Macrofaunal assemblages inhabiting stable offshore muddy sand substrata responded predictably to the effects of mild organic enrichment arising from sewage-sludge disposal off the north-east coast of England (western North Sea). At the disposal site, densities were elevated up to two-fold, but classical ‘indicator’ species were only marginally enhanced and there was no evidence of a significant waste-induced change in assemblage structure. The response following cessation of disposal was equally predictable, with a decline in densities to ‘reference’ levels some three years later. However, physical manifestations of disposal, including tomato pips and non-biodegradable artefacts, were still evident after this time.

Changes in diversity at selected monitoring stations tended to track each other over time and the employment of treatment/reference ratios and limit values for acceptable change provided a useful model for the simplified expression of trends. Predictions concerning the limited scale and intensity of the effects of sewage-sludge disposal appear to have been met, indicating that the management option of sea disposal was, at the time, an environmentally acceptable one.

Temporal trends in the benthic fauna were also correlated with winter values of the North Atlantic Oscillation Index for the preceding year. The densities and variety of species tended to be lower in response to warmer winters characterized by westerly airflows which were commonly encountered in the 1990s. Finally, the increasing importance of extended time-series data for the investigation of man-made impacts on the marine environment is highlighted, along with the accompanying requirement for continuity and quality assurance of sampling programmes.

Idotea metallica Bosc is a dark-brown or blue-black species, its colour being controlled largely by the degree of expansion of, and pigment concentration in, the dermal chromatophores. In addition, the iridophores produce the characteristic metallic sheen by Tyndall scattering.

A checklist of published records of coronuloid barnacles (Cirripedia: Thoracica: Coronuloidea) attached to marine vertebrates is presented, with 44 species (including 15 fossil species) belonging to 14 genera (including 3 fossil genera) and 3 families recorded. Also included is information on their geographical distribution and the hosts with which they occur.

This paper reports a preliminary investigation into physiological and pharmacological aspects of the motor activity of the digestive tract of Octopus vulgaris, with reference tothe relevant anatomy. The results suggest that the octopus gut shows many similarities to somevertebrate guts in terms of functional morphology and motor control. Pharmacological experiments suggest that acetylcholine, noradrenaline and 5HT may act as neurotransmitters and probablyregulate the digestive activity by antagonistic actions, reminiscent of the classical divisions of the vertebrate autonomic nervous system. Histochemical evidence is presented that some ofthese substances are located in the nerves and ganglia of the digestive tract.

During a series of North Sea demersal fish surveys, a headline camera was used to photograph the sea-bed at intervals of 1 min, throughout the duration of 60 min trawls. A successful series of underwater photographs were obtained at 119 stations throughout the North Sea. In addition, the benthos caught at 317 stations was recorded.

A total of ca. 30 species could be identified on the underwater photographs, and of these ten species were sufficiently common or locally abundant for estimates of local population densities to be made. Distributions throughout the North Sea based on specimens trawled and specimens photographed were compared.

If newly released spores of red algae are placed in a suspension of Indian ink in sea water, a clear halo of mucilaginous material will be seen. A similar mucilage cover is also a well-known feature with certain phytoplankton organisms, in which cells of spiny appearance (e.g. freshwater desmids) assume a spherical form in Indian ink when the mucilage cover is also observed (Lund, 1959). The attachment of red algal spores is a process in which mucilage clearly plays some part (Suto, 1950; Nakazawa, 1958; Matsumoto, 1959; Boney, 1966; Linskens, 1966; Moorjani & Jones, 1972; Charters, Neushul & Coon, 1972; Chamberlain & Evans, 1973). Studies on the sinking rate and dispersal of red algal spores have been described (Suto, 1950; Boney, 1965, 1966; Coon, Neushul & Charters, 1972). There appears to be little information on the sizes of the spore mucilage sheaths, and on their likely significance in the planktonic phase of the spore's existence immediately after release. The present work gives the results of an investigation of the spore mucilage of fourteen species of red algae.

One commonly held opinion about the metabolism of intertidal gastropods has recently been expressed by Newell (1970) who stated that in moist air these - as well as other intertidal - animals will respire air ‘whereas under conditions of desiccation closure of… the operculum… may result in anaerobic respiration occurring with the production of lactic acid’ (pp. 266–267). However, although anaerobiosis certainly does occur in intertidal gastropods (Patané, 1957; McMahon & Russell-Hunter, 1978) the conditions controlling this type of metabolism are far from clear. Moreover, recent studies (summarized by de Zwaan, 1977) have revealed a complex pattern of anaerobic metabolism in invertebrates in which the production of lactate is only one - and certainly not the most important - element.

Colonization dynamics of periphytic ciliate communities were studied in coastal waters of the Yellow Sea, northern China from May to June 2010, using an artificial substratum. Samples were collected at two depths of 1 and 3 m. The temporal patterns of ciliate colonization had similar dynamics and were fitted to the MacArthur–Wilson and logistic models in colonization and growth curves at both depths, respectively. The ciliate communities reached equilibrium in species composition within at least 10-days exposure time. However, they differed in both structural and functional parameters between the two layers, despite similar species composition. The species diversity, evenness, the colonization rate (G) and maximum abundance (Amax) were distinctly higher, but the time for reaching 90% equilibrium species number (T90%) was shorter at the depth of 1 m than those at a deeper layer. Results suggest that it is an optimal strategy to collect the ciliate communities within shorter exposure time at 1 m for ecological research and a monitoring programme in marine ecosystems.

A multi-technique approach was used to map the spatial distribution of seabed biotopes (i.e. physical habitats and their associated benthic assemblages) in the vicinity of Hastings Shingle Bank in the eastern English Channel, part of which is licensed for the extraction of marine aggregates for the construction industry. An area of seabed, approximately 12×4 km in size, was surveyed using a high-resolution sidescan sonar system, and a mosaic of the output was produced, covering 100% of the survey area. The area was then divided into acoustically distinct regions based on the sidescan sonar data, and the benthic communities and sediment types within each of the regions were ground-truthed using a Hamon grab fitted with a video camera, and using a heavy duty 2-m beam trawl. Additional information concerning the seabed was obtained through the application of video and photographic techniques. Sediments within the survey area ranged from cobbles and coarse gravels on the Shingle Bank, to various grades of sands to the north and south. Analysis of faunal data revealed the presence of statistically distinct biological assemblages within each acoustic region. Using all available data, four discrete biotopes were identified and their spatial distribution mapped across the survey area.

The incidence of autotomy is described for a discrete population of Carcinus maenas in the Yealm Estuary over a period of one year. During this time the crabs showed seasonal trends in distribution whereby during the summer months they congregated at the top of the estuary. This seasonal migration up and down the estuary corresponded with peak rates in the rate of change in temperature of the bottom water. Recruitment occurred in June, July and August. Overall, there were more female than male crabs although the ratio varied throughout the year. All sizes and sexes of crabs autotomized limbs but although autotomy increased with the size of the crabs it showed no obvious relationship with other population parameters. Significantly more chelipeds than walking limbs were lost. There were more multiple autotomies than would be expected if autotomy was a random event. Autotomy is shown to be a rare event for sexually mature Carcinus but essential to the survival of immature crabs. The means by which crabs may regulate the incidence of autotomy is discussed.

Several cyphonautes larvae (Polyzoa Ectoprocta) have been distinguished and described (Lohmann, 1911; Marcus, 1940; Thorson, 1946), but few have been seen to metamorphose, thus Unking the late larva with the adult. Three, belonging to the suborder Cheilostomata, which have been observed to do so, are Cyphonautes compressus into Electra pilosa L. (Schneider, 1869; Barrois, 1877; Kupelwieser, 1905–6), Cyphonautes occidentalis into Membranipora villosa, (Robertson, 1908; O'Donoghue, 1927) and an unnamed cyphonautes into Nichtina ( = Membranipora) tuberculata (Hastings, 1929, pp. 706–7).

The seasonal fluctuation in numbers of C. tentaculata was investigated from December 1959 until February 1962. The lowest numbers were recorded in April followed by a rapid increase in numbers during May. The magnitude of the increase varied from year to year, as also did the number of peaks that occurred during the summer months.

The worm was shown to have an extended breeding season from the end of March to September during which several spawning ‘bursts’ took place. Experiments suggest that some spawning may occur when the mudflat is inundated by the rising tide, although spawning was not observed in the field.

The population of C. tentaculata exhibited an annual cycle of growth which was influenced by the seasonal variation in temperature. Laboratory observations suggest that a temperature of about 20° C is optimal for the growth of young worms. The growth rate (8 mm/year) is slow compared with that of other polychaetes.

It is tentatively concluded from the field mortality data that between 10 and 16 % of animals survive to an age at which they are sexually mature; between 6 and 8 % of each generation reach an age of 15 months. Causes of mortality in the population are briefly discussed.

In order to provide more factual information on the effect of Echinus predation (Forster, 1958), further diving observations have been made during 1958. A rocky areajust west of the Tinker Shoal was explored by chance and a population of Echinus discovered. As this area is much more readily accessible than Stoke Point rock, where most of the diving has been carried out, it was possible to establish a marker buoy and make a number of dives on exactly the same position. In the course of these dives I have attempted to measure the numerical density of the urchins and the rate of their browsing on the rock surface. Later Echinus ‘counts’ were made at many other positions near Plymouth (Text-fig. 1).

The franciscana dolphin has been considered the most threatened small cetacean in the south-western Atlantic Ocean due to gillnet by-catch. The estimation of the species' abundance has been recommended as the highest research priority. A line transect aerial survey to estimate franciscana abundance in Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil, was carried out in February 2004. The overall surveyed area comprised 13,341 km2 and at least 20 transect lines. Abundance was estimated using distance sampling methods and assuming g(0) = 0.304. The corrected density is 0.51 franciscanas/km2, resulting in an abundance estimation of 6839 franciscanas (CV = 32%; 95% CI = 3709–12,594) for the surveyed area in Rio Grande do Sul. To improve this estimate: (a) perception bias should be determined; (b) the parameters influencing availability bias should be identified and quantified; and (c) survey sample size should be increased. While the lack of data to correct for perception bias and group size underestimation in this aerial survey is likely to yield an underestimate of franciscana abundance, the use of surfacing and diving time data from boat and land-based surveys to correct for availability bias is likely to cause its overestimation. Alternative values of the g0 group-size estimates and rates of increase were incorporated in the analyses, creating 240 different estimates of annual increment for this franciscana population. Even in the most optimistic scenario, the annual increment of franciscanas is not sustainable with the current levels of by-catch in Rio Grande do Sul, and fishery management to reduce by-catch must be initiated promptly.

Pillai (1970) proposed that the Spirorbidae form a distinct family and, though closely related to serpulids, they are indeed more surely separate than many families of birds and insects. Their study in Britain was well begun by Montagu (1803), with so much ecological detail that most of the species in his account (about ten) can be recognized by anyone who is really familiar with the marine fauna of Devon. All the names which he used, however, have lapsed or been applied otherwise, except Spirorbis spirorbis L. and even that has often been called S. borealis. Some of the nomenclature of McIntosh (1923) has similarly lapsed, because it conflicted with clear descriptions by French and Scandinavian authors, including Fauvel (1927).

The distribution of molluscan assemblages across and along a vertical rocky cliff near Otranto (southern Adriatic Sea, Italy) was studied. Sampling was undertaken in May and November 2000 at three sites approximately 100 m apart. Three depths (5, 15, 25 m) were sampled at each site, by scraping off three replicate 20×20 cm quadrats. Samples yielded 6722 specimens, referred to as 133 species. Multivariate analyses showed that the structure of the assemblages significantly differed among depths with a clear gradient of distribution from shallow to deep stands. However, a considerable variation in the structure of the assemblage was also observed among sites at each of the three depths. The species contributing most to characterize depths and/or differentiating sites at each level of the shore were identified. Some potential causes of the observed differences are discussed.

Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus) (Cuvier, 1812) is not common off the coast of Devon although strandings are occasionally reported. Norman & Fraser (1948) noted that 45 had been stranded on the British coast over a period of 33 years and that these were concentrated in the south-west. While it is regularly stated that this animal eats squids exclusively the prey species have not been identified. In view of the variety of squids available to an oceanic mammal and the information its food can give on both the migration of the dolphin and the ecology of the cephalopods in its diet the stranding of a Risso's dolphin at Thurlestone Rock on 12 May 1983 provided an unusual and welcome opportunity to examine the animal and its food.

Continuous Plankton Recorder records from the North Sea and north-east Atlantic from September 1997 to March 1998 indicate an exceptional influx of oceanic indicator species into the North Sea. These inflow events, according to historical evidence, have only occurred sporadically during this century. This exceptional inflow and previous inflow events are discussed in relation to their similarity in terms of their physical and climatic conditions.

1. The dry weight of 100 male, female and Stage V Calanus in Loch Fyne fluctuated throughout the year. 100 Stage V Calanus in May weighed only about ⅓ of what they did in December. Male and female Calanus also fluctuated considerably in weight.

2. Stage V Calanus is usually largest and heaviest when it is most abundant. With male and female Calanus size and weight are related.

3. Stage V Calanus, in spite of being smaller than female Calanus, was from the beginning of June till the end of August considerably heavier (over 100%). When Stage V Calanus was at its lightest and smallest, it weighed less than female Calanus at the same time.

4. The weight of Stage V Calanus fell during the spring and did not increase again till after the end of the first breeding period.

5. The fat and protein content of Calanus depends chiefly on dry weight. The values obtained for fat content were considerably higher than those hitherto recorded for zooplankton and those of protein lower.

6. The ash content is about 3·6% and the chitin content about 3% of the dry weight.

7. Stage V Calanus accounted for by far the most important part of the total weight of the catch throughout the year.

8. The total food value of the Calanus in Loch Fyne probably varies very considerably from year to year.

The population dynamics of the mysid crustacean Praunus flexuosus have been studied at Ardmaddy Bay, Loch Etive. A salinity tolerance range of 2–33‰ has been demonstrated, over which the body tissues experience the range 11–28‰. Comparison is made between the osmoregulatory capacity of Praunus flexuosus and the closely related Neomysis integer.