Alien shrimps in evidence: new records of the genus Athanas Leach, 1814 on the coast of So Paulo, southern Brazil (Caridea: Alpheidae)

The occurrence of two alien alpheid shrimps of the genus Athanas Leach, 1814 [in Leach 1813-1814], the Indo-West Pacific A. dimorphus Ortmann, 1894 and the Eastern Atlantic A. nitescens (Leach, 1813 [in Leach 1813-1814]), on the coast of the state of So Paulo, Brazil, is reported. The presence of A. dimorphus extends the range of this species in the western Atlantic farther to the south in Brazil, whereas A. nitescens is reported for the first time in the western Atlantic, representing the second alien alpheid species on this side of the Atlantic and the twenty-first decapod crustacean introduced in Brazil. We provide morphological accounts of the material examined and illustrate the most important diagnostic characters of both species. An overview of the possible mechanisms of their introduction on the coast of So Paulo is also provided.

NEW RECORD OF CALYPTRAEID HOSTS FOR THE PEA CRAB CALYPTRAEOTHERES GARTHI (FENUCCI, 1975) (DECAPODA, PINNOTHERIDAE) IN ARGENTINA

Calyptraeotheres garthi (Fenucci, 1975) is one of nine species of Pinnotheridae occurring in Argentina and the only species of that genus located in this region. This species can be found from the San Maths Gulf, Argentina to Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil where it lives in symbiotic association with limpets of the family Calyptraeidae. Currently, two species of limpets have been reported as hosts of this species: Crepidula protea (d'Orbigny, 1841) and Crepidula argentina Simone, Pastorino & Penchaszadeh, 2000. We report here four more species of limpets serving as hosts of C. garthi, namely Bostrycapulus odites Collin, 2005, Crepidula cachimilla Cledon, Simone & Penchaszadeh, 2004, Crepidula plana Say, 1822 and Trochita pileus (Lamarck, 1822). Thus, this pinnotherid appears to be, as others members of the family, a generalist symbiotic species since it dwells on almost all the potential limpet species reported for Argentina. However, there are notable differences in prevalence of C. garthi on each host, which suggest that the symbiont might prefer species of Crepidula over the others genera (Trochita and Bostrycapulus). Additionally, there exists an apparent relationship between host size and prevalence (e.g., Crepidula cachimilla, the limpet with the highest prevalence, is clearly larger than the others hosts). Perhaps it is premature to conclude that the size of the host might be of benefit for the symbiont, but it is a hypothesis worthy of being explored.

DNA barcoding taxonomy and diversity of the Mediterranean sharks and rays

Elasmobranchs are an important by-catch of commercial fisheries targeting bony fishes. Fisheries targeting sharks are rare, but usually almost all specimen bycatched are marketed. They risk extinction if current fishing pressure continues (Ferretti et al., 2008). Accurate species identification is critical for the design of sustainable fisheries and appropriate management plans, especially since not all species are equally sensitive to fishing pressure (Walker & Hislop 1998). The identification of species constitutes the first basic step for biodiversity monitoring and conservation (Dayrat B et al., 2005). More recently, mtDNA sequencing has also been used for species identification and its use has become widespread under the DNA Barcode initiative (e.g. Hebert et al. 2003a, 2003b; Ward et al. 2005, 2008a; Moura et al 2008; Steinke et al. 2009). The aims of this work were: 1) identify sharks and skates species using DNA barcode; 2) compare species of different provenance; 3) use DNA barcode for misidentified species. Using DNA barcode 15 species of sharks (Alopias vulpinus, Centrophorus granulosus, Cetorhinus maximus, Dalatias licha, Etmopterus spinax, Galeorhinus galeus, Galeus melastomus, Heptranchias perlo, Hexanchus griseus, Mustelus mustelus, Mustelus punctulatus, Oxynotus centrina, Scyliorhinus canicula Squalus acanthias, Squalus blainville), 1 species of chimaera (Chimaera monstrosa) and 21 species of rays/skayes (Dasyatis centroura, Dasyatis pastinaca, Dasyatis sp., Dipturus nidarosiensis, Dipturus oxyrinchus, Leucoraja circularis, Leucoraja melitensis, Myliobatis aquila, Pteromylaeus bovinus, Pteroplatytrygon violacea, Raja asterias, Raja brachyura, Raja clavata, Raja miraletus, Raja montagui, Raja radula, Raja polystigma, Raja undulata, Rostroraja alba, Torpedo marmorata, Torpedo nobiliana, Torpedo torpedo) was identified.

Mesozooplankton size data from the fjord branch Kapisigdlit located in the Godthaabsfjord system, West Greenland, 2010

Sampling was conducted from March 24 to August 5 2010, in the fjord branch Kapisigdlit located in the inner part of the Godthåbsfjord system, West Greenland. The vessel "Lille Masik" was used during all cruises except on June 17-18 where sampling was done from RV Dana (National Institute for Aquatic Resources, Denmark). A total of 15 cruises (of 1-2 days duration) 7-10 days apart was carried out along a transect composed of 6 stations (St.), spanning the length of the 26 km long fjord branch. St. 1 was located at the mouth of the fjord branch and St. 6 was located at the end of the fjord branch, in the middle of a shallower inner creek . St. 1-4 was covering deeper parts of the fjord, and St. 5 was located on the slope leading up to the shallow inner creek. Mesozooplankton was sampled by vertical net tows using a Hydrobios Multinet (type Mini) equipped with a flow meter and 50 µm mesh nets or a WP-2 net 50 µm mesh size equipped with a non-filtering cod-end. Sampling was conducted at various times of day at the different stations. The nets were hauled with a speed of 0.2-0.3 m s**-1 from 100, 75 and 50 m depth to the surface at St. 2 + 4, 5 and 6, respectively. The content was immediately preserved in buffered formalin (4% final concentration). All samples were analyzed in the Plankton sorting and identification center in Szczecin (www.nmfri.gdynia.pl). Samples containing high numbers of zooplankton were split into subsamples. All copepods and other zooplankton were identified down to lowest possible taxonomic level (approx. 400 per sample), length measured and counted. Copepods were sorted into development stages (nauplii stage 1 - copepodite stage 6) using morphological features and sizes, and up to 10 individuals of each stage was length measured.