Two species of the bobtail squid Heteroteuthis are reported from the Atlantic Ocean, H. dispar in the North Atlantic Ocean and H. dagamensis in the South Atlantic Ocean. In total 58 individuals were examined, 23 belonging to the species Heteroteuthis dispar and 35 belonging to the species H. dagamensis. All specimens were captured during the Walther Herwig Expeditions 1966, 1968, 1976 and 1982. A full description of both sexes of H. dispar and H. dagamensis is provided. These two species can only be distinguished by means of the male's enlarged suckers on arm pair III. Females are not useful for taxonomic identifications and are morphologically identical in both species. The results do not support the definition of subgenera in this genus. This is the first report for Heteroteuthis dagamensis in the South-West Atlantic Ocean.

The reproductive systems of 39 male and 54 female Bathyraja albomaculata were assessed microscopically and compared with macroscopic maturity index values assigned by scientific observers. Inconsistencies were limited to ‘developing’ maturity stages in both sexes, but such discrepancies were attributed to different factors depending on sex. Furthermore, while spermatozoa were observed in the oviducal gland of females, they do not appear to accommodate long-term sperm storage in this species.

A new species of the marine gastrotrich taxon Thaumastoderma is described. A single specimen of this species, Thaumastoderma antarctica sp. nov., was extracted from silty sediment sampled at one station of the Andeep-1 cruise, about 150 km to the north of the South Shetland Islands (Drake Passage, South Atlantic Ocean). This paper provides the first record of this genus from the deep sea and the second description of a macrodasyid gastrotrich living in an abyssal habitat. The new species is characterized by several apomorphic features, among them a caudal pair of strongly elongated dorsal cirrata tubes. A phylogenetic analysis of the genus Thaumastoderma reveals that Th. antarctica is closely related to Th. coronarium and Th. appendiculatum. Furthermore, the analysis offers an evolutionary scenario and a hypothesis for the internal phylogeny of this taxon while supporting its monophyly. It is the first time a cladistic analysis has been conducted for a delimited group of gastrotrichs, i.e. for all known members of a genus.

Despite the increase in the number of deep-sea studies, little is known about the hadal molluscs. For Brazil, only a few studies have treated the Septibranchia. This contribution is part of an effort to increase the knowledge of this group off the Brazilian coast, although it is focused only on the Campos Basin (22°S), State of Rio de Janeiro. Four species of the family Verticordiidae are recognized here. For Spinosipella tinga Simone & Cunha, 2008, the known depth distribution is extended to 1050 m. For Verticordia woodii Smith, 1885, previously reported from Brazil, the known distribution is extended southwards to the Campos Basin. Verticordia quadrata Smith, 1885, is reported from Brazil for the first time. A previously unknown species, Verticordia ouricuri sp. nov., is described. The presence of small spines, typically with a hexagonal column and a stellate structure at their distal end emerges as an additional taxonomic character for the verticordiids.

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.

Two new species of free-living marine nematodes, Daptonema longiapophysis sp. nov. and Cobbia sinica sp. nov. from the Yellow Sea, China are described and illustrated. Daptonema longiapophysis sp. nov. is characterized by spicules with a projection on the ventral and dorsal side respectively and the length of the gubernacular apophysis longer than the length of spicules. Cobbia sinica sp. nov. is characterized by one big dorsal tooth, long conico-cylindrical tail and gubernaculum with a small dorsal apophysis.

Metabolism and growth rate of the hard clam, Mercenaria mercenaria, were investigated in a population invasive to Southampton Water, southern England. An individual metabolic model expressed as a function of soft tissue dry mass was fitted to data of 18 individuals (log (VO2) = −1.952 + 0.543 • log (DM); F1,16 = 201.18, P < 0.001, r2 = 0.926). A von Bertalanffy growth function was fitted to 227 size-at-age data pairs of 18 individuals (Ht = 80.13 • (1 − e−0.149 • (t−0.542)); r2 = 0.927). Individual age-specific somatic production was calculated, demonstrating increase with age to a maximum of 3.88 kJ y−1 at ten years old followed by decrease, and individual age-specific annual respiration was calculated, demonstrating asymptotic increase with age to 231.37 kJ y−1 at 30 years old. Results found here lie within the physiological tolerances reported across the biogeographical range, suggesting that the species' biogeographical limitation in the UK to Southampton Water results from ecological rather than physiological factors.

We redescribe Imajimaea draculai based on newly collected specimens from the Swedish west coast and describe for the first time its association with the sea pen Funiculina quadrangularis. We assess the phylogenetic position of I. draculai within Autolytinae using nuclear 18SrDNA, together with mitochondrial COI and 16SrDNA, and we estimate its intraspecific variation using nuclear ITS and mitochondrial COI. Our molecular data unequivocally show that I. draculai belongs to the tribe Procerini in a clade consisting of Procerastea, Virchowia and Imajimaea that is separated from all other Procerini taxa for which molecular data are available. No intraspecific variation is found in I. draculai for the sequenced molecular markers.

Three species of Boccardia (B. polybranchia, B. pseudonatrix and B. proboscidea) were associated with mollusc shells on the south and south-east coasts of South Africa. Boccardia polybranchia was widely distributed along the coast and falls within the known distribution range of this species. Comparisons with material from other, international, locations showed that some specimens have been misidentified. No characters could be found to characterize distinct species for different regions within the range of B. polybranchia, as currently recognized. Boccardia pseudonatrix was found only at the most eastern site, increasing its known distribution range. Boccardia proboscidea, a non-indigenous species, was found only on abalone farms and was most abundant in the west.

Since 1993 Cerithiella danielsseni (Friele, 1877) has been regarded as a variety of C. metula (Lovén, 1846). An argument is made for reinstating C. danielsseni as a valid taxon inhabiting below-zero waters on the slope around the Nordic Seas. This conclusion is based on lack of overlap in shell morphology between specimens found below and above the ecotone where the thermocline meets the slope. Just above the ecotone and also in the Barents Sea north of ~72°N, the shelf species C. metula occurs, but with morphology slightly modified from that of the ‘typical’ form.

A new species of Conidae is described from Brazilian waters. Mitromorpha santosi sp. nov. from the Continental Slope off the state of Rio Grande do Norte (north-east Brazil: 04°50′60″–04°51′40″s, 35°06′01″–35°06′46″W) is compared with M. biplicata (western Atlantic), M. usta (eastern Atlantic), M. dalli (north-eastern Atlantic), M. popeae (West Indies), M. undulate (West Indies) and two unnamed Brazilian species being diagnosed as possessing strong axial ribs, second spiral cord on the body whorl more pronounced and yellowish-brown spiral bands. In addition, a lectotype for Mitromorpha undulata, is designated herein.

Aerial surveys of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) are usually carried out to provide an index of population size. This can be normalized, either by design or by post-hoc analysis to reduce the effects that date, time of day, tide and weather might have on the number of seals counted. In order for long-term trends to be determined from these counts it is assumed that the mean number of seals at a particular site does not vary during the survey period, and that the start and duration of the survey window does not vary with location or between years. This study used a combination of repeat land-based and aerial surveys to test the assumption for constancy of counts during the survey period. The study focused on harbour seal abundance at haul-out sites around the Isle of Skye in north-west Scotland. The coefficient of variation in these counts was estimated to be 15%, based on repeat aerial surveys using thermal imaging. Land-based counts were used to examine the effect of covariates on seal numbers using generalized additive modelling. This site-specific model predicted that the current aerial survey window for harbour seals in the UK, which is a three-week period during the moult, is about a week too early and that count variation could be reduced by surveying 1 1/2 hours earlier in the tidal cycle. Furthermore, the pupping period showed even higher (though more variable) abundance of hauled out seals than during the moult.

Patella ferruginea is an endangered marine gastropod, distributed on the western Mediterranean coasts, whose range has progressively contracted, due to intense human exploitation. A genetic analysis was performed on two unidentified young individuals belonging to the genus Patella found attached to the shell of an adult of P. ferruginea, with a twofold aim: (i) to achieve their correct taxonomic attribution by means of the DNA barcoding; and (ii) to shed some light on the hypothesized larval philopatry and/or juveniles phoresis in P. ferruginea. The survey was carried out comparing the sequences of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) Folmer region obtained for the two juveniles with those obtained for adults of P. ferruginea, P. caerulea, P. rustica, and P. ulyssiponensis, from different sites of the western Mediterranean, by means of maximum likelihood cluster analysis and a Bayesian-based assignment test. Results obtained evidenced that: (i) COI may be used with confidence as DNA barcoding in the genus Patella; and (ii) the two juveniles studied are not conspecific: one belonged to P. ferruginea, the other to P. rustica. The latter finding raises doubts about the juvenile phoresis and about the occurrence of larval philopatry in P. ferruginea, suggesting that an extensive use of a molecular approach for a better evaluation of the recruitment features of this endangered species should be adopted.

Microphytobenthos need photoadaptive strategies to survive the highly dynamic light environment in which they reside. Xanthophyll pigments can provide photoprotection by cycling electrons between epoxide and de-epoxide forms, dissipating excess light energy as heat. This study examined the xanthophyll cycle in microphytobenthos on a tidally exposed substrate at Browns River, Tasmania. Fv/Fm decreased from 0.52±0.01 to 0.47±0.01 at noon in surface samples and a decrease in the diadinoxanthin:chlorophyll-a ratio from 0.022±0.003 to 0.015±0.005 also suggests that the microphytobenthos was under physiological stress at noon. The results indicate that the cells exposed to light at the surface migrated deeper into the sediments and replenished the epoxide form of their xanthophylls. The results suggest that micrphytobenthos utilizes both behavioural and physiological strategies to survive in the dynamic intertidal environment.

A new species of copepod, Paracalanus arabiensis sp. nov. collected from Mandovi and Zuari estuaries, Goa, central west coast of India, is described. It differs from its congeners mainly in the structure of leg 5, with a row of six teeth along the edge of inner terminal spine resulting in a serrated margin and two small, stiff spines of equal length protrude in between the terminal spines.

A novel, automatic method for the detection, extraction and characterization of marine mammal tonal calls is presented. Signals are automatically detected from the spectrogram, isolated using region-based segmentation, extracted and finally characterized by means of a fixed number of radial basis function (RBF) coefficients. A total of sixteen RBF coefficients are sufficient to accurately capture the time–frequency information contained in the calls. These coefficients can be later used to classify signals based on their characteristics. New specific functions for contour extraction and cross-resolution have been developed. The performance of the method has been extensively tested using simulated signals and a set of recordings covering a significant range of situations that can be encountered at sea.

This study investigated the phenology, patterns of haul-out habitat use and distribution of the grey seal around Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. A full census of the coast was carried out by boat over 4 days, in order to make a full count of seals hauled out and close to the coast, and to document all haul-out sites. Regular land-based surveys were made of three haul-out sites in Cornwall, to investigate the effects of spatial, temporal and environmental factors on seal haul-out behaviour. Data from 2004 to 2007 were analysed to describe long-term temporal variation in seal abundance at two haul-out sites. A total of 592 sightings were made along the coast of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly over the four-day census period; 476 of these sightings (80.4%) were recorded at six main haul-out sites. The highest proportion of seals was observed at three haul-out areas on the Isles of Scilly. In Cornwall, seals were observed in higher numbers on the north coast, where the three largest mainland haul-out sites were documented, than on the south coast. At one key haul-out site in Cornwall, a distinct seasonal pattern was evident in data collected between 2004 and 2007, with higher numbers of seals present during the moulting and breeding seasons than over the summer months. There was considerable inter-annual variability in peak seal abundance, during the moulting season, at this site. There was no significant variation in haul-out behaviour with tidal state at this site, although haul-out counts were generally highest at mid-ebb tides. Data on seal abundance, distribution and haul-out behaviour may aid the designation of Special Areas of Conservation for the protection of grey seals in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Marine planarians were collected extensively from the Iberian Peninsula and Italy. As a result we provide new distributional records of six species of marine triclads, including the description of one new genus and species. The study increases substantially our knowledge of the distribution of this group of animals in Spain and reveals that even relatively well studied areas, such as Italy, still yield new species. In addition, we performed immunostaining studies of the nervous system of three of the species, which revealed the detailed organization of the main nerve cords and their branches. In the new species, the lateral nerve branches showed an arrangement that is different from that of the other species.