A pioneering longterm experiment on mesophotic macrofouling communities in the North Atlantic.

The mesophotic zone represents one of our planet's largest and least explored biomes. An increasing number of studies evidence the importance of macrofouling species in marine ecosystems, but information on these communities and the factors influencing their structures at mesophotic depths remain poor. This lack of understanding limits our ability to predict anthropogenic impacts or conduct restoration operations in the mesophotic and the lower boundary of the euphotic zones.

A multi-taxon analysis of European Red Lists reveals major threats to biodiversity.

Biodiversity loss is a major global challenge and minimizing extinction rates is the goal of several multilateral environmental agreements. Policy decisions require comprehensive, spatially explicit information on species' distributions and threats. We present an analysis of the conservation status of 14,669 European terrestrial, freshwater and marine species (ca.

Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds.

Plastic pollution is distributed patchily around the world's oceans. Likewise, marine organisms that are vulnerable to plastic ingestion or entanglement have uneven distributions. Understanding where wildlife encounters plastic is crucial for targeting research and mitigation.

Gaidropsarus mauli a new species of three-bearded rockling (Gadiformes, Gadidae) from the Lucky Strike hydrothermal vent field (Mid-Atlantic Ridge) and the Biscay Slope (Northeastern Atlantic).

Gaidropsarus mauli, new species, is described from the Lucky Strike Hydrothermal vent site (Mid-Atlantic Ridge) and from the Bay of Biscay. It is distinguished from congeners by a combination of characters such as the number of vertebrae, the size of the first dorsal-fin ray, the profile of the head and the shape of the snout, in dorsal view, the size and the position of the eyes, the length of the pelvic fins, the shape of the pectoral fins, and the length of the lateral line. A comparison with the other 13 valid species of the genus is presented.

A new species of Physiculus (Teleostei: Moridae) from the Cape Verde Islands (Eastern Central Atlantic).

A new species of Physiculus, P. caboverdensis n. sp.

Annotated checklist of the fishes of the archipelago of Madeira (NE Atlantic): I-Chondrichthyes.

As part of an annotated checklist of fishes of the archipelago of Madeira, a list with all cartilaginous fishes recorded from the archipelago is presented. The list contains 67 species of sharks, rays and chimaeras, whose presence in the area the authors consider confirmed. Another 14 species previously referred for the area are now considered dubious records and five species are withdrawn from the list.

Systematic account of new Porifera (Demospongiae) records from the oceanic Island of Madeira (NE Atlantic).

Few surveys on benthic fauna have been performed on the island of Madeira (Alves et al. 2003 and references therein), and the first sponge specimens were collected opportunistically (Johnson 1863, 1899; Topsent 1904, 1928). Porifera can be considered one of the least studied phyla in the Madeira archipelago, within the Lusitanian province.

Larval cestodes infecting the deep-water fish, Cataetyx laticeps (Pisces: Bythitidae) from Madeira Archipelago, Atlantic Ocean.

Parasites of deep-water fishes are less known in comparison to the parasites of fishes living in the demersal and epipelagic ocean zones. In the present research note we report the occurrence of larval trypanorhynch cestodes in a rare deep-water fish, the deep-water brotula, Cataetyx laticeps. Based on the 28S rDNA (region D1-D3) sequence homology and the phylogenetic analysis, the larval cestodes are putatively assigned to the genus Grillotia.

Global spatial ecology of three closely-related gadfly petrels.

The conservation status and taxonomy of the three gadfly petrels that breed in Macaronesia is still discussed partly due to the scarce information on their spatial ecology. Using geolocator and capture-mark-recapture data, we examined phenology, natal philopatry and breeding-site fidelity, year-round distribution, habitat usage and at-sea activity of the three closely-related gadfly petrels that breed in Macaronesia: Zino's petrel Pterodroma madeira, Desertas petrel P. deserta and Cape Verde petrel P.

Helminth parasites from the stomach of conger eel, Conger conger, from Madeira Island, Atlantic Ocean.

Geographic variations in the diversity and prevalence of helminth parasites of fish can provide important clues as to the relatedness of fish populations. In the present work, the stomachs of 64 conger eels, Conger conger, collected during 1999 and 2000, were examined for the presence of parasites. Four fish were infected with L3 stages of the nematode Anisakis simplex s.