The aim of this study was to investigate the factors that affect the patterns of occurrence and habitat utilization of bottlenose dolphins around Aberdeen harbour, on the north-east coast of Scotland (UK), and their responses to boat traffic. Land-based surveys were conducted over a period of nine weeks, between early May and late July, 2002. During this time 83 sightings of bottlenose dolphins were recorded. Dolphins occurred more frequently around midday and early afternoon, while their abundance was greater around high tide and late afternoon. Foraging was the most commonly observed activity.

Dolphins were usually concentrated around the entrance of Aberdeen harbour. Their responses to boats varied considerably according to boat size, activity and speed, but there is evidence of habituation to boat traffic.

Spirula spirula (L.) when freshly caught was found to be close to neutral buoyancy. The pressure of gas within the chambers of the shell was always less than atmospheric, being very low in the newest chamber of a growing animal and rising to a value a little below atmospheric in the older chambers. A chamber which was being formed was completely full of liquid. The only connexion between the liquid in a chamber and the living siphuncle is through a small permeable region of the siphuncular wall which lies at the top of a newly formed chamber. These results support the hypothesis that Spirula, Nautilus and Sepia all regulate their buoyancy in the same way. The shell is sufficiently strong to withstand the hydrostatic pressure of the sea at the depths at which the animal lives.

Thirty-four adult individuals of Loligo forbesi (males and females with dorsal mantle lengths from 27–77 cm) were observed in captivity in a 3 m diameter closed sea-water system on Faial Island, Azores. Squids were caught by jigging and were fed with horse mackerel (Trachurus picturatus) and chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus), either alive or dead. The maximum survival was 73 days. Feeding behaviour was dependent upon both the size of prey and its state of preservation;e.g. the squid would eat the head of small fish (< about 15 cm), reject the head of medium-sized fish (about 15–35 cm) and would eat only the dorsal part of a big fish (> about 35 cm) or a fish poorly preserved.

Seventeen chromatic, 9 postural and 6 movement components of body patterns were observed and described. Conspecific interactions considered to be aggression and dominance were observed among males; no such interactions occurred when one male and two females were kept together. Body patterns in relation to relaxation, stress, shock, feeding, locomotion and aggression are also described.

To evaluate the consequences of the coexistence of the Senegal sea bream Diplodus bellottii with one other species of Diplodus, Diplodus vulgaris, in the Tagus estuary (Portugal), the distribution and feeding habits of juveniles and adults of both species were studied. Sampling took place between May 2001 and March 2002, in five zones, including the estuary and adjacent coastal area, using an otter trawl. Both species were abundant in the estuary and their distribution overlapped. The stomach contents analysis showed that the diet of both species was mainly composed of algae, bivalves and crustaceans. Diphodus bellottii and D. vulgaris showed a generalist feeding behaviour and were clearly omnivorous, being detected in a high trophic niche overlap between the two species. Competition for space and food may occur when densities are high and food became a limiting factor.

The major by-catch species retained during twice yearly dredge surveys of great scallop, Pecten maximus, and queen scallop, Aequipecten opercularis, (both Mollusca: Pectinidae) populations on 13 fishing grounds in the northern Irish Sea, over a period of five years, were identified and enumerated. Additionally, the damage sustained by the by-catch was assessed and related to a range of physical parameters recorded during the survey. A number of species captured in the spring-toothed dredges exhibited differences in abundance and damage sustained between years, and also between the start and end of the closed season for great scallop fishing (1 June–31 October). The by-catch assemblage varied geographically, dependent upon the underlying community structure, as well as putative factors including gear efficiency and substratum type. Two clear assemblage types were identified by multivariate analysis, one to the south-west of the Isle of Man, the other covering fishing grounds to the north, east and south of the island. There is a hierarchy of species sensitivity to damage in great and queen scallop dredges, probably related to morphological and behavioural characteristics. This selective mortality of a fraction of the community may have long-term implications at the ecosystem level. The degree of damage sustained by many species is related to both the volume of stones retained in the dredge, and the total volume of the catch (dredge fullness). If these were reduced, the overall magnitude of incidental by-catch mortality would be lower.

Two forms of the genus Mytilus, M. edulis L. and M. galloprovincialis Lmk inhabit the rocky shores of Devon and Cornwall (Hepper, 1957). According to Gosling (1984), controversy has existed since 1860 as to whether M. galloprovincialis is a separate species or a subspecies of M. edulis. In a review of the systematic status of M. galloprovincialis, Gosling (1984) analysed the criteria used to identify and classify this form of Mytilus. Gosling did not reach any firm conclusion on the systematic status of these mytilids, but did suggest that the evidence favoured placing M. galloprovincialis as a variety, ecotype or even subspecies of M. edulis.

Fertilized herring eggs were hatched in large sea water enclosures containing natural populations of phytoplankton and Zooplankton and the developing fish sampled at intervals for a period of 90 days to determine the levels and composition of their depot triacylglycerols. The percentage of triacylglycerols in total lipid declined from hatching to about 40 days post-hatch and then increased markedly during the remaining 50 days. During the first 30 days from hatching the acyl groups of the triacylglycerols were dominated by polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially 18:4 (n−3), 20:5 (n−3) and 22:6 (n−3), characteristic of a predominantly phytoplanktonic diet. For the remainder of the 90-day experiment the percentages of polyunsaturated fatty acids decreased, to be replaced by increasing percentages of 20:1 (n−9) and 22:1 (n−11 ) fatty acids characteristic of a predominantly zooplanktonic diet.

The skeleton and calicoblastic ectoderm of the scleractinian non-zooxanthellate coral Caryophyllia smithii were investigated by light microscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Except for some costal spines, the skeleton was fasciculate. Fasciculi were made up of bundles of crystalline needles, each crystalline needle consisting of a number of linear series of small (<1 μm) rounded crystals. Fractured skeletons showed the fasciculi to be arranged into layers and that within some septa, theca and costal spines there were spaces that contained neither mineral nor organic matter. These spaces could also be found at the growing edges of septa and theca. Demineralization of the skeleton revealed an organic matrix whose configuration mirrored the architecture of the skeleton. In areas of the skeleton where deposition was occurring the overlying calicoblastic ectoderm was relatively thin with prominent intercellular spaces and secretory vesicles. In contrast, over non-depositing areas the calicoblastic ectoderm was thick and contained residual bodies, nematocysts and membrane-bound granules. The results are compared and contrasted with those from scleractinian corals that have endosymbiotic zooxanthellae.

Heart rate of the tropical limpet Cellana grata was monitored on the shore (Cape d'Aguilar, Hong Kong) and in the laboratory using a non-invasive technique. Individual field measurements performed on inactive limpets, in a variety of thermal conditions during a diurnal low tide, showed a general increase in heart rate with increasing body temperature. This relationship was not always evident when monitoring individual responses over a diurnal low tide period, since under some circumstances, heart rate of individuals decreased with increasing the temperature of the substrate and foot. A factorial laboratory experiment showed that heart rate was faster at higher temperatures but slower in larger animals. The combined evaluation of field and laboratory data suggests that limpets in some habitats may be able to regulate their metabolic rate when resting on hot rock substrates.

The pattern of occurrence of medusae off the north-east coast of England are described for the period 1990–1996. The predatory role of the medusae, Aglantha digitale, was examined by comparison of estimated predation rates with those of other planktonic predators. Aglanthe digitale was found to have the potential to considerably reduce copepod abundances, particularly in winter. Other important predators were the amphipod Themisto compressa and the chaetognath Sagitta elegans. There was a great deal of seasonal and interannual variability in predatory impact, with predators such as Pleurobrachia pileus and Meganyctiphanes norvegica occasionally exerting a high predatory impact. Previous studies have identified an important community structuring role for predation in winter in this area, this study shows that planktonic predators can influence copepod abundances throughout the year.

1. In the pilchard (Sardtha pilchardus Walbaum) of Cornwall there is a substantial seasonal variation in the mean weight of a fish of given length. The weight is highest in late autumn and early winter, and least at the end of winter and the early spring.

2. These changes in weight are largely due to variations in the fat content of the fish, which are richest in fat at the beginning of the winter fast, and poorest at the end of it. But, especially among the larger fish, the 'residue', chiefly proteins, are drawn upon at the time of the exhaustion of the fat, and consequently at the time of minimum mean weight. The water and ash content show no seasonal variation, and therefore play no part in the observed seasonal variation in the mean weight of the entire fish.

3. The gonads have their lowest mean weight in August, increase in weight slowly throughout the winter, and are at their maximum state of development from April to July. The spawning season, as deduced from these samples, is from March to September.

4. The rate of feeding is greatest in the same months as the spawning months, namely, from April to July. From July to September the average weight of food per stomach decreases, probably not because the planktonic food is then less abundant, but because it is shared among a greater number offish. In October there is a rally in the rate of feeding, but from November to February or March is a period of fasting, when very little food is taken.

5. The food of the pilchard is exclusively planktonic. In the spring, and again in the autumn, diatoms are abundant or even dominant in the food; in the summer, copepods and Crustacea are the chief items of food.

Five methods of estimating dissolved inorganic phosphate in sea water are compared. Membrane-filtered inshore water from the Menai Straits was used in the study.

Wooster and Rakestraw's method gave higher results than Harvey's procedure. This was caused by some unidentified factor resulting in a non-sensitized reduction of molybdate in the former method.

The annelid community of a shallow Mediterranean lagoon (Gialova Lagoon, Ionian Sea) was studied on a seasonal basis. Out of the 39 species identified eight are reported for the first time from the central Mediterranean. The dominant species were the polychaetes Capitella capitata, Neodexiospira pseudocorrugata, Malacoceros fuliginosus, Perinereis cultrifera, Hediste diversicolor, Heteromastus filiformis and the oligochaete Limnodriloides maslinicensis. Uni- and multivariate methods were employed to study the community structure. The coenocline observed is strongly related to the degree of isolation; its main features (i.e. number of species, density, geometric abundance and size-classes) in space and time are presented and discussed in detail. The distribution pattern of the annelid community has been found to be governed by a different set of environmental factors in each season. Although this narrow lagoonal habitat suffers severe dystrophic episodes it manages to recover, demonstrating a seasonal community pattern.

The survey of the sublittoral fauna of the Clyde Sea Area from 1949 onwards has shown that five species of the Protobranchiata are abundant throughout this region on a variety of substrata. Pelseneer (1891, 1899, 1911), Heath (1937), and Yonge (1939) have contributed much to the knowledge of the group as a whole, but little comparative work has been done at species level. Verrill & Bush (1897, 1898) studied the shell characters of the American Atlantic species. Moore (1931 a, b) worked on the faecal pellets of the British Nuculidae and attempted to distinguish the species by this means, while Winckworth (1930,1931), mainly in the light of the latter work, attempted to clarify the nomenclature of these species. Winckworth (1932) lists six British species of the family Nuculidae: Nucula sulcata Bronn, N. nucleus (Linné), N. hanleyi Winckworth, N. turgida Leckenby & Marshall, N. moorei Winckworth and N. tenuis (Montagu); and four species of the family Nuculanidae: Nuculana minuta (Müller), Yoldiella lucida (Loven), Y. tomlini Winckworth and Phaseolus pusillus (Jeffreys). All species of Nucula, except N. hanleyi, were taken from the Clyde Sea Area, although the latter species is included in the Clyde fauna list (Scott Elliot, Laurie & Murdoch, 1901). Only Nuculana minuta of the Nuculanidae has been taken on the present survey. Yoldiella tomlini is included in the 1901 list but is noted as being ‘insufficiently attested’. Nucula hanleyi was obtained from the Marine Station, Port Erin, but Yoldiella and Phaseolus were unobtainable.

Despite concern over declining catches of bass, Dicentrarchus labrax (L.), and disagreement over the cause, overfishing or erratic year classes (Kennedy & Fitzmaurice, 1972; Holden & Williams, 1974; Kelley, 1979), little is known of the early life history of this fish in the wild. Only occasional post-larvae have been recorded previously in young fish collections off Plymouth (Russell, 1935). These were caught between March and June, 2–24 km offshore and commonly below 20 m. The marine spawning grounds in the Plymouth area are unknown. Although Kennedy & Fitzmaurice (1968) found bass eggs at Splaugh Rock and Youghal Harbour on the south coast of Ireland and Barnabé (1978) observed spawning near the breakwater at Sète in the Gulf of Lions, bass eggs have not previously been found near Plymouth. Hartley (1940) recorded the growth and diet of bass in the Tamar Estuary. He noted that adults were very rare in the estuary which was used only as a nursery ground for this species.

Certain marine algae were treated with sea water containing carrier-free radioactive strontium (mixture of Sr89 and Sr90), to test whether these ions were taken up by the weeds.

At the same time the behaviour of radioactive yttrium (Y90), which occurred as a short-lived daughter-product of Sr90, was investigated by the expedient of studying the ‘decay’ characteristics of specimens of water and weed.

Promising possibilities of this technique, by which an isotope is made available for study by applying its parent substance, are pointed out.

Radioactive strontium is extracted from sea water by the brown sea-weeds, in particular by Fucus serratus.

It is held that this effect is simply a result of ionic exchange, and that the algae regularly contain many times as much strontium in their cell fluids as exists in sea water.

Haemoglobin is present, often at high concentration, dissolved in the blood of all small Pogonophora so far examined.

The haemoblobin of Siboglinum fiordicum resembles annelid and vestimentiferan haemoglobins in having subunits with molecular weights of 15000–16700 plus traces of 35000–40000 MW material. 5. fiordicum haemoglobin has 1 mol haem per 21500 g protein, and a similar lack of correspondence between subunits and mols of haem is shown by annelid and vestimentiferan haemoglobins. However, S. fiordicum haemoglobin differs considerably from annelid and vestimentiferan haemoglobins in other respects, even though the three groups are closely linked taxonomically. The haemoglobin of S. fiordicum has a lower apparent molecular weight (Mr = 3.5–4.0 x 105) than that of annelid haemoglobins (Mr = 3–4 x 108) when measured under the same conditions. Pogonophore blood examined with the electron microscope does not show the two-tiered hexagonal structure found in annelid and vestimentiferan haemoglobins. S. fiordicum haemoglobin also differs from annelid and vestimentiferan haemoglobins in amino acid composition.

The haemoglobins of the small pogonophores examined have a very high affinity for oxygen. The P 50 ranges from 0.36 Torr in diluted blood of S. fiordicum (15 °C) to 0.5–1.0 Torr in undiluted blood of S. atlanticum (10 °C) and s. fiordicum (15 °C). Only a slight Bohr effect was found. The high oxygen affinity can be related to the wide range of P o2 values experienced in the habitat and the need to transport oxygen to the deeply buried posterior end of the body that contains autotrophic endosymbiotic bacteria.

In order to improve the methodology for growing and maintaining corals in captivity, a consortium of European zoos, aquaria and academia executed a four-year public/private collaborative research and innovation project (CORALZOO) on the breeding and husbandry of stony corals. CORALZOO comprised the following topics: (1) sexual and asexual breeding of corals in captivity, including techniques for propagation, feeding and induction of natural coral colony morphogenesis; and (2) coral husbandry: development of generic bioassays to evaluate biotic and abiotic husbandry parameters and to monitor coral health, elaboration of methods for identification and treatment of coral diseases and optimization of transport and acclimation procedures. The results of this project are reviewed.

This study tested the hypothesis that regularly-shaped sandstone blocks in intertidal boulder-fields are colonized by mobile macrofauna at a similar rate to colonization of natural boulders. In addition, the sessile component on these plates (three levels of sessile assemblages) and their position in the boulder-field (three different positions relative to other boulders) were varied to test hypotheses about effects of these features on colonization. The epibiota varied among the three sets of plates and the natural boulders at the start of the experiment. The boulders were very rapidly colonized by a suite of mobile animals, particularly chitons, gastropods and echinoderms. Colonization was sparse and patchy to start with, causing great variability among replicates. Nevertheless, it did not differ among any of the treatments, indicating that even at this early stage, colonization did not differ between natural boulders and blocks, nor according to the sessile assemblage, or the proximity of other boulders. By six months, there was little variability among replicates and the assemblages had converged. This indicates that sandstone plates/blocks can form a standardized unit of habitat which can be used to test models about spatial variation in this relatively specialized fauna.

This work provides information about the fish assemblage structure along the estuarine gradient of Baía da Babitonga, south Brazil. The seasonal and spatial dynamics of fish and their relationship with physical–chemical variables were investigated. A total of 70,085 fish of 70 taxa were collected. Late larva and early juveniles of Engraulidae, Eucinostomus spp. and Mugil spp. dominated in abundance, representing 62% of all fish captured. Permutational multivariate analysis of variance identified distinct fish assemblages within the bay and during the year. The marine straggler species Harengula clupeola, Oligoplites saliens and Trachinotus carolinus and the estuarine migrant Anchoa tricolor were characteristic of the outer-most bay area, while the estuarine resident and migrant species Atherinella brasiliensis, Anchoa januaria, Sphoeroides greeleyi and Citharichthys spilopterus, and the marine migrant Diapterus rhombeus were characteristic of the inner portion of the estuary. The seasonal changes in community structure observed were mainly related to the greater abundance of T. carolinus in the warm/wet season, Micropogonias furnieri in the transition season and Oligoplites saliens in the cold/dry season. Depth, followed by salinity, explained the greater part of the variability in the abundance of dominant species and was found to be important in shaping the assemblages. Nevertheless, the amount of variation unexplained by the measured abiotic variables was relatively high (73%), suggesting the effect of additional regulatory factors. Many fish species use the shallow waters of the bay in transitory or permanent ways, and knowledge about their relationship with the environment is necessary for the success of conservation strategies for this ecosystem.