“Assessment of Heavy Metals in the Environmental Compartments of the Central and Northern Coast of Kerala, India”

The nearshore marine ecosystem is a dynamic environment impacted by many activities, especially the coastal waters and sediments contiguous to major urban areas. Although heavy metals are natural constituents of the marine environment, inputs are considered to be conservative pollutants and are potentially toxic, accumulate in the sediment, are bioconcentrated by organisms and may cause health problems to humans via the food chain. A variety of metals in trace amounts are essential for biological processes in all organisms, but excessive levels can be detrimental by acting as enzyme inhibitors. Discharge of industrial wastewater, agriculture runoff and untreated sewage pose a particularly serious threat to the coastal environment of Kerala, but there is a dearth of studies in documenting the contaminant metals. This study aimed principally to assess such contamination by examining the results of heavy metal (Cu, Pb, Cr, Ni, Zn, Cd and Hg) analysis in seawater, sediment and benthic biota from a survey of five transects along the central and northern coast of Kerala in 2008 covering a 10.0 km stretch of near shore environment in each transect. Trophic transfer of metal contaminants from aquatic invertebrates to its predators was also assessed, by employing a suitable benthic food chain model in order to understand which all metals are undergoing biotransference (transfer of metals from a food source to consumer).The study of present contamination levels will be useful for potential environmental remediation and ecosystem restoration at contaminated sites and provides a scientific basis for standards and protective measures for the coastal waters and sediments. The usefulness of biomonitor proposed in this study would allow identification of different bioavailable metals as well as provide an assessment of the magnitude of metal contamination in the coastal marine milieu. The increments in concentration of certain metals between the predator and prey discerned through benthic food chain can be interpreted as evidence of biotransference.

Nitrogen fluxes from the landscape are controlled by net anthropogenic nitrogen inputs and by climate

The flux of nitrogen (N) to coastal marine ecosystems is strongly correlated with the “net anthropogenic nitrogen inputs” (NANI) to the landscape across 154 watersheds, ranging in size from 16 km2 to 279 000 km2, in the US and Europe. When NANI values are greater than 1070 kg N km−2 yr−1, an average of 25% of the NANI is exported from those watersheds in rivers. Our analysis suggests a possible threshold at lower NANI levels, with a smaller fraction exported when NANI values are below 1070 kg N km−2 yr−1. Synthetic fertilizer is the largest component of NANI in many watersheds, but other inputs also contribute substantially to the N fluxes; in some regions, atmospheric deposition of N is the major component. The flux of N to coastal areas is controlled in part by climate, and a higher percentage of NANI is exported in rivers, from watersheds that have higher freshwater discharge.

The Epipalaeolithic (Iberomaurusian) at Grotte des Pigeons (Taforalt), Morocco: a preliminary study of the land Mollusca

Land snail middens occur widely throughout the circum-Mediterranean, particularly in the Maghreb and Libya, but are relatively understudied when compared with the better known coastal marine middens. The site of Taforalt (Grotte des Pigeons) in north east Morocco contains thick ashy deposits with considerable numbers of land snails, dating between 13,000 and 11,000 BP. The site has been excavated periodically since its discovery in 1908, but little attention has been paid to the land snail component. Recent excavations at the site as part of the Cemeteries and Sedentism Project has facilitated reinvestigation of the Iberomaurusian layers, including the upper ashy midden unit. This investigation addresses questions surrounding chronological variation in the lithic assemblage, subsistence strategies, population health and mortuary practices. Preliminary work on the land snails has identified a low species diversity in the grey series midden layers, characterised by the large edible species Alabastrina alabastrites, Helix cf aspersa, Dupotetia dupotetiana, Otala punctata and Cernuella sp, which appear to represent an abrupt intensification in the use of land snails as a food source. Significant quantities of associated plant material and animal bone suggest that land snails are part of a broader based diet which is adopted from around 13,000 BP.

Season changes in water quality and Sargassum biomass in Southwest Australia

Sargassum C. Agardh is one of the most diverse genera of marine macro-algae and commonly inhabits shallow tropical and sub-tropical waters. This study aimed to investigate the effect of seasonality and the associated water quality changes on the distribution, canopy cover, mean thallus length and the biomass of Sargassum beds around Point Peron, Shoalwater Islands Marine Park, Southwest Australia. Samples of Sargassum and seawater were collected every three months from summer 2012 to summer 2014 from four different reef zones. A combination of in situ observations and WorldView-2 satellite remote-sensing images were used to map the spatial distribution of Sargassum beds and other associated benthic habitats. The results demonstrated a strong seasonal variation in the environmental parameters, canopy cover, mean thallus length, and biomass of Sargassum, which were significantly (P < 0.05) influenced by the nutrient concentration (PO43-, NO3-, NH4+) and rainfall. However, no variation in any studied parameter was observed among the four reef zones. The highest Sargassum biomass peaks occurred between late spring and early summer (from September to January). The results provide essential information to guide effective conservation and management, as well as sustainable utilisation of this coastal marine renewable resource.

Phylogeography and genetic population structure of Caribbean sharpnose shark Rhizoprionodon porosus

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Populations analysis of the Brazilian Sharpnose Shark Rhizoprionodon lalandii (Chondrichthyes: Carcharhinidae) on the São Paulo coast, Southern Brazil: inferences from mt DNA sequences

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Biodiversity of brachyuran crabs (Crustacea : Decapoda) from non-consolidated sublittoral bottom on the northern coast of São Paulo State, Brazil

The brachyuran community of the coast of São Paulo State is represented by about 188 species of crabs inhabiting different kinds of coastal marine environments. The biodiversity of brachyurans found on non-consolidated sublittoral bottom was investigated. The Ubatuba region (Ubatumirim, Ubatuba and Mar Virado bays, Couves and Mar Virado Islands, offshore region) was sampled for 3 years (1998-2000), at depths of 2-40 m. All sampling was performed using a fishing boat equipped with two double-rig nets. We collected 79 brachyuran species representing 9 superfamilies (4 Dromioidea, 1 Homoloidea, 2 Calappoidea, 5 Leucosioidea, 20 Majoidea, 7 Parthenopoidea, 17 Portunoidea, 18 Xanthoidea, and 5 Pinnotheroidea) and 41 genera. Ubatuba bay showed the greatest species richness with 50 species, followed by Ubatumirim with 45 and Mar Virado with 29. The number of species collected represents about 57% of the known species of crabs already reported for the shore of São Paulo State. It is worth noticing that this percentage is restricted only to non-consolidated sublittoral bottom. This fact indicates a great biodiversity of the habitat in this studied region, probably one to the diversity of habitat types present in the bays.

Commensal worm traces and possible juvenile thalassinidean burrows associated with Ophiomorpha nodosa, Pleistocene, southern Brazil

The Pleistocene Chui Formation at Osorio (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) consists of coastal marine and eolian sands, the former containing abundant and well-preserved Ophiomorpha nodosa burrow systems. Detailed ichnological study has revealed interesting features associated with them. Small-sized Ophiomorpha, here assigned to a new ichnospecies, O. puerilis, are interpreted as possible burrows of juvenile thalassinidean crustaceans probably belonging to the same species as the producers of larger O. nodosa. Additionally, helicoidal burrows with thick, concentrically laminated linings are associated with the walls of O. nodosa. They are assigned to the new ichnospecies Cylindrichnus helix, and they are interpreted as dwellings of commensal annelid worms. The association of these three icbnospecies constitutes a fossil example of the role of thalassinideans as ecosystem engineers able to modify their environment and to create new space and resources usable by other organisms. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of temperature on larval survival, development and respiration in Chasmagnathus granulata (Crustacea, Decapoda)

Larvae of an estuarine grapsid crab Chasmagnathus granulata Dana 1851, from temperate and subtropical regions of South America, were reared in seawater (32 ‰) at five different constant temperatures (12, 15, 18, 21, 24 °C). Complete larval development from hatching (Zoea I) to metamorphosis (Crab I) occurred in a range from 15 to 24 °C. Highest survival (60% to the first juvenile stage) was observed at 18°C, while all larvae reared at 12°C died before metamorphosis. The duration of development (D) decreased with increasing temperature (T). This relationship is described for all larval stages as a power function (linear regressions after logarithmic transformation of both D and T). The temperature-dependence of the instantaneous developmental rate (D-1) is compared among larval stages and temperatures using the Q10 coefficient (van't Hoff's equation). Through all four zoeal stages, this index tends to increase during development and to decrease with increasing T (comparing ranges 12-18, 15-21, 18-24 °C). In the Megalopa, low Q10 values were found in the range from 15 to 24 °C. In another series of experiments, larvae were reared at constant 18°C and their dry weight (W) and respiratory response to changes in T were measured in all successive stages during the intermoult period (stage C) of the moulting cycle. Both individual and weight-specific respiration (R, QO2) increased exponentially with increasing T. At each temperature, R increased significantly during growth and development through successive larval stages. No significantly different QO2 values were found in the first three zoeal stages, while a significant decrease with increasing W occurred in the Zoea IV and Megalopa. As in the temperature-dependence of D, the respiratory response to changes in temperature (Q10) depends on both the temperature range and the developmental stage, however, with different patterns. In the zoeal stages, the respiratory Q10 was minimum (1.7-2.2) at low temperatures (12-18 °C), but maximum (2.2-3.0) at 18-24 °C. The Megalopa, in contrast, showed a stronger metabolic response in the lower than in the upper temperature range (Q10 = 2.8 and 1.7, respectively). We interpret this pattern as an adaptation to a sequence of temperature conditions that should typically be encountered by C. granulata larvae during their ontogenetic migrations: hatching in and subsequent export from shallow estuarine lagoons, zoeal development in coastal marine waters, which are on average cooler, return in the Megalopa stage to warm lagoons. We thus propose that high metabolic sensitivity to changes in temperature may serve as a signal stimulating larval migration, so that the zoeae should tend to leave warm estuaries and lagoons, whereas the Megalopa should avoid remaining in the cooler marine waters and initiate its migration towards shallow coastal lagoons.

Ictiofauna do estuário de São Caetano de Odivelas e Vigia (Pará, Estuário Amazônico)

A diversidade de peixes da Bacia Amazônica é reconhecida como uma das mais altas do mundo. No entanto, o conhecimento acerca da ictiofauna do estuário do Rio Amazonas é fragmentado e baseado em levantamentos localizados. O presente trabalho apresenta um inventário da ictiofauna dos estuários de São Caetano de Odivelas e Vigia, Pará, numa área ainda pouco conhecida do estuário Amazônico. Foram efetuadas duas campanhas de coleta em 2003, com duração de quatro dias cada, uma em junho (inverno) e outra em dezembro (verão), com uso de diferentes artes de pesca (redes de emalhar, currais, tarrafas e linha). Foram coletados 1.689 indivíduos pertencentes a 58 espécies distribuídas em 23 famílias, todas com ocorrência anteriormente registrada no estuário amazônico. As ordens Perciformes, Siluriformes e Clupeiformes foram os grupos mais diversificados, abrangendo 73,8% das espécies. Das 58 espécies registradas, 24% são pelágicas, 50% são demersais e as demais têm hábitos pelágico-demersais. Espécies de hábitos costeiro-marinho predominaram na região.

Shell beds from the Low Head Member (Polonez Cove Formation, early Oligocene) at King George Island, west Antarctica: new insights on facies analysis, taphonomy and environmental significance

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

A cunha do ciclo de fácies do Grupo Guatá (Eopermiano) na margem sub-aflorante do norte paranaense

A wedge facies cycle it‟s a body of sedimentary rock, bounded above and below by unconformity and which represents a transgressive-regressive cycle of deposition. This cycle is formed by the following succession of facies: non-marine (N), transitional-coarse texture, and marine-fine texture; The objective of this study have been members of the sandstones and Triumph Siderópolis, seconded by rare calcareous sandstones and very thin limb Paraguaçu. Through analysis of facies in wells testified by CPRM, it was possible to group on facies successions and set the standard stacking. The Triunfo Member consists of three cycles of facies, lithology whose standard indicates a vertical arrangement ''type'' tuning up, other words, a component sandy bottom in the form of '' box'', followed by components sandy-clayey and clayey-carbonaceous (1st and 2nd cycle) and / or shale and limestone (3rd cycle), represented by the base member Paraguaçu. The first cycle only occurs on NF-5 wells and NF-6 in the form of Onlap channel dug in post-Itararé group. The cycle II also reaches wells NF-4 and NF-3 to the north, while the cycle III reaches the southern area, well NF-9. The member Paraguaçu, well PP-25 is predominantly clay-síltico, also stand out limestones and sandstones. The limestones are not coastal marine organisms probably connected with the algae and cyanobacteria, the sandstones are fine-textured, very thin and coastal deposition environment. The member Siderópolis, well NF-2 consists of a sandstone fluvial-estuarine deployed in the valley section, and succeeded by sandstones and siltstones bioturbed, they have linked the transgression of the Fm. Palermo

Foraminíferos em testemunho do manguezal do Canal de Bertioga (SP): padrões de estrutura de comunidades aplicáveis em reconstruções paleoambientais

Nowadays, there is a search for knowledgment that could be applied in the solution of the problems caused by petrolific activities involving the environment, like the biodiversity preservation and the ecosystems monitoring and management. Foraminifera (Protista) are used as an important tool to the environment characterizarion, because they answer quickly to the fisic-quimic variations and indicate local alterations. The goal of this job is to create models of foraminiferal communities composition through the screening of subsuperficial samples obtained from a core collect from Bertioga Channel, Baixada Santista (SP), trying to understand the influence of the environmental variations along the time upon the indicator species presence, as well as making paleoenvironmentals reconstructions of the area. A 80 cm-core was removed in the outer edge of marsh adjacent to Bertioga Channel, not far from the confluence with the Itapanhaú River. There are presented in abundance, equitability, diversity and species richness obtained in nine samples along the sediment. The lower part of the core is compound by calcareous species (rotalideos and miliolideos) with domain Ammonia (Biofacies 1) and the intermediate and upper parts contain mainly agglutinated species (Biofacies 2 and 3, which is dominated by species of Ammotium). The qualitative and quantitative study of the microfauna of foraminifera present in the core reveals that in recent decades the sampling area passed from a condition of infra-marginal strip under significant coastal marine influence for the condition of inter-coastal swamp covered with mangrove vegetation. This change indicates that the site has undergone a process of sediment progradation, a phenomenon that may have been timely, localized, or a reflection of a relative fall in sea level at the regional level

Reproductive biology of the ghost shrimp Lepidophthalmus bocourti (A. Milne-Edwards, 1870) (Decapoda: Axiidea: Callianassidae): A tropical species with a seasonal reproduction

Based on the hypothesis that reproduction is a continuous process in tropical habitats, we analysed reproductive periodicity and egg production in the callianassid ghost shrimp Lepidophthalmus bocourti, one of the most common species in mangrove systems along the Pacific coast of Central America. During one year (May 2008 to April 2009), individuals of L. bocourti (N = 499) were collected nearshore Gulf of Nicoya, Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Observations were made on presence or absence of incubated embryos, and gonad activity of females was analysed as gonadosomatic index (GSI). Our results revealed that L. bocourti has a marked seasonal breeding period, which contradicts previous reports regarding coastal marine decapods from the tropics. Ovigerous females were found only from June to August, while high GSI values were obtained from March to July. The increase of GSI and appearance of ovigerous females were associated with a concomitant decrease of salinity, but not with temperature. We assume that reproduction of L. bocourti is adapted to local changes of environmental conditions, and that a decrease in salinity during rainy season may serve as a triggering factor for ovarian development. Compared to other ghost shrimps, L. bocourti produced on average more (2002 +/- 1365) and smaller (0.87 +/- 0.109 mm) eggs, which seems to suggest that this species does not have an abbreviated larval development as reported for other species of genus. The deviation from the generalization of constant reproduction in the tropics for shallow water marine invertebrates and its probable cause are adequately discussed.

Review of the Genus Cathorops (Siluriformes: Ariidae) from the Caribbean and Atlantic South America, with Description of a New Species

The New World genus Cathorops in the family Ariidae (Sea Catfishes) includes species that inhabit estuarine and coastal waters as well as freshwaters, playing an important role in Neotropical coastal and estuarine fisheries. The relatively conserved external morphology coupled with the marked sexual dimorphism and ontogenetic variation makes it difficult to recognize and diagnose the species. One of the major problems concerns the nomenclatural and geographical limits, of C. spixii, described from tropical Brazil and often treated as the only coastal marine species in the genus from the Western Atlantic. Examination of types of nominal species as well as comprehensive collections of non-types from Caribbean and Atlantic South America, lead us to conclude that C. spixii is restricted to Brazil and that C. nuchalis is a valid species, ranging from Venezuela to Guyana. The nominal species Arius laticeps, Arius nigricans, and Arius variolosus are synonyms of C. nuchalis, C. spixii, and C. arenatus, respectively. We also describe a new species in the Cathorops mapale species group from Colombia and Venezuela.