Morphology and phylogeny of Prorocentrum porosum sp. nov. (Dinophyceae): A new benthic toxic dinoflagellate from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

A new marine benthic toxic Prorocentrum species is described from the tropical/subtropical regions of the Atlantic (Colombian Caribbean Sea and Northeast Brazil) and Pacific (Southern Japan) oceans. Morphological cell structures were examined using light (LM) and scanning electron (SEM) microscopy. Prorocentrum porosum sp.

Morphoanatomic variation in tissues of seedlings subjected to different saline regimes: cross-seeding experiment.

, one of the main neotropic mangrove species, has wide phenological variability associated with soil salinity. Since global warming is one of the main drivers of changes in salinity, understanding the influence of this variable at the species level would help improve the prediction of climate change in the ecological services provided by mangroves. To understand the physiological and/or anatomical responses to water stress generated by edaphic salinity and its relationship with phenological and structural diversity, we quantified the functional traits of leaf tissue subjected to a cross-seeding experiment between two forests with different ranges of natural salinity (0-18 PSU and 20 to 70 PSU).

The Latin America and Caribbean HAB status report based on OBIS and HAEDAT maps and databases.

Harmful Algae Blooms (HAB) have been documented for at least fifty years in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), however, their impacts at social, ecological and economic levels are still little known. To contribute to the impact assessment of HABs in LAC region, the available information in HAEDAT, OBIS, CAREC, and CARPHA databases, and scientific literature was analyzed. This historical analysis allows identification of the main syndromes and causal organisms.

Stable-isotope analysis reveals sources of organic matter and ontogenic feeding shifts of a mangrove-dependent predator species, New Granada sea catfish, Ariopsis canteri.

To gain a better understanding on the trophic ecology of New Granada sea catfish, Ariopsis canteri, and their linkage to mangroves, nitrogen and stable carbon isotopes (δ N and δ C), as well as Bayesian mixing models, were used to explore trophic dynamics and potential ontogenic feeding shifts across different size classes: class I (8-20 cm), class II (21-32 cm) and class III (>32 cm). The study area was the estuary of the Atrato River Delta, where information about fish ecology is scarce. The δ C of size class I was lower (mean ± s.

Structural variation of potentially toxic epiphytic dinoflagellates on Thalassia testudinum from two coastal systems of Colombian Caribbean.

Some benthic dinoflagellates produce toxins that can affect other organisms including humans, and their proliferation seems to be related to the environmental variability. For this reason, the present study aims to compare the structural variation of potentially toxic dinoflagellates associated with the seagrass Thalassia testudinum from two nearby systems, with different environmental characteristics in Colombian Caribbean, corresponding to a brackish water coastal lagoon and an adjacent bay. Between January 2014 and December 2015, leaves of T.

Heterotrophic microbial activity and organic matter degradation in coastal lagoons of Colombia.

In this study we measured the community respiration and the bacterial respiration as part of the overall degradation process of organic material. Additionally, the turnover rates of the pools of dissolved free glucose and acetate as representatives of the fraction of easily degradable low molecular organic solutes were determined. The study was performed in several coastal lagoons of the "Outer Delta of the Río Magdalena" in northern Colombia.