Genetic differentiation in a pelagic crustacean (Meganyctiphanes norvegica: Euphausiacea) from the North East Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea

Meganyctiphanes norvegica (M. Sars)is a pelagic crustacean that plays a key role in marine food webs of North Atlantic Ocean and marginal seas. We studied eight population samples collected in the European Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. By means of single strand conformation polymorphism analysis (SSCP) and direct sequencing, we investigated a segment of 158 base pairs of the mitochondrial gene coding for the subunit 1 of NADH dehydrogenase. We found 12 sequence variants among the 385 individuals studied. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed that 14.75% of the total genetic variability was explained by differences between populations, thus indicating absence of panmixia for these populations. Pairwise comparisons revealed three distinct genetic pools: the first one represented by Cadiz Bay, the second one by the Ligurian Sea, and the third one included all the NE Atlantic samples. We also investigated one population from the Alboran Sea (within the Mediterranean basin, east of the Strait of Gibraltar). This population was found to be genetically intermediate between the NE Atlantic samples and the Ligurian sample, suggesting that the restriction to the gene flow is not associated with the Strait of Gibraltar, but possibly with the Oran–Almeria oceanographic front. The present work indicates that M. norvegica, although endowed with a high dispersal capacity because of its pelagic habit, can develop separate breeding units inside the same oceanic basin (the Atlantic). Furthermore, the Ligurian sample should be considered as a distinct evolutionary entity, separated from the Atlantic population. Received: 2 May 1999 / Accepted: 26 November 1999     

Mating behaviour of Macrophthalmus hirtipes (Brachyura: Ocypodidae)

 We examined the mating behaviour of the New Zealand ocypodid crab Macrophthalmus hirtipes in the laboratory between February and June 1998. This species has a discrete breeding season. Mating and moulting were not linked and only intermoult females with mobile gonopore opercula were attractive to males. Allometry and compatibility of gonopods and gonopores of different-sized crabs was investigated. Under laboratory conditions, the opercula of intermoult females remained mobile on average for 11.4 d, but the duration of receptivity did not appear to be under female control. The operational sex ratio in the laboratory fluctuated greatly, but was always male-dominated. During the period of opercular mobility, females mated many times with several different males. Matings in the absence of burrows were relatively short (mean duration = 23 min, max. = 122 min) and the mating behaviour of M. hirtipes lacked courtship and mate-guarding. Males used a search-intercept method to acquire mates, with very low levels of intrasexual competition. There was no evidence of mate preference in M. hirtipes, and males spent just as long mating with ovigerous females as with non-ovigerous ones. Although M. hirtipes has ventral-type spermathecae, as do several other ocypodid crabs, it is unclear whether this promotes last-male sperm precedence. The role of burrows in modifying the mating behaviour of M. hirtipes in the field remains to be established. Received: 7 January 2000 / Accepted: 5 June 2000     

Has Economic Research Answered the Needs of Environmental Policy?

Efficient environmental regulation requires empirical estimates of the benefits and costs of environmental standards and policies. In the last 25 years, economists have made considerable progress in developing methods for measuring environmental benefits and in providing empirical estimates of costs and benefits. This paper reviews this progress. It examines by category of benefit the advancements made in providing estimates that can be used in benefit-cost analyses and identifies areas where additional research is required.     

Size-related aspects of arm damage, tissue mechanics, and autotomy in the starfish Asterias rubens

 Arm damage is a widely reported but superficially investigated aspect of the biology of the starfish Asterias rubens L. In the present study, the incidence of arm damage was surveyed in populations of A.  rubens at two sites in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland, and three sites in Gullmarsfjorden, Sweden. The mean (±SD) incidence across all sites of individuals with basal arm damage (resulting from detachment at the basal autotomy plane) was 19.69 ± 8.86%, the incidence of those with distal arm damage (resulting from amputation at more distal levels) was 7.74 ± 10.01%. The mean incidence of arms with basal damage was 5.28 ± 4.12%, of those with distal damage 1.83 ± 2.45%. There was a significant negative correlation between size and the incidence of basal damage at all but one site, but no significant correlation between size and distal damage at any site. Mechanical tests on specimens of the aboral body wall from the basal region of the arm (which included the autotomy plane) and from a more distal region revealed that with increasing body size there was a significant increase in yield stress, ultimate stress and Young's modulus (stiffness) but no significant change in yield strain and ultimate strain. There was no significant difference between the relationships for basal and distal specimens. It is hypothesised that in larger individuals increased mechanical toughness replaces autotomy as an effective antipredator strategy. Using two methods to induce autotomy, a significant positive correlation between size and the delay between the onset of stimulation and arm detachment was found; this may represent a size-related decline in the efficiency of the autotomy mechanism through the relaxation of selection pressure. Since size is an unreliable indicator of age in A.  rubens, the trends identified herein can be interpreted only tentatively as age-associated phenomena. Received: 4 September 1999 / Accepted: 17 February 2000     

An experimental study on recolonization and succession of marine macrobenthos in defaunated sediment

Hypoxia/anoxia in coastal waters is a world wide problem which often results in mass mortality and defaunation of benthos. In this study, field experiments were carried out to examine recolonization and succession of macrobenthic infauna in defaunated sediments, and the time required for recovery from complete defaunation to a stable community. Trays (33 cm length × 25.5 cm width × 11 cm depth) of defaunated sediment were exposed at the subtidal of a pristine site in subtropical Hong Kong. Temporal changes of macrobenthic communities in defaunated sediment were analyzed by univariate and multivariate statistics, and compared with those in undisturbed natural sediment at the same site. Initial colonization of macrobenthos occurred rapidly. A total of 42 species was found, with an average of 258 animals per tray and 24 species per tray recorded in the first month. Abundance showed a small peak (496 animals per tray) after 3 months, reached a sharp peak (1154 animals per tray) after 6 months, and declined thereafter. Species number increased gradually, reached a maximum (68 species per tray) after 9 months, and then decreased. Recolonization was predominantly contributed by larval settlement rather than adult migration. Temporal changes in abundance, species number and diversity of the macrobenthic community in defaunated sediment resemble the spatial changes along a decreasing pollution gradient previously defined by other authors. Results of this experiment suggest that newly available sediment may allow more species to colonize (or coexist) than sediment pre-occupied by an established community. This is probably due to less interspecific competition in the former habitat. No significant difference in abundance or species richness was observed between defaunated and natural sediments after 15 months, suggesting that a stable community had been achieved, although minor variations in species composition were still discernible between defaunated and natural sediments. Received: 24 May 1999 / Accepted: 20 October 1999     

Gender- and oxygen-related irrigation behaviour of the decapod Nephrops norvegicus

The Norway lobster Nephrops norvegicus (L.) inhabits burrows in muddy clay sediments (e.g. on the Swedish west coast), where an autumnal oxygen deficiency in the bottom water can occur. Our experiments investigated whether the irrigation of the burrows would reflect a behavioural adaptation to hypoxia, and whether any gender differences of such behaviour exist. Irrigation is performed by the pleopods which may compensate for a decreasing oxygen tension. Pleopod activity (total number of strokes per sampling time), associated with oxygen concentration and gender, was studied in N. norvegicus kept in artificial burrows resembling their natural habitat. Male and female lobsters were separately exposed to either normoxia (70% oxygen saturation) or hypoxia (30% oxygen saturation). A sexual difference in behaviour was found, where females irrigated the burrow less than males during normoxia. Females showed a significant increase of pleopod activity in hypoxia compared with normoxic conditions, which was not displayed by the males probably due to the degree of individual variation found. However, when only males were studied during progressive hypoxia (from 60 to 5% oxygen saturation), following any changes of irrigational behaviour, a significant increase of accumulated pleopod activity occurred. A major increase of pleopod activity appeared between 60 and 50% oxygen saturation, below which the activity remained high until a critical point (<10% saturation, 11 °C, 33 psu) where irrigation dropped to a level close to that of normoxic values. Activity sessions during hypoxia were longer and had a higher stroke rate than during normoxia. Received: 22 October 1997 / Accepted: 26 February 1998     

Factors influencing food choice by the seaweed-eating marine snail Norrisianorrisi (Trochidae)

Through two-choice gustatory experiments, a␣preference hierarchy was established␣for␣the␣herbivorous gastropod Norrisianorrisi Sowerby, with laminarialean kelps preferred over all other seaweeds. Among the kelps, laminae of Macrocystispyrifera were slightly preferred over Egregiamenziesii, and both were strongly preferred over sporophylls of Eiseniaarborea. E.arborea, the least preferred kelp, was consistently chosen over other algae common in the snail's habitat (Halidrysdioica, Dictyotaflabellata, and Pterocladiacapillacea) and over seaweeds believed to be edible and palatable based on their morphology, structure, and secondary chemistry (Endarachnebinghamiae, Mazzaellaflaccida, and Ulvalobata). The morphologies and structural toughness of tested seaweeds varied significantly as did their nutritional (% carbon, % nitrogen, C:N ratio, and % ash) contents and phlorotannin concentrations; however, snails preferred to feed on kelps regardless of nutritional content, toughness or phlorotannin concentration; and among kelps preferred to feed on the least tough species (based on penetrometer measurements), which also were those containing the lowest phlorotannin concentrations. Preference for kelp was not upheld in experiments using agarose thalli to which freeze-dried powder, of either the kelp Eiseniaarborea or non-kelp Endarachnebinghamiae was added, suggesting the destruction of attractant chemicals during the making of the artificial foods. Our data suggest that the preference of N. norrisi for kelps over other potentially edible and palatable seaweeds may not be related to nutritional content, but instead may have evolved in response to factors such as availability, habitat provision, or refuge from predation. Received: 27 September 1996 / Accepted: 7 October 1997     

Settlement-competency periods of larvae of three species of scleractinian corals

The pattern of settlement over time of three broadcast spawning coral species (Cyphastrea serailia, Acanthastrea lordhowensis, and Goniastrea australensis) from the Solitary Islands (30°00′S; 153°20′E) was studied in 1995 and 1996 in order to determine the maximum length of time these larvae could remain in the water column and still retain the ability to settle and metamorphose. Larvae were maintained in aquaria and the number which had settled on biologically-conditioned tile pairs was monitored every 5 to 10 d. While the majority of larvae settled quickly after becoming competent, some larvae survived and settled for extended periods after spawning. Competency periods ranged from 26 d for C. serailia to 56 d for G. australensis and 78 d for A. lordhowensis. These data greatly extend the known competency periods for larvae of broadcast-spawning corals and indicate the potential for transport of broadcast-spawned coral larvae over large distances. Medium to long-distance larval dispersal of the species studied provides a mechanism for their widespread distribution in subtropical regions, on reefs which are often widely spaced and relatively isolated. Received: 27 May 1997 / Accepted: 27 November 1997     

Karyotypic characterization of the great sturgeon, Huso huso, by multiple staining techniques and fluorescent in situ hybridization

A karyotype analysis by several staining techniques was carried out on the great sturgeon, Huso huso (Linnaeus, 1758). The karyotype (2n = 118 ± 2) was composed of 42 pairs of meta-/submetacentric chromosomes and 17 pairs of acrocentrics/microchromosomes. Constitutive heterochromatin was mainly located at the centromeric regions of the acrocentric chromosomes. The biarmed chromosomes showed weak C-bands. Fluorescent staining with GC-specific chromomycin A₃ showed clearly recognizable fluorescent regions, whereas a more uniform base composition was revealed by the AT-specific 4,6-diamidino-2 phenylindole. After Ag-staining, nucleolar organizer regions could be observed on the short arms of two medium-sized submetacentrics and on two acrocentrics. Digoxigenated 28S and 5S rDNA probes, prepared from Acipenser naccarii DNA and hybridized to metaphase chromosomes, showed signals on six and two chromosomes, respectively. The telomeric sequence (TTAGGG) _n detected by FISH was located at both ends of each chromosome. Results are discussed in relation to karyotype organization and evolution in sturgeons. Received: 1 April 1998 / Accepted: 21 July 1998