Crepipatella fecunda is a benthic, primarily suspension-feeding gastropod that occurs in great abundance along the Chilean coast. It is a protandrous species whose reproduction involves brooding of an encapsulated embryonic stage followed by the release of free-living planktotrophic larvae. Because its close sister species, C. dilatata, co-occurs with C. fecunda, understanding the details of reproduction in this species might shed light on differences in reproductive features that correlate with divergences in mode of development. In southern Chile, brooding occurs throughout the year except for May and June, and each female produces 3–7 broods. The smallest brooding female was 28·2 mm in shell length and the largest was 56·3 mm. All full-grown eggs from the ovary are deposited at one time in a single brood, and only smaller oocytes remain in the gonad after the female finishes ovopositing. Those females that host pinnotherid crabs do not deposit eggs. All the eggs develop into embryos whose intracapsular development is similar to Crepidula fornicata and Crepipatella lingulata. Planktotrophic larvae hatch at a mean shell length of 329·5 μm (SD=27·09) after 4–5 weeks. During the pelagic stage the shell and velum of the larvae grow, but little other morphological development is visible externally. The pelagic stage lasts for 15–16 days at 17°C, during which the larvae grow ∼20·7 μm d−1. Observations of cultured larvae and protoconchs of field-collected juveniles show that settlement occurs when the larvae reach a shell-length of 650 μm (SD=28·3 μm).

Embryos of Crepidula dilatata develop within egg capsules where they feed on nutritive eggs also deposited within the capsules. Nutritive eggs permit the embryos to develop to a juvenile stage at hatching without passing through a pelagic larval phase. The juveniles enter the local population in posession of a well developed radula and gill filaments covered by lateral, ventral, and dorsal cilia. Initial feeding by the juveniles, employing both the radula and the gill, occurs from the first day of release from the capsule. The radular band of recently hatched snails is functional from the first day in the benthos, and is used for grazing the substrate, driving the mucus cord from the neck-canal to the mouth, and also for extracting mucus balls produced in the food pouch. The gill is active in particle collection from the first day of the free living juvenile, and is noted by the presence of well developed dorsal and ventral ciliature, active in moving mucus and particles over the gill lamellae to form the mucus string at the extreme ends of the gill filaments. The food pouch becomes active two to three days after initiation of production of mucus cords. All the functions associated with feeding, such as the numbers of mucus cords, radular strokes, and mucus balls increase in activity with progressive development of the juveniles.

Adult Polinices pulchellus were collected from the field and held in aquaria under ambient conditions. Egg collars laid by P. pulchellus were cultured at 14°C and 20°C and larval development after hatching was documented photographically. Planktotrophic Polinices pulchellus veligers hatched from egg collars cultured at 20°C after nine to ten days and after 14 to 15 days at 14°C. Veligers spent most of their time close to the water surface and began feeding within one hour of hatching. Repeated attempts to raise larvae to metamorphic competency at 14°C were unsuccessful. Morphological changes, most notably in the colour and size of the velum and foot, were observed in larvae raised at 20°C. During the first 25 days of larval development the velum broadened and bifurcated into four velar arms, the distal regions of which acquired a deep red coloration. By day 40 the foot had increased considerably in size and the degree of black pigmentation. By day 45 pediveligers were competent to metamorphose to the juvenile stage. Exposure to sediment from the adult habitat induced metamorphosis, larvae lost their vela and became benthic juveniles. Within three days of metamorphosis, juvenile snails drilled the bivalve Lasaea adansoni (∼2 mm), later drilled Cerastoderma edule (∼4 mm), and displayed cannibalistic behaviour. Larvae survived for ∼6 months in the absence of a suitable settlement cue.

The first occurrence of a giant squid Architeuthis sp. specimen in Portuguese waters is noted and another reference set of biological and biometrical data provided which may in future be used in conjunction with others to further elucidate important aspects of the identity, biology and ecology of the species. The fact that the specimen is a male is relevant, since males have been much less frequent in the reports in the scientific literature than have females. Additionally, this is the most southerly report of a male known to have occurred in the Atlantic Ocean.

Previous morphological studies of Illex coindetii from the Mediterranean have shown both juvenile and mature individuals all year round suggesting an homogeneous population pattern, however, seasonal spawning variation seems to exist varying with geographical area. Present work analysed 240 individuals from the northern Tyrrhenian and Atlantic Iberian waters at the four year-round seasons using 33 presumptive enzyme-coding loci to compare geographical and temporal variances. Genetic variability was low (Ho=0·02–0·04). Moderate variation at some loci was found due to both temporal and geographical factors (12% of total genetic variance) and to temporal variance (FST=0·004–0·015). Unweighted pair-group method using arithmetric averages (UPGMA) and Multidimensional scaling–minimum spanning tree (MDS–MST) analyses after Cavalli-Sforza & Edwards (1967) chord genetic distances showed the summer Italian and the spring Atlantic samples as the most divergent among the whole.

The full developmental sequence from egg to juvenile of Lipophrys trigloides in controlled conditions is described. In addition, some notes on the spawning behaviour of adults are provided. Embryonic development lasted 13–14 days at 21·00–23·00°C, 16–17 days at 17·25–18·50°C and 17–18 days at 14·00–16·50°C. Newly hatched larvae measured 4·8 mm, had the mouth and anus opened, pigmented eyes and almost no yolk. Most larvae settled between day 39 and 42 after hatching at 16·0–17·0 mm total length (TL) and showed full juvenile pigmentation patterns and behaviour 5 to 10 days later (17·0–18·0 mm TL). A summary of the characteristics of the eggs and larvae that may help in the distinction between L. trigloides and Lipophrys pholis, a very close related species, is also provided.

Removal of egg-tending males in a monogamous goby, Amblygobius phalaena, was performed on coral reefs of Okinawa, Japan. All five removal experiments led to shifts of parental care to the paired females, and two of the females continued egg care until just before the eggs hatched. Evolution of the shift of parental care to a non-caregiving parent in this species may be facilitated by the spatial closeness between mates after spawning and no necessity of special structures and organs for guarding care.

Reproduction of newly established populations of the warm-water Atlantic Mediterranean wrasse Thalassoma pavo is here reported for the first time in the Ligurian Sea, and mating behaviour is described in detail. The reproductive season (May to October) may be divided in three stages: (1) pre-mating (mid-May to the end of June), during which terminal-phase (TP) males establish territories and start courting females; (2) mating (end of June to the end of August), with a mean frequency of up to one spawning event ind−1 h−1; and (3) post-mating (September to mid-October), when TP males remained inside territories but no spawning events were recorded. Mating followed two distinct modalities: pair spawning and group spawning, the latter replacing the former when population density exceeded 10 ind 100 m−2. Four phases have been distinguished in both modalities: (1) approach (pair) or gathering (group), to establish the contact between potential partners; (2) acceptance (pair) or priming (group), in which partners establish a common behavioural pattern; (3) ascent to near the sea surface; and (4) spawning. The saddled sea-bream Oblada melanura has been seen to predate intensively on the large cloud of sexual products released by groups.

Using a 24-year time series of monthly samples, the factors correlated with long-term variation in the abundance and growth of sole, Solea solea, in Bridgwater Bay in the Bristol Channel, England are identified. This bay offers shallow estuarine habitat used by sole as a nursery area. Sole first enter the bay in July when 2–3 months old and after a residence of 4–5 months, the majority migrate offshore at the beginning of winter to return the following April. By three years of age most have left the bay never to return although occasional large fish up to 480 mm in length are caught. Sole were found to be highly seasonal in their growth and only increased in length during the months of May to August inclusive. In recent years, there has been an approximately exponential increase in sole abundance that is highly positively correlated with seawater temperature during the early part of the season. The average length of fish in September, at the end of their first growing season, showed significant between year variation, ranging from 65·3 mm in 1989 to 79·8 mm in 2003. This variation was positively correlated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) winter index for the winter prior to their birth. Between year recruitment variation is correlated with both water temperature and the rate of growth. High temperatures allow faster development and a positive NAO index increases productivity and offers more food. Both of these positive influences act to reduce mortality resulting in stronger year-classes. No relationships between sole and other fish and macro-crustaceans living in the nursery were identified.

The sex ratio of 100 immature Kemp's ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempi) captured in Gullivan Bay, Ten Thousand Islands, south-west Florida was determined through radioimmunoassay analysis (RIA) of plasma testosterone levels. We determined the sex ratio to be 1·9F:1·0M, corroborating the female dominance reported from other studies. The mean sizes of female (N=57) and male turtles (N=30) were 40·9 cm (±6·9 SD) and 41·9 cm (±6·2 SD), respectively. There were an additional 13 turtles (41·3 cm±6·5 SD) for which sex could not be determined by this technique. Female-biased sex ratios are not uncommon in reptiles with temperature dependent sex determination. If fecundity is not male-limited, the occurrence of a female-biased sex ratio could enhance the recovery of the endangered Kemp's ridley turtle.

Thirty-six boat surveys were conducted in Guanabara Bay, south-eastern Brazil, from October 2002 to June 2004 in order to investigate marine tucuxi group characteristics. The average and the range of tucuxis group size in the Guanabara Bay are similar with areas where small group sizes have been recorded. Group size ranged between one and 40 individuals (13·0±9·5; median=10·0). Groups of two to ten dolphins were the most common (53·9% of observations). Group size and the maximum number of dolphins sighted in each survey day did not vary between seasons (Kruskal–Wallis test, H3,36=3·249; P=0·355). Spatial geometry varied with group size and mixed groups were the largest (Kruskal–Wallis test, H3,218=57·149; P<0·001). The presence of calves had a great effect on group size, and nursery groups (mean =14·3±9·1; median=13·0) were twice as large than non-calf groups (mean=7·1±5·2; median=6·0). It is suggested that larger groups may aid in the calves development and learning. Group size changed frequently, resulting in 82·2% of observations with no constant size. Group size of marine tucuxi was not affected by the dolphins' behaviour (Kruskal–Wallis test, H2,215=5·626, P=0·06) neither by water depth (R2=0·012; F1,219=2·82; P=0·094).

A herd of female sperm whales with calves was observed for the first time off the coast of Monaco in mid December 2001. The herd was composed of more than ten animals: the adults were foraging; the calves were resting. The adult whales measured less than 12 m in length and the calves were estimated to be 5 m. This occurrence is discussed.