Exotic species dominate marinas between the two most populated regions in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean.

Human occupation of coastal areas promotes the establishment of non-native species but information on bioinvasions is usually biased toward the Northern Hemisphere. We assessed non-native species' importance in sessile communities at six marinas along the most urbanized area of the Southwestern Atlantic coastline. We found 67 species, of which 19 are exotic.

Erratum: Systematics and biogeography of Tropical Eastern Pacific Chthamalus with descriptions of two new species (Cirripedia, Thoracica). Zootaxa 1574: 1-30 (2007).

We report a lapsus calami in our explanation of the etymology of the name Chthamalus southwardorum sp. nov. in Pitombo Burton 2007.

A Cryptic Invasion in the Western Atlantic: Presence of the Fouling Barnacle zebra (Darwin, 1854) (Crustacea, Cirripedia) in the Caribbean Sea.

The barnacle Megabalanus zebra is largely known from ship hulls, with little information on its biology, ecology, and natural range. We identify M. zebra here from the southern Caribbean, based upon specimens collected as early as 2002.

Changes and variations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations in fish, barnacles and crabs following an oil spill in a mangrove of Guanabara Bay, Southeast Brazil.

On April 26th, 2005, an accident caused a leak of 60,000L of Diesel Oil Type "B", freighted by train wagons upstream on a mangrove area within Guanabara Bay, Southeast Brazil. After the accident, samples from animals with different biological requirements were collected in order to monitor polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons concentrations for the following 12months. Sessile, mobile, carnivorous, omnivorous, organic detritus feeders, planktivorous and suspension feeders were some of the attributes compared.

A "shallow phylogeny" of shallow barnacles (chthamalus).

Background: We present a multi-locus phylogenetic analysis of the shallow water (high intertidal) barnacle genus Chthamalus, focusing on member species in the western hemisphere. Understanding the phylogeny of this group improves interpretation of classical ecological work on competition, distributional changes associated with climate change, and the morphological evolution of complex cirripede phenotypes.

Methodology And Findings: We use traditional and Bayesian phylogenetic and 'deep coalescent' approaches to identify a phylogeny that supports the monophyly of the mostly American 'fissus group' of Chthamalus, but that also supports a need for taxonomic revision of Chthamalus and Microeuraphia.

Use of artificial substrata by introduced and cryptogenic marine species in Paranaguá Bay, southern Brazil.

Ports are important locations for the introduction of marine species, while marinas and pontoons often serve as secondary habitats for these species. In a marina near Paranaguá Port, a major international port in southern Brazil, the encrusting community was studied to (i) identify possibly introduced species, and (ii) examine the use of artificial substrata by these species. Samples (20 x 20 cm) were taken from fibreglass floats (boardwalks and boat hulls) and concrete columns.