Isolation of a new toxin from the sponge Latrunculia magnifica in the Gulf of Aquaba (Red Sea)

The sponge Latrunculia magnifica was found to be toxic for fish. A toxin has been isolated from this sponge by organic extraction-column chromatography and thin-layer chromatography. Several chemical properties of the toxin were determined by spectroscopic analysis. Toxicity tests were performed on the fish Gambusia affinis. In vitro experiments showed the toxin to be a cholinesterase inhibitor.     

Seasonal changes in the diving parameters of king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus)

Contrasting conditions at-sea are likely to affect the foraging behaviour of seabirds. However, the effect of season on the dive parameters of penguins is poorly known. We report here on an extensive study of the diving behaviour of king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) over the bird's complete annual cycle at the Crozet Islands. Time-depth recorders were used to record dive duration, bottom duration, post-dive interval, ascent rate and descent rate in breeding adults during different seasons in 1995 and 1996. Seasons included summer (n=6, incubation; n=6, chick brooding), autumn and winter (n=5 and n=3, respectively, chick at the crèche stage), and spring (n=4, birds at the post-moult stage). In all seasons dive duration increased with dive depth, but, for a given depth, dives were longer in winter (6.8 min when averaged over the 100-210 m depth layer) than in spring (4.6 min) and summer (4.4 min). The time spent at the bottom of the dives, which probably represents a substantial part of the feeding time, was much longer in winter (2.5 min per dive for dives over the 100-210 m layer) than during other seasons (1.0-1.4 min), i.e. there was a 2.5-fold augmentation for similar diving depths. Ascent and descent rates increased with increasing dive depth, but no difference in the relationships between rates of ascent and descent and dive depth was found among seasons. Furthermore, for all dive depths, ascent and descent rates were independent of the bottom duration. In all seasons post-dive intervals increased with dive duration and with dive depth, but they were longer in spring (2.3 min for dives over the 100-210 m layer) and summer than in autumn and winter (1.6-1.8 min). The diving efficiency decreased with increasing dive depth and was higher in autumn and winter (0.22-0.29) than in summer and spring (0.15-0.18). The large increase in bottom and dive duration from spring to winter is in agreement with the seasonal drop in prey density, with penguins spending more time searching for prey. In contrast, the consistency of the vertical velocity during contrasting conditions at-sea suggests that the transit time to depth is an important component of the foraging behaviour (scanning of the water column) that is independent of the prey availability. The time budget of the penguins during diving in a fluctuating environment appears to vary primarily during the bottom phase of the dives, with bottom duration increasing with diminishing prey supplies, while post-dive intervals shorten in the same time.     

Gas-liquid chromatograms of sesquiterpenes as finger prints for soft-coral identification

A possible additional means for aiding in the identification of soft corals based on their sesquiterpene composition, as determined by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC), is discussed. The use of this method for several species of Sinularia and Sarcophyton is illustrated. Several sesquiterpenes were identified, some of them for the first time from marine origin. Preliminary tests indicate that the sesquiterpene composition in the tested soft corals remained quite constant during different seasons of the year. It is suggested that such finger prints are produced by the corals themselves and not by the zooxanthellae, and that they are species-specific.     

Interannual variation of ichthyoplankton density and species composition in the waters off northeastern Taiwan

The ichthyoplankton in the waters of northeastern Taiwan have been studied since 1989. Based on collections in August 1989 to 1991, this report treats primarily the annual variation of ichthyoplankton density, species composition and assemblage diversity among the waters of the East China Sea, the Kuroshio and the mixing zone. The ranges of average densities found for fish eggs were 7 to 3897 ind 1000 m^-3 and 0.02 to 1.43 g 1000 m^-3, for ichthyoplankton 154 to 1364 ind 1000 m^-3 and 0.33 to 3.23 g 1000 m^-3, and for zooplankton 52 to 532 g 1000 m^-3. An interannual comparison indicates a tendency towards a decrease in ichthyoplankton density from 1989 to 1991. In total, 5803 individuals assigned to at least 91 families and 254 taxa at species level were collected. Lantern fish form the most common species group (Benthosema pterotum: 12.1%; Diaphus pacificus: 4.2%). The other species in order of frequency are: gobies (5.8%); Callionymus sp. (3.4%); Auxis spp. (3.1%); Trachinocephalus myops (3.0%); Nibea sp. (2.8%); Synagrops philippinensis (2.3%); Priacanthus macracanthus (2.2%); and percophid (2.0%). The relative frequency of the ten most abundant taxa fluctuated annually. Neither interannual distinction nor interannual correlation was confirmed by statistical analysis, but intra-annual rank correlations were established among the water masses. A weak tendency towards increasing diversity from 1989 to 1990 and little diversity in the mixing zone were observed. We conclude that there is a complex inter-dependence of assemblages from the waters of northeastern Taiwan.     

Genetic differentiation in two sibling species of the brackish-water polychaete Hediste japonica complex (Nereididae)

Genetic divergence among ten populations of small- and large-egg forms of the brackish-water polychaete Hediste japonica complex was investigated on 14 isozyme loci by electrophoretic analysis. The two forms were distinguishable by complete allele substitutions at five loci, resulting in high genetic differentiation (Nei's D: 0.533 to 0.662). No genetic evidence of hybridization between the two forms was detected in sympatric populations in three rivers. These results indicate that the two forms are reproductively isolated, clearly showing that the two forms are distinct species. The genetic differentiation among populations was higher in the large-egg form (D: 0.005 to 0.111, G _ST: 0.435) than that in the small-egg form (D: 0.000 to 0.001, G _ST: 0.020). This genetic difference between the two forms seems to be attributable to a difference in their life histories. The average expected heterozygosity was low in populations of both the large-egg form (0.005 to 0.068) and the small-egg form (0.014 to 0.038) in comparison with other marine invertebrates. Received: 11 April 1997 / Accepted: 8 September 1997     

Histological study of the effects of starvation on reared and wild-caught larval stone flounder,Kareius bicoloratus

Starvation tolerance of laboratory-reared larval stone flounder, Kareius bicoloratus, was examined at different temperatures and salinities during the winters of 1984, 1985 and 1986. Starvation tolerance decreased with increased temperature and exhibited low values with high salinities. The highest starvation tolerance observed at low salinity was just before the metamorphosis stage. Starvation tolerance showed little change until larvae were 11 d. It increased with age thereafter. Epithelial cell heights of the digestive tract and cell diameters of pancreas and liver were measured histologically in reared stone flounder during growth and starvation. These values decreased markedly in the starved condition. Aldehyde fuchsin positive granules in the rectal epithelium also disappeared during the short starved period. The nutitrional condition of wild-caught stone flounder larvae, collected in January and February 1986 from the Matsukawa-ura inlet, Fukushima, Japan, was also examined. Eighty percent of larvae were estimated to be in fed condition just before sampling. The changes in cell heights of digestive organs agreed with this estimate. These histological methods seem to be useful in assessing the nutritional condition of marine fish larvae.     

Determination of photosynthetic pigment composition in an individual phytoplankton cell in seas and lakes using fluorescence microscopy; properties of the fluorescence emitted from picophytoplankton cells

To develop a method for the determination of photosynthetic pigment species in individual phytoplankton cells, especially natural picophytoplankton cells, the fluorescence spectra of intact cells were studied with cultured phytoplankton. The study was made mainly with phycoerythrin-containing picophytoplankton collected off Japan in 1982 with reference to diatomal species and phycoerythrin-free cyanophycean species. The spectra were measured for cell suspensions with an ordinary spectrofluorometer, and for individual cells with a microscope spectrofluorometer, paying special attention to the effect of cell-fixation. Results indicated that: (1) the cell-fixation with the glutaraldehyde and paraformaldehyde mixture modified phycoerythrin emission from picophytoplankton markedly in its wavelength location and intensity, but (2) the emission from phycocyanin was affected far less, and (3) the emission from chlorophyll a was not altered. However, the phycoerythrin emission modified by the fixation was found to be easily distinguished from other emissions, and kept its intensity high enough for detection with a fluorescence microscope. The fluorescence properties after the fixation were kept unaltered for a long period of time. Based on the results, we propose a simple method for the determination of photosynthetic pigments in individual phytoplankton cells in seas and lakes using fluorescence microscopy. Results of our tests with natural samples of phytoplankton are presented, and problems for further improvement are also discussed.     

Molecular taxonomy of vestimentiferans of the western Pacific,and their phylogenetic relationship to species of the eastern Pacific III. Alaysia-like vestimentiferans and relationships among families

The phylogenetic status of Alaysia-like vestimentiferans, which were collected at eight sites in the western Pacific, was analyzed on the basis of the nucleotide sequence of part of a mitochondrial gene for cytochrome oxidase I. The 123 individuals analyzed were tentatively classified into four species, which inhabit, respectively, seep areas off the central part of the Japanese mainland, hydrothermal vent fields in the Mid-Okinawa Trough, hydrothermal vent fields in the southern Okinawa Trough, and both seep and vent sites in the Bismarck Sea. From six additional lamellibrachiid specimens from two sites in the Bismarck Sea, two new tentative species were recognized, namely, one from a seep area off Papua New Guinea and another from the hydrothermal vent field at the DESMOS site in the Manus Basin. Phylogenetic analysis using all available sequences of six vestimentiferan families and Alaysia-like vestimentiferans revealed that vestimentiferans could be divided into three groups, namely, lamellibrachiids, escarpiids, and others, even though the monophyly of the third group was supported by only low bootstrap probabilities. Within the first group, the earliest divergence of a tentative lamellibrachiid species from the DESMOS site was apparent. All Alaysia-like vestimentiferans formed a monophyletic group with Arcovestia ivanovi from the Manus Basin, and it is suggested that this group might be derived from vestimentiferans that are endemic to the hydrothermal sites in the Eastern Pacific Rise.     

Effects on growth and reproduction of the coral Stylophora pistillata by the mutualistic damselfish Dascyllus marginatus

Although coral dwelling fishes are common on coral reefs, the nature of their effect on the host corals is poorly understood. The present study, conducted in the Gulf of Eilat (Red Sea) between July 1989 and August 1990, demonstrated that the branching coral Stylophora pistillata (Esper) benefits, in two components of coral fitness, from the presence of the damselfish Dascyllus marginatus (Rüppell), an obligate coral dweller. The growth rate of damselfish-inhabited corals was significantly higher than that of corals without damselfish. This was observed, using two growth assessment methods, in long-term (>7 mo) comparisons between: (1) corals where the damselfish were experimentally removed versus corals with unaltered fish groups; and (2) naturally inhabited versus non-inhabited corals. The presence of damselfish did not affect the coral's specific (per surface area) reproductive output, whether it was assessed by the number of female gonads per polyp or by the number of planulae released cm^-2 surface area d^-1. However, the more rapid increase in branch size in damselfish-inhabited corals resulted in an apparent increase in the total reproductive output, with age, in growing corals. These findings demonstrate that the association between the damselfish D. marginatus and its host coral, S. pistillata, is mutualistic.