Sea turtle (Reptilia, Testudines) diversity and occurrence in the Azores Archipelago (NE Atlantic).

Background: Six species of marine turtles occur in the Azores Archipelago. The loggerhead, (Linnaeus, 1758), is by far the most common species and is being constantly monitored and tagged by a joint project between the University of the Azores and the University of Florida since 1989. With the implementation of the tuna fishery observers (for dolphin safe seals), an increment of sea turtle reports has been verified as expected.

First record of the great barracuda, Sphyraena barracuda (Perciformes, Sphyraenidae), in the Azores, north-east Atlantic.

One individual of Sphyraena barracuda was collected on August 5, 2023, in the northern coast of Terceira Island, Azores, Portugal, by spearfishing. In this note, we report this first record and discuss the occurrence, which represents the northernmost one in the north-east Atlantic.

Pinniped (Carnivora, Phocidae) occurrences in the Azores Archipelago (NE Atlantic).

Background: The last Pinniped species update was in 2010, as part of the list of the terrestrial and marine biota from the Azores. This list includes a chapter dedicated to marine mammals, based on previously published bibliography.

New Information: No new species were added since that list was publlished.

Nonfatal, Nonpredatory Jaguar Attacks in Brazil: A Case Series.

The jaguar, Panthera onca (Linnaeus, 1758), is the biggest felid in the Americas. Its range extends from the southwestern United States to northern Argentina. Herein, we present 5 nonfatal jaguar attacks that occurred in Brazil between March 2010 and November 2021.

Updated checklist of Azores Actinopterygii (Gnathostomata: Osteichthyes).

Background: Since the first published comprehensive checklist of Azorean fishes - covering the whole Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) region - several new records have been published and an updated checklist published in 2010. This new dataset covers all confirmed species of actinopterygians for the Azorean EEZ.

New Information: In this update, we made corrections to the previous checklists, updated the taxonomy according to the most recent bibliography and added two new species to the Azorean Actinopterygii checklist.

Updated checklist of Azores Chondrichthyes (Vertebrata: Gnathostomata).

Background: Several lists of marine fish from Azores have been published in the past. Most of those publications are difficult to access on line and several were not published in peer-reviewed journals.

New Information: This checklist updates all the chondrichthyan records for the Azores Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), according to the most recent taxonomic classification of cartilaginous fish, as well as providing information on the conservation status for all species.

Population expansion of the invasive Pomacentridae Chromis limbata (Valenciennes, 1833) in southern Brazilian coast: long-term monitoring, fundamental niche availability and new records.

Human-mediated species invasions are recognized as a leading cause of global biotic homogenization and extinction. Studies on colonization events since early stages, establishment of new populations and range extension are scarce because of their rarity, difficult detection and monitoring. Chromis limbata is a reef-associated and non-migratory marine fish from the family Pomacentridae found in depths ranging between 3 and 45 m.

Biota from the coastal wetlands of Praia da Vitória (Terceira, Azores, Portugal): Part 3 - Birds.

Background: The data presented here come from field observations of Aves between August 2013 and October 2018 as part of a LIFE research project aiming to preserve and restore three coastal wetlands from Praia da Vitória (Terceira Island, Azores, Portugal). Systematic monthly observations were carried out for five years in order to provide a checklist and monitoring of bird species and subspecies observed in three sites: Paul da Praia da Vitória (PPV), Paul do Belo Jardim (PBJ) and Paul da Pedreira do Cabo da Praia (PPCP). Main objectives were to determine their ornithological richness while also adding data to the overall knowledge of Azorean Avifauna and to monitor seasonal and between-year variation on species abundance.

Development and characterization of 20 polymorphic microsatellite markers for Epinephelus marginatus (Lowe, 1834) (Perciformes: Epinephelidae) using 454 pyrosequencing.

The dusky grouper, Epinephelus marginatus, is a well-known and widespread marine fish assessed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Analyzing the genetic diversity of this species is, therefore, of utmost importance and necessary for conservation purposes. Microsatellites are molecular tools with advantages that are ideal for population analyses.

Fake spawns and floating particles: a rebuttal of Karkarey et al. "Alternative reproductive tactics and inverse size-assortment in a high-density fish spawning aggregation".

Courtship and spawning behaviors of coral reef fishes are very complex, and sufficient sampling effort and proper methods are required to draw informed conclusions on their mating systems that are grounded in contemporary theories of mate choice and sexual selection. We reviewed the recent study by Karkarey et al. (BMC Ecol 17:10, 2017) on the spawning behavior of Squaretail coralgrouper (Plectropomus areolatus) from India and found no evidence to support their findings of alternative reproductive tactics, unique school-spawning involving a single male with multiple females, or inverse size-assortment.

Lethal lesions and amputation caused by plastic debris and fishing gear on the loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta (Linnaeus, 1758). Three case reports from Terceira Island, Azores (NE Atlantic).

In this note we report and discuss three cases involving two serious injuries and one death on three specimens of the loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta, found in Terceira Island, Azores (NE Atlantic). Plastic debris and lost/discarded fishing gear caused these accidents. In fact, these types of marine litter are known to cause several accidents all over the world involving many taxa.

Reproductive Dynamics of Sterna hirundinacea Lesson, 1831 in Ilha dos Cardos, Santa Catarina, Brazil.

In this work, we intend to describe the reproductive dynamics of Sterna hirundinacea in an island from South Brazil. We studied the reproductive biology of this species in its natural environment and provide data on their growth, survival, and reproductive success in Ilha dos Cardos, Santa Catarina, South Brazil. Samplings were carried out daily on the island throughout the reproductive seasons of 2003, 2005, and 2006 and the different stages of development of the chicks were characterized according to age, length of the beak, and plumage characteristics.

Visual and tactile information in double bass intonation control.

Traditionally, the teaching of intonation on the non-tempered orchestral strings (violin, viola, cello, and double bass) has resorted to the auditory and proprioceptive senses only. This study aims at understanding the role of visual and tactile information in the control of the non-tempered intonation of the acoustic double bass. Eight musicians played 11 trials of an atonal sequence of musical notes on two double basses of different sizes under different sensorial constraints.