertebrates (which include elements of both Cretaceous Western Interior and Gulf Coast zoogeographic provinces) from conformably underlying strata suggest that the fauna is of late Campanian age, probably correlative with Judithian assemblages of the Western Interior. A Judithian “age” for the fauna is further supported by its mammal and theropod assemblages, and by the faunas of overlying deposits. The previously reported diversity of the Aguja Formation, which we summarize, is significantly enriched by this new fauna. The fauna also fills a major gap in the biogeography of Campanian terrestrial vertebrates.Notable occurrences in the Terlingua local fauna include the therian mammal Gallolestes, previously known only from Baja California, and a hitherto unrecorded type of primitive ‘tribothere.’ At least 4 marsupial and 6 multituberculate taxa are present, several of which represent new taxa. Squamates comprise at least 10 taxa, including xenosaurs, necrosaurs, glyptosaurines, scincids, teiids, and a snake, several of which represent new taxa. In addition, the fauna includes at least 7 dinosaurs, 1 pterosaur, 2 crocodylomorphs, 3 turtles, 3 lissamphibians, 3 actinopterygians, and 8 chondrichthyans. Wood, amber, leaves, seeds, pollen, molluscs, and dinoflagellates are also preserved. The fauna is not strictly comparable to others from the Western Interior. It includes taxa that are either endemic or otherwise known only from relatively low latitudes, indicating an appreciable degree of latitudinal differentiation among Campanian terrestrial faunas bordering the Western Interior seaway.

... Maria Medina da Fonseca 1 Antonio Carlos Sequeira Fernandes 1 Deusana Maria da Costa Machado 3 Aline Rocha de Souza 3 ... fossilíferos do Membro Passagem (base da Formação Cabeças), que fazem parte da sequência mesodevoniana-eocarbonífera de Vaz et al ...

Natural products isolated from sponges are an important source of new biologically active compounds. However, the development of these compounds into drugs has been held back by the difficulties in achieving a sustainable supply of these often-complex ...

Reef fish, corals, and other marine invertebrate species associated with coral reefs need to be managed in a sustainable manner to halt destructive fishing in the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries. As part of the Coastal Communities Empowerment Project, the International Marinelife Alliance (IMA) plans to implement Territorial Use Rights in Fisheries (TURFs) to help manage municipal waters; while creating alternative livelihoods for small-scale fishermen and their families. Changes to the Local Government Code allow Philippine municipal councils to regulate fishing and mariculture in waters within 15 km from shore. The councils can lease TURFs to local fisherfolk and prevent their use by those outside the community. The IMA plans to help create several types of TURFs. These include TURFs used by aquarium-fish collectors, for rearing giant clams, and for farming live rock and coral fragments. The TURFs are part of a larger strategy to conserve marine biodiversity, protect and restore marine habitats, and promote sustainable use of marine resources by local people. Fish and invertebrates harvested from the TURFs will be used in programs to restore marine habitats and to generate income from exports that supply the aquarium trade.

Many symbiotic marine invertebrates acquire free-living Symbiodinium from the envi- ronment. Abundance and diversity of free-living Symbiodinium could influence recovery from bleaching, resilience, and the long-term adaptation of host organisms. Although free-living Symbio- dinium have been detected in the water column and substrates of coral reefs, their diversity and availability to the hosts are poorly understood. Tank experiments were conducted

Antimicrobial peptides are widely expressed in organisms and have been linked to innate and acquired immunities in vertebrates. These compounds are constitutively expressed and rapidly induced at different cellular levels to interact directly with infectious agents and/or modulate immunoreactions involved in defense against pathogenic microorganisms. In invertebrates, antimicrobial peptides represent the major humoral defense system against infection, showing a diverse spectrum of action mechanisms, most of them related to plasma membrane disturbance and lethal alteration of microbial integrity. Marine invertebrates are widespread, extremely diverse, and constantly under an enormous microbial challenge from the ocean environment, itself altered by anthropic influences derived from industrialization and transportation. Consequently, this study reexamines the peptides isolated over the past 2 decades from different origins, bringing phyla not previously reviewed up to date. Moreover, ...

Relatively few studies have been done to define or assess rarity in the marine environment. Published studies have focused on shallow-water and intertidal habitats, and the available information appears to reflect the same pattern observed in terrestrial environments, i.e., that there are many rare species and few common species in any one given area. However, our studies of the abundance of new and/or supposedly rare taxa of decapod crustaceans from the deep, steep slopes of the island of Balicasag, in the central Philippines, have raised questions on how rarity should be defined in marine invertebrates. Examples of such supposedly rare species of crabs and lobsters (Crustacea: Decapoda) are presented here. That these animals come from deep, steep slopes, a relatively under-studied habitat, highlights the major gaps in current knowledge of marine biodiversity that are in part due to the inadequacy of both traditional and high technology sampling methodologies and the limited habitat types that the former can target. Low-technology, artisanal tangle nets have proved to be an optimal capture technique for deep-water decapod crustaceans on deep, steep slopes; many new taxa have been discovered and, in other cases, perceptions of rarity and endemicity have been corrected.

This study investigated the toxic effects of the insecticides lindane and chlorpyrifos, the herbicide diuron, the organometallic antifoulant tributyltin (TBT), and the surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) on the early life stages of Paracentrotus lividus (Echinodermata, Euechinoidea), Ciona intestinalis (Chordata, Ascidiacea), Maja squinado and Palaemon serratus (Arthropoda, Crustacea) in laboratory acute toxicity tests. The assays studied embryogenesis success from fertilized egg to normal larvae in P. lividus (48 h incubation at 20 °C) and C. intestinalis (24 h incubation at 20 °C), and larval mortality at 24 and 48 h in M. squinado and P. serratus. For P. lividus, the median effective concentrations (EC50) reducing percentages of normal larvae by 50% were: 350 μg l−1 for chlorpyrifos, 5500 μg l−1 for diuron, 4277 μg l−1 for SDS, and 0.309 μg l−1 for TBT. For C. intestinalis, the EC50 values affecting embryogenesis success were 5666 μg l−1 for chlorpyrifos, 24,397 μg l−1 for diuron, 4412 μg l−1 for lindane, 5145 μg l−1 for SDS, and 7.1 μg l−1 for TBT. The median lethal concentrations (LC50) for M. squinado larval survival were 0.84 μg l−1 (24 h) and 0.79 μg l−1 (48 h) for chlorpyrifos, 2.23 μg l−1 (24 h) and 2.18 μg l−1 (48 h) for lindane, and 687 μg l−1 (48 h) for SDS. For P. serratus the LC50 values obtained were 0.35 μg l−1 (24 h) and 0.22 μg l−1 (48 h) for chlorpyrifos, 3011 μg l−1 (24 h) and 3044 μg l−1 (48 h) for diuron, 5.20 μg l−1 (24 h) and 5.59 μg l−1 (48 h) for lindane, and 22.30 μg l−1 (24 h) and 17.52 μg l−1 (48 h) for TBT. Decapod larvae, as expected, were markedly more sensitive to the insecticides than sea urchins and ascidians, and SDS was the least toxic compound tested for these organisms. Lowest observed effect concentrations (LOEC) of TBT for sea urchin and ascidian embryos, chlorpyrifos and lindane for crustacean larvae, and SDS, were similar to those found in many coastal areas indicating that there would be a risk to invertebrate embryos and larvae from exposure in the field to these pollutants.