Morphology of ctenostome bryozoans: 5. Sundanella, with description of a new species from the Western Atlantic and the Multiporata concept.

Ctenostome bryozoans are a small group of gymnolaemates that comprise only a few hundred described species. Soft-tissue morphology remains the most important source for analysing morphological characters and inferring relationships within this clade. The current study focuses on the genus Sundanella, for which morphological data is scarce to almost absent.

Coral reef-associated bryozoans of Jamaica.

As part of a long-term ecological study of the cryptic comunity of Jamaican coral reefs carried out by Jeremy B.C. Jackson and associates during the 1970s and early 1980s, collections were made of reef bryozoans found at 14 sites around the island.

Measuring Biodiversity and Extinction-Present and Past.

How biodiversity is changing in our time represents a major concern for all organismal biologists. Anthropogenic changes to our planet are decreasing species diversity through the negative effects of pollution, habitat destruction, direct extirpation of species, and climate change. But major biotic changes-including those that have both increased and decreased species diversity-have happened before in Earth's history.

Korean ctenostome bryozoans-observations on living colonies, new records, five new species, and an updated checklist.

This paper describes 12 species of ctenostomes from the marine waters of the Korean Peninsula, including five new species-Alcyonidium bullitum n. sp., Alcyonidium pulposum n.

Twenty-First Century Biological Nomenclature-The Enduring Power of Names.

Nomenclature and taxonomy are complementary and distinct aspects of the study of biodiversity, but the two are often confused even by biologists. Taxonomy is the part of the science of systematics that deals with identifying, describing, and categorizing organisms from species to higher taxa. Nomenclature is a system of giving names to organisms based on rules established for the process.

Bryozoa of Floridan Oculina reefs.

The deep-water Oculina coral reefs on the continental shelf off the east central coast of Florida are a unique protected marine habitat. A complete inventory of the Oculina-associated fauna is important to support its conservation. This paper provides an inventory of the bryozoans of the Oculina reef area.

Taxonomy of intertidal cheilostome Bryozoa of Maceió, northeastern Brazil. Part 1: Suborders Inovicellina, Malacostegina and Thalamoporellina.

Thirteen cheilostome bryozoan species from intertidal habitats of Maceió, Alagoas State, Brazil, are reported here. We describe four new species: Aetea cultrata n. sp.

Ctenostomatous Bryozoa from São Paulo, Brazil, with descriptions of twelve new species.

This paper describes 21 ctenostomatous bryozoans from the state of São Paulo, Brazil, based on specimens observed in vivo. A new family, Jebramellidae n. fam.

Evidence for polyphyly of the genus Scrupocellaria (Bryozoa: Candidae) based on a phylogenetic analysis of morphological characters.

The bryozoan genus Scrupocellaria comprises about 80 species in the family Candidae. We propose a hypothesis for the phylogenetic relationships among species assigned to Scrupocellaria to serve as framework for a phylogenetic classification using 35 morphological characters. Our results suggest that the genus Scrupocellaria is polyphyletic.

Cradoscrupocellaria, a new bryozoan genus for Scrupocellaria bertholletii (Audouin) and related species (Cheilostomata, Candidae): taxonomy, biodiversity and distribution.

A new genus, Cradoscrupocellaria n. gen., is erected for Scrupocellaria bertholletii (Audouin, 1826), reported as widespread in tropical and subtropical waters.

Systematics of interstitial encrusting bryozoans from southeastern Brazil.

This paper describes 22 species of marine bryozoans found in the sand-grain-encrusting interstitial epifauna of the northeast coast of Sao Paulo state, Brazil: one new cyclostome, Disporella calcitrapa sp. nov., and 21 cheilostomes.

Nine new species of Bugula Oken (Bryozoa: Cheilostomata) in Brazilian shallow waters.

Background: Bugula is a speciose genus of marine bryozoans, represented by both endemic and cosmopolitan species distributed in tropical and temperate waters and important to marine biologists because of the occurrence of many species in harbor and fouling communities, therefore as potential invaders. The southeastern Brazilian coast in the southern Atlantic hosts the highest known diversity of the genus, a status intimately associated with the intensity of collecting efforts.

Methodology: Morphological data based on the examination of living specimens, scanning electron and light microscopic images, and morphometric analyses were used to assess the diversity of Bugula along the coastal areas of southern, northeastern, and southeastern Brazil.

Dispersal in marine organisms without a pelagic larval phase.

In contrast to marine organisms whose offspring go through an extended planktonic stage, the young of others develop directly into benthic juveniles or into yolky nonfeeding larvae that spend only a few hours in the plankton before settling. Yet, paradoxically, many such species have geographic distributions that are comparable to those with a pelagic dispersal stage. This article reviews some of the ways in which these organisms can expand their distributions: drifting, rafting, hitchhiking, creeping, and hopping.

Life in the colonies: learning the alien ways of colonial organisms.

Who needs to go to outer space to study alien beings when the oceans of our own planet abound with bizarre and unknown creatures? Many of them belong to sessile clonal and colonial groups, including sponges, hydroids, corals, octocorals, ascidians, bryozoans, and some polychaetes. Their life histories, in many ways unlike our own, are a challenge for biologists. Studying their ecology, behavior, and taxonomy means trying to “think like a colony” to understand the factors important in their lives.

SKELETAL STRENGTH OF ENCRUSTING CHEILOSTOME BRYOZOANS.

Encrusting cheilostome bryozoans structurally resemble aggregates of small boxes, with both frontal and vertical walls capable of resisting forces generated by water-borne debris or predators. Both the skeletal strength and design of the walls are important in determining the relative ability of the colony to resist damage. Two mechanical tests, puncture and compression, performed on nine species of tropical bryozoans reveal significant differences in skeletal strength both between species and between the outer and inner regions of colonies.