Insights into the genetic structure of the rabbitfish Chimaera monstrosa (Holocephali) across the Atlantic-Mediterranean transition zone.

A comparison of the genetic structure of Chimaera monstrosa populations from the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea was carried out using mitochondrial DNA analysis. Results indicate high and significant pairwise Φ values with no shared haplotypes between the two areas. Furthermore, migration rate estimates suggested absence of gene flow between the two basins.

High occurrence of jellyfish predation by black-browed and Campbell albatross identified by DNA metabarcoding.

Gelatinous zooplankton are a large component of the animal biomass in all marine environments, but are considered to be uncommon in the diet of most marine top predators. However, the diets of key predator groups like seabirds have conventionally been assessed from stomach content analyses, which cannot detect most gelatinous prey. As marine top predators are used to identify changes in the overall species composition of marine ecosystems, such biases in dietary assessment may impact our detection of important ecosystem regime shifts.

Extraction and characterization of collagen from Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic squid and its potential application in hybrid scaffolds for tissue engineering.

Collagen is the most abundant protein found in mammals and it exhibits a low immunogenicity, high biocompatibility and biodegradability when compared with others natural polymers. For this reason, it has been explored for the development of biologically instructive biomaterials with applications for tissue substitution and regeneration. Marine origin collagen has been pursued as an alternative to the more common bovine and porcine origins.

True's beaked whale () in Macaronesia.

The True's beaked whale (, True 1913) is a poorly known member of the Ziphiidae family. Its distribution in the northern hemisphere is thought to be restricted to the temperate or warm temperate waters of the North Atlantic, while a few stranding records from the southern hemisphere suggest a wider and antitropical distribution, extending to waters from the Atlantic coast of Brazil to South Africa, Mozambique, Australia and the Tasman Sea coast of New Zealand. This paper (i) reports the first molecular confirmation of the occurrence of the True's beaked whale at the southern limit of its distribution recorded in the northeast Atlantic: the Azores and Canary Islands (macaronesian ecoregion); (ii) describes a new colouration for this species using evidence from a whale with molecular species confirmation; and (iii) contributes to the sparse worldwide database of live sightings, including the first underwater video recording of this species and close images of a calf.

Ocean Productivity May Predict Recruitment of the Rainbow Wrasse (Coris julis).

Predicting recruitment fluctuations of fish populations remains the Holy Grail of fisheries science. While previous work has linked recruitment of reef fish to environmental variables including temperature, the demonstration of a robust relationship with productivity remains elusive. Despite decades of research, empirical evidence to support this critical link remains limited.

Geochemical and mineralogical fingerprints to distinguish the exploited ferruginous mineralisations of Grotta della Monaca (Calabria, Italy).

This study examines the geochemical and mineralogical variations in the ferruginous mineralisations that crop out within Grotta della Monaca, which is considered to be the most striking and best known example of a prehistoric iron mine-cave from the southern Apennines (Calabria, Italy). Previous archaeological research identified three local and distinct ancient exploitation phases of these ferruginous mineralisations: (1) an Upper Palaeolithic phase; (2) a Late Neolithic phase; and (3) a post-Medieval phase. These materials, which have various forms of complex mineralogical admixtures and range in colour from yellow-orange to red and darker brown shades, mainly consist of iron oxides/hydroxides (essentially goethite and lepidocrocite), which are often mixed with subordinate and variable amounts of other matrix components (carbonates, sulphates, arsenates, silicates and organic matter).

Terrestrial and Marine Foraging Strategies of an Opportunistic Seabird Species Breeding in the Wadden Sea.

Lesser black-backed gulls Larus fuscus are considered to be mainly pelagic. We assessed the importance of different landscape elements (open sea, tidal flats and inland) by comparing marine and terrestrial foraging behaviours in lesser black-backed gulls breeding along the coast of the southern North Sea. We attached GPS data loggers to eight incubating birds and collected information on diet and habitat use.

Genetic Basis for Red Coloration in Birds.

The yellow and red feather pigmentation of many bird species [1] plays pivotal roles in social signaling and mate choice [2, 3]. To produce red pigments, birds ingest yellow carotenoids and endogenously convert them into red ketocarotenoids via an oxidation reaction catalyzed by a previously unknown ketolase [4-6]. We investigated the genetic basis for red coloration in birds using whole-genome sequencing of red siskins (Spinus cucullata), common canaries (Serinus canaria), and "red factor" canaries, which are the hybrid product of crossing red siskins with common canaries [7].

Seasonal Variability May Affect Microbial Decomposers and Leaf Decomposition More Than Warming in Streams.

Ongoing climate change is expected to affect the diversity and activity of aquatic microbes, which play a key role in plant litter decomposition in forest streams. We used a before-after control-impact (BACI) design to study the effects of warming on a forest stream reach. The stream reach was divided by a longitudinal barrier, and during 1 year (ambient year) both stream halves were at ambient temperature, while in the second year (warmed year) the temperature in one stream half was increased by ca.

Sex and migratory strategy influence corticosterone levels in winter-grown feathers, with positive breeding effects in a migratory pelagic seabird.

To overcome unpredictable stressful transitory events, animals trigger an allostatic response involving the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal cortex. This hormonal response, which involves the release of glucocorticoids which in turn mediate between the main physiological mechanisms that regulate the energetic demands and resource allocation trade-off with behavioural responses to environmental perturbations and may ultimately lead to variation in fitness. We have used the Cory's shearwater Calonectris borealis, a sexually dimorphic pelagic seabird with a partial migratory strategy, as a model bird species to analyse a number of traits related to the stress response.

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.

High Resilience of Seed Dispersal Webs Highlighted by the Experimental Removal of the Dominant Disperser.

The pressing need to conserve and restore habitats in the face of ongoing species loss [1, 2] requires a better understanding of what happens to communities when species are lost or reinstated [3, 4]. Theoretical models show that communities are relatively insensitive to species loss [5, 6]; however, they disagree with field manipulations showing a cascade of extinctions [7, 8] and have seldom been tested under field conditions (e.g.

Compounds altering fat storage in Daphnia magna.

The analysis of lipid disruptive effects in invertebrates is limited by our poor knowledge of the lipid metabolic pathways. A recent study showed that tributyltin activated the ecdysteroid, juvenile hormone and retinoic X receptor signaling pathways, and disrupted the dynamics of neutral lipids in the crustacean Daphnia magna impairing the transfer of triacylglycerols to eggs and hence promoting their accumulation in post-spawning females. Tributyltin disruptive effects correlated with lower fitness for offspring and adults.

Photosynthesis in estuarine intertidal microphytobenthos is limited by inorganic carbon availability.

The effects of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) availability on photosynthesis were studied in two estuarine intertidal microphytobenthos (MPB) communities and in the model diatom species Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Kinetics of DIC acquisition, measured with a liquid-phase oxygen electrode, showed higher K(1/2)(DIC) (0.31 mM) and Vm (7.

The joint space-time statistics of macroweather precipitation, space-time statistical factorization and macroweather models.

Over the range of time scales from about 10 days to 30-100 years, in addition to the familiar weather and climate regimes, there is an intermediate "macroweather" regime characterized by negative temporal fluctuation exponents: implying that fluctuations tend to cancel each other out so that averages tend to converge. We show theoretically and numerically that macroweather precipitation can be modeled by a stochastic weather-climate model (the Climate Extended Fractionally Integrated Flux, model, CEFIF) first proposed for macroweather temperatures and we show numerically that a four parameter space-time CEFIF model can approximately reproduce eight or so empirical space-time exponents. In spite of this success, CEFIF is theoretically and numerically difficult to manage.