Anonyx sarsi: a major unrecognized scavenger and predator in the intertidal zone

1999 ◽  
Vol 79 (6) ◽  
pp. 1127-1128 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Ingólfsson ◽  
I. Agnarsson

Anonyx sarsi (Crustacea: Amphipoda) is a widely distributed scavenger and predator in shallow waters of northern seas. It was caught, often in large numbers, in baited traps in the intertidal in Iceland, especially during mid-winter. Although hitherto only sporadically recorded from the intertidal, the species is undoubtedly among the most important carrion feeders there, and probably an important predator as well.

1977 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 439 ◽  
Author(s):  
DW Morton ◽  
IAE Bayly

Fifty-three temporary freshwater pools (mean depth 23 cm) located mainly in eastern Victoria were studied from February to September 1973. Chemical parameters determined were pH (range 5.7-8.2, mean 6.9), conductivity (K18, range 55-5500, mean 340 �S/cm), dissolved oxygen (range 23-170, mean 72% saturation) and turbidity (range 2-310, mean 50 Formazin turbidity units). A total of 60 microcrustacean species was recorded. The Australasian endemic cladoceran, Saycia cooki (King), was of common occurrence from June through to August. The fact that it tends to reach peak numbers early in the life of a pool is probably related to the production of large numbers of ephippial eggs. In contrast, cladocera which produce only one or two ephippial eggs, such as Chydorus, Moina and Simocephalus, tend to appear later in succession. Simocephalus expinosus (benthic) and Daphnia carinata, s.l. (planktonic) had mutually exclusive distributions and are apparently unable to coexist in shallow waters. Endemic cyclopoid copepods encountered included three new species of Microcyclops, M. arnaudi (Sars), Acanthocyclops australis Sars, and Acanthocyclops, sp. nov. Like Saycia, Microcyclops varicans and Acanthocyclops bisetosus exhibited maximal numbers early in succession. Several new combinations of coexisting calanoid copepod species belonging to the genera Boeckella and Hemiboeckella are reported. Computer analysis showed that the following four groups of species had a high probability of co-occurrence: (1) Cypretta sp., Attheyella australica, Ilyodromus sp., Saycia cooki; (2) Cyprinotus leanus, Acanthocyclops bisetosus, Moina tenuicornis; (3) Boeckella major, B. pseudochelae, Cypris sp., Daphnia carinata, s.l. ; (4) Simocephalus exspinosus, Microcyclops varicans.


2017 ◽  
Vol 98 (5) ◽  
pp. 1109-1118
Author(s):  
Els Vermeulen

Very little information is available on bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) habitat use in the South-western Atlantic. It is, however, essential in understanding their ecology and to improve conservation management. In this study, habitat use of bottlenose dolphins was examined in Bahía San Antonio, an area frequented by the species. Given the large tidal amplitude and extended intertidal zone in this bay, special focus was given to the intertidal vs subtidal habitat use patterns. Bottlenose dolphins were observed in only half of the surveyed area, with on average 1 dolphin group encountered per 100 km surveyed. All dolphin groups were seen in shallow waters <10 m deep. GLM analyses showed that especially during high tide, depth had an important effect on the dolphin encounter rate, with most dolphin groups encountered in the intertidal zone. While in the intertidal zone, most dolphin groups were observed to be engaged in surface feeding activities. The presented data indicate dolphins remained in shallow waters, and moved to the intertidal zone during high tide where they appear to find feeding opportunities. This information is believed to be of high value in understanding this population's ecological needs, and essential when aiming to improve marine conservation efforts at times of increased anthropogenic pressures in the area.


GigaScience ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan J Kenny ◽  
Shane A McCarthy ◽  
Olga Dudchenko ◽  
Katherine James ◽  
Emma Betteridge ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The king scallop, Pecten maximus, is distributed in shallow waters along the Atlantic coast of Europe. It forms the basis of a valuable commercial fishery and plays a key role in coastal ecosystems and food webs. Like other filter feeding bivalves it can accumulate potent phytotoxins, to which it has evolved some immunity. The molecular origins of this immunity are of interest to evolutionary biologists, pharmaceutical companies, and fisheries management. Findings Here we report the genome assembly of this species, conducted as part of the Wellcome Sanger 25 Genomes Project. This genome was assembled from PacBio reads and scaffolded with 10X Chromium and Hi-C data. Its 3,983 scaffolds have an N50 of 44.8 Mb (longest scaffold 60.1 Mb), with 92% of the assembly sequence contained in 19 scaffolds, corresponding to the 19 chromosomes found in this species. The total assembly spans 918.3 Mb and is the best-scaffolded marine bivalve genome published to date, exhibiting 95.5% recovery of the metazoan BUSCO set. Gene annotation resulted in 67,741 gene models. Analysis of gene content revealed large numbers of gene duplicates, as previously seen in bivalves, with little gene loss, in comparison with the sequenced genomes of other marine bivalve species. Conclusions The genome assembly of P. maximus and its annotated gene set provide a high-quality platform for studies on such disparate topics as shell biomineralization, pigmentation, vision, and resistance to algal toxins. As a result of our findings we highlight the sodium channel gene Nav1, known to confer resistance to saxitoxin and tetrodotoxin, as a candidate for further studies investigating immunity to domoic acid.


2000 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth W. McCravy ◽  
John T. Nowak ◽  
G. Keith Douce ◽  
C. Wayne Berisford

Pheromone-baited traps are frequently used for research or in monitoring populations of bark beetles such as the southern pine beetle, Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann, and Ips spp. which are important pests of southern pines. We compared the effectiveness of two commercially available trap designs, the multiple-funnel trap and the slot trap, for collection of D. frontalis, three species of Ips, and two of their common predators. Slot traps captured greater numbers of bark beetles while multiple-funnel traps captured more predators. Multiple-funnel traps were judged to be easier to transport and check in the field. This study indicates that slot traps are preferable for monitoring southern bark beetles with the least disruption to natural enemy populations, while multiple-funnel traps are better for monitoring bark beetle/predator ratios. Due to ease of checking and handling, multiple-funnel traps are preferable for uses that involve large numbers of traps, long-distance manual hauling, or frequent relocation of traps.


Author(s):  
Brian Morton

Aspects of the feeding behaviour of Ergalatax contractus (Muricidae) were studied. Field experiments demonstrated that large numbers of individuals of this species, comprising ∼90% of a suite of gastropod scavengers, were attracted to baited traps in the subtidal sands of Lobster Bay, Cape d'Aguilar Marine Reserve, Hong Kong. Laboratory experiments identified the effective chemo-detection distances of E. contractus as 60 cm in still and >80 cm in flowing water, respectively. The average times to arrival at bait in still and flowing water were 92.3 and 69.0 min, respectively, but were significantly less for individuals experiencing a longer period of starvation. The mean time taken for E. contractus to consume a meal was 70.6 min.Comparisons were made between Ergalatax contractus and Nassarius nodifer, representative of a suite of sympatric scavenging nassariids in Lobster Bay. The nassariid arrived significantly faster at bait in both still (30.2 min) and flowing water (20.8 min) than E. contractus and fed faster (25.7 min), as is typical of representatives of the Nassariidae. Although the two species partition carrion resources temporally, manipulation experiments provided evidence for inter-specific competition between them. That is, although E. contractus possesses the morphological and behavioural characteristics of a predator, its opportunistic scavenging abilities have led to its success and numerical superiority on the shallow subtidal sands of Lobster Bay. The dominance of E. contractus in Lobster Bay, and elsewhere in Hong Kong, is unusual. Here, the normally predatory E. contractus, far outnumbers all other scavengers, possibly because of an enhanced, largely allochthonous, supply of food which it is able to exploit by virtue of its previously identified opportunistic habit of scavenging the leftovers of other predators. The presence of inter-specific competition between E. contractus and a sympatric suite of nassariids enhances, not impedes, carrion exploitation.


2013 ◽  
Vol 68 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 236-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoltán Imrei ◽  
Jocelyn G. Millar ◽  
Miklós Tóth

Five compounds known to be pheromone components of longhorned beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in the subfamily Cerambycinae were fi eld-tested as attractants and possible pheromones for the cerambycid fauna of Hungary. Nine cerambycid species were caught in baited traps. Large numbers of both sexes of the cerambycine species Molorchus umbellatarum Schreb. were caught in traps baited with (2R*,3S*)-octanediol, while the diastereomeric (2R*,3R*)-octanediol was to some extent attractive as well. This is the fi rst report on an aggregation attractant and a likely pheromone for a species in the cerambycine tribe Molorchini. The results of our study support the hypothesis that the diol/hydroxyketone pheromone motif is characteristic of and highly conserved within the subfamily Cerambycinae. Intraspecifi c chemical communication is summarized for the subfamily Cerambycinae, and possible links between taxonomy, insect behaviour, and pheromone structures are described


2000 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.E. Gosztonyi ◽  
A. Lopez-Arbarello

In Argentina, the Nototheniidae is represented by about 20 species, which mostly live in coastal waters of the continental shelf and slope. A few species inhabit inshore waters along the coasts of Patagonia and the Fueguian and Falkland (Malvinas) archipelagos and even reach rocky intertidal zones (Norman 1937, Hart 1946). Patagonotothen sima (Richardson 1844) is distributed in the Atlantic from the San Matías Gulf (around 42°S) to the Beagle Channel (54°50'S), inhabiting shallow waters including the intertidal zones. During faunal surveys in the rocky intertidal zone in Puerto Deseado, Santa Cruz (by A. Gosztonyi), it was noted that males of P. sima, one of the most common fish species in that habitat, appeared to have a higher second dorsal fin than the females.


Zootaxa ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4052 (5) ◽  
pp. 555 ◽  
Author(s):  
EIJIROH NISHI ◽  
KANAKO MATSUO ◽  
MARIA CAPA ◽  
SHINRI TOMIOKA ◽  
HIROSHI KAJIHARA ◽  
...  

A new species of the genus Sabellaria Lamarck, 1818 (Annelida: Polychaeta: Sabellariidae) is described from the intertidal zone of Jeram, Selangor, Malaysia. Sabellaria jeramae n. sp. is a gregarious species that constructs large reefs several hundreds of meters long and 50–200 m wide. The new species is distinguished from other congeners by the character combination of the presence of a single kind of middle paleae with conspicuous morphology, and outer paleae with long frayed teeth. Morphological features of the species are described and compared to those of all congeneric species. We also compare the reef structure and geographical distribution of the new species to those of the members of the family Sabellariidae around the world, demonstrating the ecological traits of the reefs. 


Author(s):  
Thea Marie Brolund ◽  
Anders Tychsen ◽  
Lis Engdahl Nielsen ◽  
Michael Arvedlund

The Heteractis magnifica assemblage at the tip of the Sinai Peninsula was examined. The actinian size, location, and number of resident anemonefishes were recorded. The anemones were found at depths down to approximately 40 m and the sizes of clustering H. magnifica and clusters were positively correlated with depth. The shallow waters of the anemone assemblage contained few mainly small, solitary actinians. There seemed to be a tendency for solitary actinians to cluster once they reached a certain size-range. The resident anemonefishes Amphiprion bicinctus and Dascyllus trimaculatus were present in very large numbers (approximately 250 and 1800 respectively) and the A. bicinctus home range size was positively correlated with depth.


1986 ◽  
Vol 118 (6) ◽  
pp. 503-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
James P. Dunn ◽  
Thomas W. Kimmerer ◽  
Gerald L. Nordin

AbstractThe twolined chestnut borer, Agrilus bilineatus (Weber) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), is associated with mortality of stressed oaks in the eastern deciduous forests of North America. Beetles were attracted to stressed trees within hours of the onset of stress. We hypothesized that adult beetles rapidly locate suitable hosts by olfactory detection of tree-released volatiles. Trees with sticky-band traps and vane traps baited with crude steam distillates from inner bark of stressed white oaks, or with combinations of ethanol and oak volatiles, captured significantly more beetles than did water controls. Ethanol alone did not attract significant numbers of A. bilineatus. Eighty-two percent of beetles captured were females. Ethanol-baited traps captured large numbers of Cerambycidae, Scolytidae, and a few Cleridae, and these insects were not attracted to oak volatiles. Sticky-band traps were more effective than vane traps in capturing A. bilineatus and other Buprestidae, but Cerambycidae and Scolytidae were more effectively captured in vane traps. Our results show that A. bilineatus is attracted to oak volatiles but later successional beetles are attracted to ethanol.


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