Oyster culture (Crassostrea lugubris) in Lang Co Lagoon, Vietnam.

Grow-out culture of oyster (Crassostrea lugubris) is developing spontaneously at Lang Co lagoon (Thua Thien Hue province). Various culture systems are used: culture on cement block stakes as a holdfast connected to a trellis, culture in a small cage hanging on a trellis, culture on wooden stakes (bamboo or cajeput stakes), culture on rubber tyres, and culture on stones. The culture depth differs depending on the culture style: about 4-6 m on a trellis and 1.5-2 m on wooden stakes and on stones. The chosen substrate is muddy bottom or muddy sand. The salinity of the culture area is 4-5‰ in the rainy season and 27-30‰ in the dry season. Oyster seed is collected from the wild, two times per year: in April and July. The culture duration is prolonged, at about 10-12 months. The commercial size of oyster is 9-11 cm long and about 200 g per piece. The price of commercial oyster is VND 5,000 kg-1 (about US$ 0.30 kg-1).

A new Notomastus (Annelida, Capitellidae) species from Korean waters, with genetic comparison based on three gene markers

Notomastuskoreanussp. n., collected from the sublittoral muddy bottom of Korean waters, is described as a new species. The Korean new species closely resembles N.torquatus Hutchings & Rainer, 1979 in the chaetal arrangement and the details of abdominal segments, but differs in the position of genital pores and the absence of eyes. DNA sequences (mtCOI, 16S rRNA, and histone H3) of the new species were compared with all the available sequences of Notomastus species in the GenBank database. Three genes showed significant genetic differences between the new species and its congeners (COI: 51.2%, 16S: 38.1–47.3%, H3: 3.7–9.3%). This study also includes a comprehensive comparison of the new Korean Notomastus species with its most closely similar species, based on the morphological and genetic results.

Vocalizations, tadpole, and natural history of Crossodactylus werneri Pimenta, Cruz & Caramaschi, 2014 (Anura: Hylodidae), with comments on distribution and intraspecific variation

Crossodactylus werneri was described based on specimens collected in the 1970’s at Parque Nacional do Itatiaia, being also reported for nearby localities. We collected specimens that we assigned to C. werneri, and recorded calls of the species during fieldworks at Serra das Cabras (Campinas, state of São Paulo). In this paper, we describe for the first time the vocalizations, tadpole, coloration in life, and comment on aspects of the natural history of C. werneri. Besides, the examination of specimens in zoological collections allowed us to extend the geographic range for this species. We also make remarks on morphological/chromatic variation and provide 16S rDNA sequences for the species. Adults were found along a slow-flowing streamlet with sandy/muddy bottom within a small fragment of secondary forest. Males called between sunset and first hours of the night. Advertisement call consisted of series of pulsed notes. Call duration lasted around 3 s, emitted at the highest rate of 17 calls per minute and six notes per second. Note duration lasted around 18 ms. Notes had poorly defined pulses (irregular and/or weak amplitude modulations along the note). The dominant frequency was about 3380 Hz. Territorial call had a long, well-defined pulsed portion followed by a higher-amplitude “squeak”. The dominant frequency was around 3400 Hz. Tadpoles were essentially similar to those of other Crossodactylus species, except by not having nostril ornamentation. Our record of C. werneri in Serra das Cabras might be regarded a rediscovery of this species since C. werneri had not been recorded for more than 30 years until our first record of C. werneri in the field from 2011 and subsequent years. Our record is approximately 100 km west, and Mococa 200 km northwest, from Santo Antônio do Pinhal, the westernmost previous record for C. werneri up to date. Gene sequences (16S rRNA) give insights into the genetic divergence between C. werneri and some congeners.

Ростові ознаки Trapa natans L. s. l. у різних еколого-ценотичних умовах водойм басейну Десни

Trapa natans L. s. l. is a typical representative speciesof the ecological group of attached higher aquatic plants with floating leaves. It is included to The Red Book of Ukraine. Despite the presence of diverse information on the main features of the structure of the vegetative and generative organs of Trapa natans, its ecological properties, distribution and significance, population and growth characteristics of this species remain virtually unexplored. We evaluated 10 morphometric and five allometric parameters, which characterize the growth of Trapa natans and found out the influence of leading ecological-coenotic factors on them: the thickness of water, its transparency and the overall projective coverage of phytocoenosis. Four old lakes, which located in the flood plain of the Desna River are covered by our studying. Grouping represented in these lakes are significantly different by degree of their rarity, as well as by the specific gravity and role of T. natans plants in their composition. The association Nuphar lutea subpurum is one of the typical for the region and the most common, the other three (especially Nuphar lutea + Nymphaea candida variant with Trapa natans) are comparable rare. The results of the studies showed that the water column factor significantly affects the values of all 15 dynamic morpho-parameters. The transparency of water factor did not show a statistically significant effect on the values of two morpho-parameters, and the projective coverage - at the value of three. For most morpho parameters, the power of influence on them of water levels are in the range of 45-75%, transparency - 25-60%, and projective coverage - 20-60%. It is shown that the greatest values of dynamic morphological parameters belong to the coenopopulation from the group Trapa natans subpurum, and the smallest to Nuphar lutea subpurum. Trapa natans better growth in reservoirs with a water column about 145 cm and its transparency about 80 cm, no current and muddy bottom sediments. It is noted that the effective natural inhibitors which are regulating the growth of Trapa natans are the reduction of water levels in the water column and the occurrence of successional processes that are accompanied by an increase the number of species of Nymphaeaceae in phytocoenoses.<br /><br />

KELIMPAHAN UDANG PUTIH (Litopenaeus vannamei) DI PERAIRAN PROBOLINGGO DAN BANYUWANGI

Dalam kegiatan budi daya udang vannemei selalu terjadi proses terlepasnya udang ke perairan. Sebagai spesies baru yang masuk ke perairan Indonesia udang vanammei perlu dikaji keberadaan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mempelajari dan kelimpahan keberadaan udang vannamei yang terlepas dari tambak ke perairan laut. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa udang vannamei ditemukan di perairan Teluk Pangpang Banyuwangi. Udang vannamei tertangkap oleh alat tangkap sero, seser, dan jala pada jarak kurang lebih 500 m dari garis pantai pada kedalaman kurang dari 1 m dengan dasar perairan berlumpur. Kelimpahan udang vannamei pada bulan Oktober lebih tinggi dibandingkan bulan Juli. Ukuran udang yang tertangkap pada bulan Oktober lebih kecil dibandingkan dengan udang yang tertangkap pada bulan Juli. In the vannamei culture processes, there are always some vannamei escapes to the sea. As a non indigenous species in Indonesia waters, the vannamei escape should be assessed. The purpose of this research is to study the present and abundance of the vannamei escape from pond or hatchery to the sea. Research results show that vannamei are found in the Pangpang Bay Banyuwangi near by the coastal around 500 m from coastal line down to a depth of approximately 1 m in the muddy bottom substrate. Vannamei are caught by trap net (sero, jala, and seser). The abundant of vannamei caught was in higher October are higher than July but the vannemei size was bigger in July than that in October.

A new species of Augeneria (Polychaeta: Lumbrineridae) from deep waters of the Aegean Sea (eastern Mediterranean)

A new species of Lumbrineridae, Augeneria profundicola sp. nov. is described based on one specimen taken from 950 m depth on muddy bottom off Gökçeada Island (northern Aegean Sea). This new species is characterized by having seven small nuchal antennae arranged in a circle line on the prostomium and bidentate maxilla II. The morphological features of this species were compared with those of all Augeneria species described so far. A taxonomic key to all Augeneria species is also provided.

The muddy bottom sediments of the old river beds of the lower Vistula

The main objective of this study was to characterize the muddy bottom sediments of three hydrologically different old river beds of the lower Vistula, located in the vicinity of Toruń: Port Drzewny, Martwa Wisła and Przybysz. Samples were taken at monthly intervals from April to November 2015 from two (Martwa Wisła and Przybysz) or three sampling sites (Port Drzewny) located in the central parts of the reservoirs. The bottom sediments of these water bodies were characterized by a low water content and organic matter content expressed as a percentage of dry weight, high organic matter content expressed in units of weight, as well as a high sediment oxygen demand. The most distinct reservoir was Martwa Wisła, most likely due to the lack of a connection with the River Vistula.

DISTRIBUCION ESPACIAL DE LA TAXOCENOSIS ANNELIDA-MOLLUSCA EN LA PLATAFORMA CONTINENTAL DEL GOLFO DE SALAMANCA, CARIBE COLOMBIANO

A preliminary characterization of macrozoobenthic assemblages on the continental shelf off southwestern Santa Marta, Colombian Caribbean, is made on the basis of bottom samples taken at 17 stations, in depths between 15 and 100 m. Only families of the most abundant groups, Mollusca and Polychaeta, were taken into account for the analysis. Cluster analysis of similarity between stations and between families revealed the ocurrence of three assemblages, whose spatial distribution is related with sediment type, depth, and some biological features: one assemblage is found on bottoms with fine to very fine sand and muds at dephts between 15 and 60 m, showing the greater abundances and families diversity; the second assemblage is found at about 60 m depth in muddy bottom; a last assemblage inhabits also muddy bottom below 100 m depth and exhibits the lowest numbers of abundance and diversity.

Meiobenthos and nematode assemblages from different deep-sea habitats of the Strait of Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea)

Much attention is currently devoted at upgrading our knowledge on biodiversity and functioning of deep water ecosystems. Information is constantly enriched by researchers, even from basins as the long-studied Mediterranean Sea. In such a perspective, we studied meiobenthic and nematode communities inhabiting muddy sediments from three different habitats at bathyal depths in the Strait of Sicily: a cold-water coral site (CS) in the Maltese Coral Province, a muddy bottom in the same area (MS), and a hydrocarbon imprinted pockmark site (PS) in the Gela Basin. The average meiofauna density at CS (1343 ind/10 cm2) and MS (1804 ind/10 cm2) is much higher than that reported in literature for similar habitats; it is also markedly more elevated than that recorded at PS (224 ind/10 cm2). Although nematodes of the three sites show different abundances, they share similar assemblage structure. Nematodes (avg. 86%) and copepods (avg. 9.3%) were the most abundant meiofaunal taxa at all sites followed by annelids, kinorhynchs and turbellarians. Nematodes were composed by 21 families and 46 genera, with Terschellingia, as most abundant genus (12.4%), followed by Microlaimus (11%), Daptonema (11%), Thalassomonhystera (10.8%), Acantholaimus (9.5%) and Sabatieria (8.7%). The genera Thalassomonhystera, Terschellingia, Microlaimus, Daptonema, Chromadorita, Sabatieria, and Anticoma display a dominance in at least one station. The taxonomic structure of meiofaunal communities of the studied sites is rather similar but differences in relative abundance are evident.