A new species of Scolelepis (Polychaeta: Spionidae) from sandy beaches in China, with a review of Chinese Scolelepis species

A new species of Spionidae, Scolelepis (Scolelepis) daphoinos sp. nov., is described and illustrated from northern China seas. The species was frequently encountered and highly abundant on sand beaches, but rarely found in subtidal areas. It was formerly misidentified as S. (S.) squamata (Muller, 1806) in China but differed from the latter species in several details in morphology, including the presence of obvious reddish pigmentation patches and the absence of unidentate hooded hooks. Another two Scolelepis species, S. (S.) lingulata Imajima, 1992 and S. (S.) variegata Imajima, 1992, are reported for the first time from Chinese waters. Two species of Scolelepis, S. (S.) globosa Wu & Chen, 1964 and S. (S.) lefebvrei (Gravier, 1905), were reported previously; therefore, five species in this genus are known from China in total. A key to all Scolelepis species from Chinese waters is provided.

(Table 3) Growth rates of the juvenile polychaete Scolelepis squamata obtained from ice cores under varying conditions

In spring, Arctic coastal fast ice is inhabited by high densities of sea ice algae and, among other fauna, juveniles of benthic polychaetes. This paper investigates the hypothesis that growth rates of juveniles of the common sympagic polychaete, Scolelepis squamata (Polychaeta: Spionidae), are significantly faster at sea ice algal bloom concentrations compared to concurrent phytoplankton concentrations. Juvenile S. squamata from fast ice off Barrow, Alaska, were fed with different algal concentrations at 0 and 5 °C, simulating ambient high sea ice algal concentrations, concurrent low phytoplankton concentrations, and an intermediate concentration. Growth rates, calculated using a simple linear regression equation, were significantly higher (up to 115 times) at the highest algal concentration compared to the lowest. At the highest algal concentration, juveniles grew faster at 5 °C compared to those feeding at 0 °C with a Q10 of 2.0. We conclude that highly concentrated sea ice algae can sustain faster growth rates of polychaete juveniles compared to the less dense spring phytoplankton concentrations. The earlier melt of Arctic sea ice predicted with climate change might cause a mismatch between occurrence of polychaete juveniles and food availability in the near future. Our data indicate that this reduction in food availability might counteract any faster growth of a pelagic juvenile stage based on forecasted increased water temperatures.

中国海异毛虫科和海稚虫科分类学和地理分布研究

异毛虫科（Paraonidae）和海稚虫科（Spionidae）是环节动物门（Annelida），多毛纲（Polychaeta）中两个常见的科，其成体在海洋生态系统尤其是海洋底栖动物群落中占有重要地位。中国近海异毛虫科和海稚虫科种类极为常见，在潮间带和潮下带均有分布。但由于此两科种类个体小，采集和鉴定困难，在中国一直没有系统的分类学研究。 本论文选择异毛虫科和海稚虫科为研究对象，以中国科学院海洋研究所海洋生物标本馆馆藏的3000余号成体标本为主要研究材料，结合攻读博士学位期间对全国各海域的补充采集标本和从其它单位借用的标本，在认真阅读相关文献和比对某些种类模式标本的基础上，首次对此两科的中国种类进行了全面系统的分类学和地理分布研究。结果如下： 1. 本文记述了中国海域异毛虫科4属18种，其中包括3新纪录种；海稚虫科16属39种，包括7新种，10新纪录种。各鉴定种类均进行了详细的分类学特征描述，并附有形态学结构图。对罕见种类的标本和保存状况较差、光学显微镜无法获得可靠分类学信息的标本进行了扫描电镜观察，并拍摄有电镜照片。 2. 对中国海域有关异毛虫科和海稚虫科种类记录进行了系统的分类学修订，澄清了部分种类特别是一些常见种类分类学研究中存在的错误和混淆。（1）通过大量阅读文献和反复比较检查标本，认为以前我国文献记录的海稚虫科奇异稚齿虫属的奇异稚齿虫Paraprionospio pinnata (Ehlers, 1901)实际包括3种，即扭鳃奇异稚齿虫Paraprionospio inaequibranchia (Caullery, 1914)、枫香树奇异稚齿虫Paraprionospio coora Wilson, 1990和冠奇异稚齿虫Paraprionospio cristata sp. nov.，其中扭鳃奇异稚齿虫和枫香树奇异稚齿虫在中国海属首次记录，冠奇异稚齿虫为一新种。枫香树奇异稚齿虫主要分布于黄海，其分布南界为121°30′ E, 34°30′ N, 扭鳃奇异稚齿虫分布于南海，其分布北界为114°00′ E, 21°45′ N，冠奇异稚齿虫分布区域较广，从长江口到南海的沿岸水域均有分布。奇异稚齿虫是分布在智利、南加利福尼亚、西墨西哥（可能还有安哥拉）的种，在我国海域未见分布。（2）将在我国北方沿海非常常见但长期被记录为鳞腹钩虫Scolelepis (Scolelepis) squamata (Müller, 1806)(海稚虫科)的标本重新鉴定为一个新种，即红纹腹钩虫Scolelepis (Scolelepis) daphoinos sp. nov.；鳞腹钩虫分布于北大西洋和地中海沿岸水域，在我国海域未见分布。（3）明确了中国海Prionospio steenstrupi复合体种类。此复合体所包含的种类在形态上十分相似，分类学研究时极易混淆。在已有的文献记录中，该复合体中国种类包括两种，玛氏稚齿虫Prionospio (Prionospio) malmgreni Claparède, 1870和西沙稚齿虫Prionospio (Prionospio) sishaensis Wu & Chen, 1964。本文将该复合体中国种类修正为5种，分别是包氏稚齿虫Prionospio (Prionospio) bocki Söderström, 1920、开普敦稚齿虫Prionospio (Prionospio) dubia Maciolek, 1985、太平洋稚齿虫Prionospio (Prionospio) pacifica sp. nov.、欢乐稚齿虫Prionospio (Prionospio) paradisea Imajima, 1990和西沙稚齿虫Prionospio (Prionospio) sishaensis Wu & Chen, 1964。现在大多数分类学者认为玛氏稚齿虫是一个不可鉴定种，该种的原始描述可能包括数种，且模式标本已丢失。（4）将中国海记录的矮小离稚齿虫Apoprionospio pygmaea (Hartman, 1961)更正为卡米拉离稚齿虫Apoprionospio kirrae Wilson, 1990；将中国海记录的科氏光稚虫Spiophane kroyeri Grube, 1860更正为深蓝光稚虫Spiophanes fuscatus sp. nov.。 3. 比较研究了中国海域异毛虫科和海稚虫科的区系特点，详细分析了两科中国海种类的组成。认为中国种类在区系组成上属于印度-马来区系，异毛虫科中国海特有种较少，仅2种，占该科中国种数的11%；而海稚虫科中国海特有种较多，共9种，占该科中国种数的23%。中国海异毛虫科种类组成和日本、俄罗斯附近水域的组成较为相似，中国海海稚虫科种类组成和日本、澳大利亚附近水域的组成较为相似。

Confronto fra metodi di analisi di comunità bentoniche in differenti spiagge del Nord Adriatico

Il presente studio si colloca nell’ambito del progetto europeo (FP7) THESEUS, fra i cui scopi c’è quello di fornire informazioni su vulnerabilità e resilienza degli habitat costieri in seguito all’aumento di frequenza delle inondazioni dovuto al sea level rise. E’ stata indagata la zona intertidale di spiagge sabbiose, come recettore di cambiamenti climatici. All’interno dell’habitat intertidale le comunità macrobentoniche sono di solito individuate come indicatori delle variazioni dei parametri fisico-chimici e morfodinamici. Lo scopo di questo lavoro è consistito nell’analisi delle comunità macrobentoniche e della loro interazioni con le variabili ambientali lungo tre spiagge del Nord Adriatico sottoposte a fenomeni di erosione e differenti fra di loro per caratteristiche morfodinamiche: Lido di Spina, Bellocchio e la zona della Bassona di Lido di Dante. La risposta delle comunità bentoniche è stata indagata utilizzando i dati tassonomici delle specie e raggruppando le stesse nei rispettivi gruppi trofici. Le variabili ambientali considerate sono state quelle relative alla tipologia del sedimento e quelle relative alla morfodinamica Le comunità macrobentoniche delle spiagge di Lido di Spina e di Lido di Dante sono risultate relativamente più simili tra loro, nonostante i due siti fossero i più distanti. A Lido di Spina e Lido di Dante sono state rinvenute associazioni di specie, come Scolelepis squamata ed Eurydice spinigera, tipiche delle spiagge sabbiose europee esposte al moto ondoso. In questi due siti, è risultato dominante il bivalve Lentidium mediterraneum, la cui ecologia e modalità di distribuzione aggregata permette di evidenziare il maggiore idrodinamismo che caratterizza i due siti. A Bellocchio, invece, è stato riscontrato un maggior numero di specie. Questo sito è caratterizzato dalla presenza di patch di giovanili del bivalve Mytilus galloprovincialis che sembrerebbe determinare il pattern del resto della comunità fungendo da ecosystem engineer. In termini di gruppi trofici, a Lido di Spina e a Lido di Dante prevalgono Filtratori, Carnivori e Detritivori di Superficie mentre Bellocchio è dominato da Filtratori e Misti discostandosi dagli altri siti per le sue condizioni del tutto particolari. Per quanto riguarda i descrittori abiotici, Lido di Spina e Lido di Dante, rispetto a Bellocchio, presentano una fascia intertidale più corta, pendenze maggiori, granulometrie più grossolane e risultando quindi, in generale, meno dissipative.

Influenza dei fattori morfodinamici e degli interventi di gestione sulle comunità macrobentoniche di spiagge nell'alto Adriatico

La presente tesi si inserisce nel contesto del progetto europeo Theseus, che ha l’obiettivo di pianificare strategie di difesa sostenibili nei confronti dell’erosione costiera e del rischio di inondazioni. E’ stata indagata la zona intertidale di sei spiagge della costa emiliano-romagnola, diverse per caratteristiche morfodinamiche, grado di antropizzazione e modalità di gestione contro l’erosione. Lido di Spina, Bellocchio e lido di Dante sono siti più naturali, Cervia, Cesenatico e Cesenatico sud sono antropizzati per la presenza di strutture di difesa costiera o attività di bulldozing. Lo scopo principale è stato quello di valutare la risposta della componente macrobentonica a variazioni morfodinamiche conseguenti alla differente gestione. I principali risultati possono essere così riassunti. Bellocchio, sito naturale, si è rivelato il più differente per tipologia di sedimento, fine e argilloso, e comunità presenti, con specie non tipiche delle spiagge sabbiose, quali Polydora e Mytilus galloprovincialis. Lido di Dante, anch’esso naturale, si pone all’opposto, con un sedimento più grossolano e caratterizzato sia dalla dominanza di Lentidium mediterraneum, la cui presenza evidenzia il maggiore grado di idrodinamismo del sito, sia dalle specie Scolelepis squamata ed Eurydice spinigera, tipiche delle spiagge sabbiose esposte al moto ondoso. Cervia, Cesenatico e Cesenatico sud presentano un numero di specie e di individui minore rispetto agli altri siti, come probabile conseguenza della gestione antropica, e comunità che rispecchiano le variazioni idrodinamiche dovute alla presenza di barriere. In generale, le differenze individuate sia fra le comunità che fra i descrittori sedimentari e morfodinamici, sembrano dovute alle caratteristiche peculiari dei siti e dal grado di antropizzazione piuttosto che dalla presenza di un vero e proprio gradiente morfodinamico o geografico. Questi risultati portano un contributo sostanziale alla problematica generale dell’impatto conseguente ai cambiamenti climatici e alla messa in opera di programmi di gestione sostenibili da un punto di vista anche ambientale.

Benthic fauna at station FINO 1, 2005-2007

In der Nordsee wurden auf der Forschungsplattform FINO 1 Felduntersuchungen durchgeführt, um spezielle Fragen zu möglichen Auswirkungen von Offshore-Windenergieparks auf die marine Umwelt zu beantworten. Der Fokus war dabei auf die Konsequenzen für die Lebensgemeinschaft am Meeresboden gerichtet. Es wurden die benthosökologischen Prozesse im Nahbereich der Piles sowie die mittelfristige Entwicklung der Aufwuchsfauna auf der künstlichen Unterwasserstruktur dokumentiert. Die Ansammlung pelagischer Fischen um die Plattform und der Export organischen Materials von der Plattform wurden quantifiziert. Die räumliche Ausdehnung und die Erheblichkeit von Auswirkungen auf die Lebensgemeinschaften des Meeresbodens wurden anhand mathematischer Modellierung abgeschätzt. Zusätzlich wurde die Anwendbarkeit der elektrochemischen Akretionstechnologie zur Schaffung naturnaher Kalksubstrate in der Nordsee getestet und geeignete Parameter für eine erfolgreiche Umsetzung unter Nordseebedingungen ermittelt. Die auch 4,5 Jahre nach Errichtung der Plattform noch ansteigende Artenzahl der Aufwuchsfauna lässt darauf schließen, dass der Sukzessionsprozess noch nicht abgeschlossen ist. Die stark vertikal zonierte Aufwuchsfauna auf der Unterwasserkonstruktion erreicht eine Masse von ca. 5 Tonnen mit ausgeprägten saisonalen Schwankungen. Anhand von echoakustischen Untersuchungen wurden saisonal auftretende Ansammlungen pelagischer Fische um die Plattform dokumentiert. Der Nahbereich der Plattform unterschied sich durch eine Schillauflage und eine räumlich und zeitlich sehr variable Sediment- und Bodenfaunazusammensetzung deutlich von einem Referenzgebiet in 200-400 m Abstand von der Plattform. Eine konzentrische Zonierung mit unterschiedlich stark ausgeprägten Veränderungen der Bodenfauna lässt auf komplexe Veränderung des gesamten lokalen Nahrungsgefüges im Nahbereich der Plattform schließen. Anhand einer Modellierung konnte der Materialexport in die umgebenden Weichbodenbereiche für einzelne Piles und einen hypothetischen Windpark abgeschätzt werden. Die lokale Ausbildung einer hohen Biomasse auf der Unterwasserkonstruktion von WEA sowie der Export mit anschließender Sedimentation lassen zumindest lokal einen erheblichen Einfluss auf Stoff- und Energieflüsse erwarten.

Abundance and biomass of the benthic infauna of the North Sea

In 1986 participants of the Benthos Ecology Working Group of ICES conducted a synoptic mapping of the infauna of the southern and central North Sea. Together with a mapping of the infauna of the northern North Sea by Eleftheriou and Basford (1989, doi:10.1017/S0025315400049158) this provides the database for the description of the benthic infauna of the whole North Sea in this paper. Division of the infauna into assemblages by TWINSPAN analysis separated northern assemblages from southern assemblages along the 70 m depth contour. Assemblages were further separated by the 30, 50 m and 100 m depth contour as well as by the sediment type. In addition to widely distributed species, cold water species do not occur further south than the northern edge of the Dogger Bank, which corresponds to the 50 m depth contour. Warm water species were not found north of the 100 m depth contour. Some species occur on all types of sediment but most are restricted to a special sediment and therefore these species are limited in their distribution. The factors structuring species distributions and assemblages seem to be temperature, the influence of different water masses, e.g. Atlantic water, the type of sediment and the food supply to the benthos.

Total and species abundance of Polychaeta during POLARSTERN cruise ANT-XXIV/2, ANDEEP-SYSTCO, in the Southern Ocean

In the course of the ANDEEP-SYSTCO project, during the ANT XXIV-2 expedition in austral summer 2007/2008, the diversity and composition of the Polychaeta of the Antarctic deep-sea and adjacent South Atlantic basins were analyzed. A total of 847 individuals of 31 families were found belonging to 86 different species. Calculation of diversity (Shannon-Wiener Index, Pielou's Evenness) and the general species composition of Polychaeta showed patterns typical for the deep sea, with high species richness and low abundances. Lowest diversity was found in the Agulhas Basin in over 4000 m water depth. Lowest Evenness was found on top of Maud Rise where one-third of all Polychaeta belonged to one species. Cluster analyses resulted in higher affinities of Maud Rise to the Agulhas Basin than to the Antarctic continental slope. Explanations are sought in similarities of environmental factors (e.g., sediment, food input).

Abundance and biomass of in- and epibenthic invertebrate macrofauna in the German Bight from 1969 to 2000

In order to examine the long-term development of offshore macrozoobenthic soft-bottom communities of the German Bight, four representative permanent stations (MZB-SSd, -FSd, -Slt, -WB) have been sampled continuously since 1969. Inter-annual variability and possible long-term trends were analysed based on spring-time samples from 1969 until 2000. This is part of the ecological long-term series of the AWI and is supplemented by periodic large-scale mapping of the benthos. The main factors influencing the development of the benthic communities are biological interactions, climate, food supply (eutrophication) and the disturbance regime. The most frequent disturbances are sediment relocations during strong storms or by bottom trawling, while occasional oxygen deficiencies and extremely cold winters are important disturbance events working on a much larger scale. Benthic communities at the sampling stations show a large inter-annual variability combined with a variation on a roughly decadal scale. In accordance with large-scale system shifts reported for the North Sea, benthic community transitions occurred between roughly the 1970ies, 80ies and 90ies. The transitions between periods are not distinctly marked by strong changes but rather reflected in gradual changes of the species composition and dominance structure.

Macrofauna abundance and sediment characteristics during R/V Senckenberg cruise west of Sylt in september 2010

The continuously influence of human impacts on the seafloor and benthic habitats demands the knowledge of clearly defined habitats to assess recent conditions and to monitor future changes. In this study, a benthic habitat dominated by sorted bedforms was mapped in 2010 using biological, sedimentological and acoustic data. This approach reveals the first interdisciplinary analysis of macrofauna communities in sorted bedforms in the German Bight. The study area covered 4 km², and was located ca. 3.5 km west of island of Sylt. Sorted bedforms formed as sinuous depressions with an east west orientation. Inside these depressions coarse sand covers the seafloor, while outside predominantly fine to medium sand was found. Based on the hydroacoustic data, two seafloor classes were identified. Acoustic class 1 was linked to coarse sand (type A) found inside these sorted bedforms, whereas acoustic class 2 was related to mainly fine to medium sands (type B). The two acoustic classes and sediment types corresponded with the macrofauna communities 1 and 2. The Aoinides paucibranchiata-Goniadella bobretzkii community on coarse sand and the Spiophanes bombyx - Magelona johnstonii community on fine sand. A transitional community 3 (Scoloplos armiger - Ophelia community), with species found in communities 1 and 2, could not be detected by hydroacoustic methods. This study showed the limits of the used acoustic methods, which were unable to detect insignificant differences in the fauna composition of sandy areas.