Anthropogenic marine debris accumulation and its ecological impact on the highly urbanized mangroves of Hong Kong.

Mangroves are recognized as a sink for plastic and other anthropogenic marine debris (AMD). The accumulation rates of AMD within these ecosystems, however, have not yet been assessed anywhere in the world. Here, we investigated the standing stock and accumulation rate of AMD at four of the most polluted mangroves in Hong Kong over one year, focussing on its ecological impact on the diversity and abundance of vegetation and benthic macrofauna.

Enhancing African coelacanth monitoring using environmental DNA.

Coelacanths are rare, elusive, ancient lobe-finned fish species, residing in poorly accessible tropical marine caves and requiring close monitoring and protection. Environmental DNA (eDNA) approaches are being increasingly applied in the detection of rare and threatened species. Here we devise an eDNA approach to detect the presence of African coelacanths () off the eastern coast of South Africa.

Context drives movement patterns in a mobile marine predator.

Intra-specific variability in movement behaviour occurs in all major taxonomic groups. Despite its common occurrence and ecological consequences, individual variability is often overlooked. As a result, there is a persistent gap in knowledge about drivers of intra-specific variability in movement and its role in fulfilling life history requirements.

An overview of grey mullet (Mugilidae) global occurrence and species-rich ecoregions, with indications of possible past dispersal routes within the family.

This review examines the published literature on the distribution and species richness of the family Mugilidae around six continents as well as their phylogenetic relationships in a time-calibrated tree. Three mugilid species-rich regions were identified globally, namely the Coral Triangle, southern Asia and southern Africa, all of which have between 16 and 18 morphologically recognized species. Two of the species hotspots are tropical, and only southern Africa incorporates temperate waters.

Emerging challenges of the impacts of pharmaceuticals on aquatic ecosystems: A diatom perspective.

Pharmaceuticals are a ubiquitous group of emerging pollutants of considerable importance due to their biological potency and potential to elicit effects in wildlife and humans. Pharmaceuticals have been quantified in terrestrial, marine, fresh, and transitional waters, as well as the fauna and macro-flora that inhabit them. Pharmaceuticals can enter water ways through different human and veterinary pathways with traditional wastewater treatment, unable to completely remove pharmaceuticals, discharging often unknown quantities to aquatic ecosystems.

Trophic ecology of co-occurring fishes in the Sundays River Valley irrigation ponds, assessed using stable isotope and gut content analyses.

The analysis of food web structures has increased the understanding of the dynamics of organisms belonging to different trophic levels. In this study, the diet of two native species, Glossogobius callidus and Gilchristella aestuaria, was assessed in the presence of two non-native species, Oreochromis mossambicus and Gambusia affinis, in irrigation ponds, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The proportion of dietary items consumed and assimilated by the four fish species were inferred from gut contents and carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis.

Taxonomical review of Boulenger, 1915 (Elapoidea, Prosymnidae) with the description of two new species.

African Shovel-snout snakes ( Gray, 1849) are small, semi-fossorial snakes with a unique compressed and beak-like snout. occur mainly in the savanna of sub-Saharan Africa. Of the 16 currently recognised species, four occur in Angola: Bocage, 1873, Boulenger, 1915, (Peters, 1867), and FitzSimons, 1959.

Long term environmental variability modulates the epigenetics of maternal traits of kelp crabs in the coast of Chile.

The methylation of DNA is an environmentally inducible epigenetic mechanism reflecting the short-term ecological and environmental background of populations. Marine invertebrate populations, which spread along a latitudinal cline, are particularly suitable for profiling DNA methylation, due to the heterogenous environmental conditions experienced. We used the MSAP (Methylation Sensitive Amplified Polymorphism) technique to investigate the natural variation in DNA methylation of different female's tissues (muscle, gonads, and gills) and early-stage eggs from five populations of the kelp crab Taliepus dentatus, distributed along a latitudinal cline in the coast of Chile.

Habitat associations of imperilled fishes after conservation intervention in the Cape Fold Ecoregion, South Africa.

The aim of this study was to examine the habitat associations of a native cyprinid community of the recovering Rondegat River in the Cape Fold Ecoregion of South Africa as part of a long-term native fish abundance monitoring project. Relative abundance data were extracted from underwater video camera footage across the longitudinal gradient of the river in three sampling instances. Using multivariate methods the authors assessed community composition with respect to habitat, its overlap with a protected area and species-specific abiotic predictors of relative abundance.

A lentic microcosm approach to determine the toxicity of DDT and deltamethrin on diatom communities.

Worldwide the use of pesticides has increased, especially in the industry and agriculture sector even though they contain highly toxic substances. The use of pesticides has various negative effects on the aquatic ecosystem and organisms within these ecosystems. The paper aimed to assess the effects of increased concentrations of malaria vector control insecticides (Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and Deltamethrin (DTM)) on the freshwater diatom community structure using a microcosm approach as well as determine whether a mixture (DDT 1:1 Deltamethrin) exposure will have a greater influence on the diatom community when compared to single exposures of these insecticides.

The role of context in elucidating drivers of animal movement.

Despite its consequences for ecological processes and population dynamics, intra-specific variability is frequently overlooked in animal movement studies. Consequently, the necessary resolution to reveal drivers of individual movement decisions is often lost as animal movement data are aggregated to infer average or population patterns. Thus, an empirical understanding of why a given movement pattern occurs remains patchy for many taxa, especially in marine systems.

Exploratory stock identification through morphometric trait analysis of the estuarine round herring, Gilchristella aestuaria (Pisces: Clupeidae).

As a first step in stock identification of estuarine round herring Gilchristella aestuaria, a morphometric analysis of multiple standardised traits and body condition was conducted on samples from sites across the distribution range of the species, including freshwater and estuarine populations. Multivariate analyses, including a principal component analysis (PCA), revealed that sites on the same river system and sites in close geographic proximity tend to share morphometric traits. Most of the variation in PCA was due to caudal fin length (CFL).

A new species of red toad, Schismaderma Smith, 1849 (Anura: Bufonidae), from central Angola.

A new species of red toad, from the previously monotypic genus Schismaderma, is described. The new species was found in Malanje Province, and seems endemic to central Angola, occurring approximately 500 km west of the closest known records of Schismaderma carens. Unusual adult colouration and geographical distance to remaining S.

Identifying economic costs and knowledge gaps of invasive aquatic crustaceans.

Despite voluminous literature identifying the impacts of invasive species, summaries of monetary costs for some taxonomic groups remain limited. Invasive alien crustaceans often have profound impacts on recipient ecosystems, but there may be great unknowns related to their economic costs. Using the InvaCost database, we quantify and analyse reported costs associated with invasive crustaceans globally across taxonomic, spatial, and temporal descriptors.

Diatom Genus Hyalosira (Rhabdonematales emend.) and Resolution of its Polyphyly in Grammatophoraceae and Rhabdonemataceae with a New Genus, Placosira, and Five New Hyalosira Species.

Hyalosira gene sequences are divided into two clades within different families. We examined authentic material of Hyalosira (isotype material of H. obtusangula, synonymous with H.

Fine-scale conditions across mangrove microhabitats and larval ontogeny contributes to the thermal physiology of early stage brachyurans (Crustacea: Decapoda).

Most marine ectotherms require the successful completion of a biphasic larval stage to recruit into adult populations. Recruitment of larvae into benthic habitats largely depends on biological interactions and favourable environmental conditions such as the inescapable diurnal thermal and tidal exposures. Hence, assessing how different taxa metabolically respond to variations in temperature is imperative to understand the community and ecosystem dynamics at both local and global scales.

Diatom type material in permanent slides does not need to be permanently unavailable for electron microscopy examination.

The inability to thoroughly examine diatom type material existing only in resin-mounted permanent slides is a common frustration for diatomologists. Here, we present an efficient, inexpensive, and straightforward technique to extract siliceous exoskeletons of diatoms from permanent slides prepared with commonly used mounting media. Van Heurck's slide constituting an isotype duplicate of Proschkinia bulnheimii var.

On Sea Turtle-associated Craspedostauros (Bacillariophyta), with Description of Three Novel Species.

The current study focuses on four species from the primarily marine diatom genus Craspedostauros that were observed growing attached to numerous sea turtles and sea turtle-associated barnacles from Croatia and South Africa. Three of the examined taxa, C. danayanus sp.

Drifting along in the open-ocean: The associative behaviour of oceanic triggerfish and rainbow runner with floating objects.

Multispecies aggregations at floating objects are a common feature throughout the world's tropical and subtropical oceans. The evolutionary benefits driving this associative behaviour of pelagic fish remains unclear and information on the associative behaviour of non-tuna species remains scarce. This study investigated the associative behaviour of oceanic triggerfish (Canthidermis maculata) and rainbow runner (Elagatis bipinnulata), two major bycatch species in the tropical tuna purse seine fishery, at floating objects in the western Indian Ocean.