Feeding biology of a habitat-forming antipatharian in the Azores Archipelago

Benthic suspension feeders have developed a variety of feeding strategies and food availability has often proven to be a key factor explaining their occurrence and distribution. The feeding biology of coral species has been the target of an increasing number of studies, however most of them focus on Scleractinia and Octocorallia, while information for Antipatharia is very scarce. The present study focused on Antipathella wollastoni, a common habitat-forming antipatharian in the Azores Archipelago, forming dense black coral forests between 20 and 150 m. The objective of the study was to investigate the food preferences of the target species upon availability of different isotopically enriched food substrates and determine its ability to capture zooplankton prey under different flow speeds. The species was able to utilize different food sources including live phytoplankton, live zooplankton and dissolved organic matter (DOM), indicating the ability to exploit seasonally available food sources. However, ingestion of zooplankton enhanced carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) incorporation in coral tissue and metabolic activity, highlighting the importance of zooplankton prey for vital physiological processes such as growth and reproduction. Maximum zooplankton capture rates occurred under 4 cm−1, however the species displayed high capacity to capture zooplankton prey over different flow rates highlighting the ability of A. wollastoni to exploit high quantities of shortly available prey

Peeping through the deep: Insights to the reproductive strategies of cold water gorgonians in the Azores Archipelago

<p>Cold-water coral (CWC) habitats in the Azores Archipelago are formed mainly by octocoral species which form dense aggregations known as coral gardens, occurring over a bathymetric range of approximately 200 and 2200 m of depth. Due to their relevant role as habitat-forming species for a variety of marine organisms and high vulnerability to anthropogenic activities, coral gardens are considered in many cases as Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs). The effective conservation and management of these CWC species and the ecosystems they form requires in-depth knowledge about their ecology, population biology, and connectivity, including their reproductive strategies and life history traits. Current knowledge on reproduction of CWCs is fairly scarce and limited to some species. The objective of this study is to gather information on the reproductive biology and ecology of some important habitat forming octocorals in the Azores, including <em>Viminella flagellum</em>, <em>Dentomuricea aff. meteor</em>, <em>Acanella arbuscula</em> and <em>Acanthogorgia armata</em>. By using a variety of methods, such as the collection of specimens through by-catch from deep long-line fisheries and scientific cruises, histological processing and opportunistic observations of specimens kept in aquaria, we attempt a first insight to their sexual reproduction, including sexuality, reproductive mode and reproductive seasonality, as well as to strategies of asexual reproduction such as fragmentation and polyp bail-out.</p

Feeding biology of a habitat-forming antipatharian in the Azores Archipelago

Benthic suspension feeders have developed a variety of feeding strategies and food availability has often proven to be a key factor explaining their occurrence and distribution. The feeding biology of coral species has been the target of an increasing number of studies, however most of them focus on Scleractinia and Octocorallia, while information for Antipatharia is very scarce. The present study focused on Antipathella wollastoni, a common habitat-forming antipatharian in the Azores Archipelago, forming dense black coral forests between 20 and 150 m. The objective of the study was to investigate the food preferences of the target species upon availability of different isotopically enriched food substrates and determine its ability to capture zooplankton prey under different flow speeds. The species was able to utilize different food sources including live phytoplankton, live zooplankton and dissolved organic matter (DOM), indicating the ability to exploit seasonally available food sources. However, ingestion of zooplankton enhanced carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) incorporation in coral tissue and metabolic activity, highlighting the importance of zooplankton prey for vital physiological processes such as growth and reproduction. Maximum zooplankton capture rates occurred under 4 cm−1, however the species displayed high capacity to capture zooplankton prey over different flow rates highlighting the ability of A. wollastoni to exploit high quantities of shortly available prey

First description of polyp bailout in cold-water octocorals

Cnidarians, characterized by high levels of plasticity, exhibit remarkable mechanisms to withstand or escape unfavourable conditions including reverse development which describes processes of transformation of adult stages into early developmental stages with higher mobility. Polyp bailout is a stress-escape response common among scleractinian species, consisting of massive detachment of live polyps and subsequent death of the mother colony. Here, we describe two cases of polyp bailout in the cold-water octocoral species Acanthogorgia armata and Acanella arbuscula. During maintenance in aquaria, specimens of both species presented coenosarc withdrawal and loss of sclerites, followed by detachment of intact polyps. This is a strong indication of reverse development which can be a very important strategy under stress conditions and has not been reported before in cold-water octocorals

A comparative study of the anti-inflammatory, anticoagulant, antiangiogenic, and antiadhesive activities of nine different fucoidans from brown seaweeds

The anti-inflammatory, antiangiogenic, anticoagulant, and antiadhesive properties of fucoidans obtained from nine species of brown algae were studied in order to examine the influence of fucoidan origin and composition on their biological activities. All fucoidans inhibited leucocyte recruitment in an inflammation model in rats, and neither the content of fucose and sulfate nor other structural features of their polysaccharide backbones significantly affected the efficacy of fucoidans in this model. In vitro evaluation of P-selectin-mediated neutrophil adhesion to platelets under flow conditions revealed that only polysaccharides from Laminaria saccharina, L. digitata, Fucus evanescens, F. serratus, F. distichus, F. spiralis, and Ascophyllum nodosum could serve as P-selectin inhibitors. All fucoidans, except that from Cladosiphon okamuranus carrying substantial levels of 2-O-alpha-D-glucuronopyranosyl branches in the linear (1-->3)-linked poly-alpha-fucopyranoside chain, exhibited anticoagulant activity as measured by activated partial thromboplastin time whereas only fucoidans from L. saccharina, L. digitata, F. serratus, F. distichus, and F. evanescens displayed strong antithrombin activity in a platelet aggregation test. The last fucoidans potently inhibited human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) tubulogenesis in vitro and this property correlated with decreased levels of plasminogen-activator inhibitor-1 in HUVEC supernatants, suggesting a possible mechanism of fucoidan-induced inhibition of tubulogenesis. Finally, fucoidans from L. saccharina, L. digitata, F. serratus, F. distichus, and F. vesiculosus strongly blocked MDA-MB-231 breast carcinoma cell adhesion to platelets, an effect which might have critical implications in tumor metastasis. The data presented herein provide a new rationale for the development of potential drugs for thrombosis, inflammation, and tumor progression.Fil: Cumashi, Albana. Universita degli Studi G. D Annunzio; ItaliaFil: Ushakova, Natalia A.. Academia Rusa de Ciencias Médicas; RusiaFil: Preobrazhenskaya, Marina E.. Academia Rusa de Ciencias Médicas; RusiaFil: D'Incecco, Armida. Universita degli Studi G. D Annunzio; ItaliaFil: Piccoli, Antonio. Consorzio Mario Negri Sud; ItaliaFil: Totani, Licia. Consorzio Mario Negri Sud; ItaliaFil: Tinari, Nicola. Universita degli Studi G. D Annunzio; ItaliaFil: Morozevich, Galina E.. Academia Rusa de Ciencias Médicas; RusiaFil: Berman, Albert E.. Academia Rusa de Ciencias Médicas; RusiaFil: Bilan, María. Academia Rusa de Ciencias; RusiaFil: Usov, Anatolii I.. Academia Rusa de Ciencias; RusiaFil: Ustyuzhanina, Nadezhda E.. Academia Rusa de Ciencias; RusiaFil: Grachev, Alexey A.. Academia Rusa de Ciencias; RusiaFil: Sanderson, Craig J.. Scottish Association for Marine Sciences; Reino UnidoFil: Kelly, Maeve. Scottish Association for Marine Sciences; Reino UnidoFil: Rabinovich, Gabriel Adrián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Hospital de Clínicas General San Martín; ArgentinaFil: Iacobelli, Stefano. Universita degli Studi G. D Annunzio; ItaliaFil: Nifantiev, Nikolay E.. Academia Rusa de Ciencias; Rusi

Habitat mapping in the European Seas - is it fit for purpose in the marine restoration agenda?

Este artículo contiene 10 páginas, 10 figuras.As habitat mapping is crucially important for developing effective management and restoration plans, the aim of this work was to produce a census of available map resources at the European scale focusing on: a) key marine habitats; b) degraded habitats; c) human activities and pressures acting on degraded habitats, and d) the restoration potential of degraded habitats. Almost half of the 580 map records were derived from grey literature and web resources but contained no georeferenced files for download, thus limiting further use of the data. Biogeographical heterogeneity was observed and varied between the type and quality of information provided. This variability was mainly related to differences in research efforts and stakeholder focus. Habitat degradation was assessed in only 28% of the map records and was mostly carried out in a qualitative manner. Less than half of the map records included assessments on the recovery/restoration potential of the degraded habitats, with passive restoration by removal of human activities being the most commonly recommended measure. The current work has identified several gaps and challenges both in the thematic and geographic coverage of the available map resources, as well as in the approaches implemented for the harmonized assessment of habitat degradation. These should guide future mapping initiatives in order to more comprehensively support and advise the marine habitat restoration agenda for better meeting the objectives set in relevant policy documents and legislative acts in Europe.This research has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020, research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 689518 (MERCES: Marine Ecosystem Restoration in Changing European Seas). TM was supported by Program Investigador FCT, Portugal (IF/01194/2013).Peer reviewe

Restoration actions in marine ecosystems: a global analysis.

4th World Conference on Marine Biodiversity (WCMB 2018), 13-16 May 2018, MontrealA review of 573 studies on active restoration actions in the marine environment, published in the last 25 years, was carried out at global scale. We assessed how, where, at which spatial and temporal scales and under which socio-ecological settings restoration studies have been carried out, from very shallow to deep sea habitats. Results show that restoration efforts across habitats are increasing, especially in seagrasses and coral reefs, but never approached at ecosystem level. Targets, methods, response variables and standards are still very heterogeneous. Of the factors considered in the review, habitat, human impact intensity, realm and methods of restoration were found to be good determinant of restoration success. Short project duration (one-two years), small restoration areas (< 1 ha), lack of controls and knowledge of baselines are still a limit for deriving generalities. Finally, restorations rarely consider future challenges linked to global change this impairing long-term success stories. Restoration science needs more robust approaches leading to the development of best practices (e.g. protocols, monitoring of the effects, reasons for failure) to be applied at spatial and temporal scales so as to answer to present and future disturbance regimes. Marine restoration is a promising approach to limit habitat loss. More science is needed to increase the number of success storiesPeer Reviewe