Checklist of marine Crustacea Decapoda (excluded Brachyura) from Iberian Peninsula

An actualized and annotated checklist of marine Crustacea Decapoda (excluded Brachyura) from Iberian Peninsula and by sectors (Northern Spain (Gulf of Biscay to Galicia) - West Portugal - Gulf of Cádiz (S Portugal- SW Spain: Cape San Vicente to Gibraltar Strait) - Alborán Sea - Eastern Mediterranean Spain (Baleares-Levante)) is provided. Systematic changes and synonymies, new records, introduced species by anthropogenic activities and characterization of the spatial distribution of species are commented. In total 292 decapods species (not including Brachyura), belonging to 134 genera and 42 families, are cited along Iberian waters. Of these, 114 were not found by Zariquiey Álvarez (1968). The richest families are Paguridae, Hippolytidae and Palemonidae (with 28, 21 and 17 species respectively). By sectors, the Gulf of Cadiz shows the highest richness (178 species), consequence of the confluence of Atlantic and Mediterranean waters and of a greater depth range in this area (when comparing with the adjacent Alborán Sea sector). The total marine decapod species along Iberian waters (including crabs, Marco-Herrera et al., 2015) is, at least, 431. Also, other 13 freshwaters species have been cited in Iberian Peninsula.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Taxonomic study of the Pagurus forbesii "complex" (Crustacea: Decapoda: Paguridae). Description of pagurus pseudosculptimanus sp. nov. from alborán sea (Southern Spain, Western Mediterranean Sea)

Study of hermit crabs from Alboran Sea has allowed recognition of two different morphological forms under what had been understood as Pagurus forbesii. Based on morphological observations with various species of Pagurus, and molecular studies, a new species is described as P. pseudosculptimanus. An overview of species of Pagurus from the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea is provided. © Copyright 2014 Magnolia Press.This work was supported by the Junta de Andalucía RNM-0141 Research Group.Peer Reviewe

Seasonal variations of the humoral immune parameters of European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.).

Seasonal cycles, mainly due to great variations in the light duration and temperature, are important and modulate several aspects of the animal behavior. In the case of poikilotherms animals such as fish this is very relevant. Thus, temperature changes fish immunity and affects disease resistance. We evaluate in this work the season variations of the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) humoral innate parameters focusing on winter months, at which the culture of this specie is more difficult. Our results showed that not all the innate immune parameters are depressed by low temperatures. Moreover, some of them are more dependent than others to the season and both temperature and photoperiod are operating together.Postprint

Environmental enrichment results in both brain connectivity efficiency and selective improvement in different behavioral tasks

Exposure to environmental enrichment (EE) has been a useful model for studying the effects of experience on brain plasticity, but to date, few is known about the impact of this condition on the brain functional networks that probably underlies the multiple behavioral improvements. Hence, we assessed the effect of an EE protocol in adult Wistar rats on the performance in several behavioral tasks testing different domains (Open field (OP): locomotor activity; Elevated-zero maze (EZM): anxiety-related behaviors; 5-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT): attentional processes; 4-arm radial water maze (4-RAWM): spatial memory) in order to check its effectiveness in a wide range of functions. After this, we analyzed the functional brain connectivity underlying each experimental condition through cytochrome C oxidase (COx) histochemistry. Our EE protocol reduced both locomotor activity in the OP and anxiety-related behaviors in the EZM. On the other hand, enriched rats showed more accuracy in the 4-RAWM, whereas 5-CSRTT performance was not significantly ameliorated by EE condition. In relation to COx functional connectivity, we found that EE reduced the number of strong positive correlations both in basal and training conditions, suggesting a modulating effect on specific brain connections. Our results suggest that EE seems to have a selective effect on specific brain regions, such as prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, leading to a more efficient brain connectivity.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. PPIT.UMA.B1.2017/3

Descripción de patrones únicos de coloración en vivo como herramienta para la discriminación de especies de cangrejos ermitaños en la península ibérica

The unique colour patterns of the hermit crab species inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula and geographically close areas are studied based on colour patterns observed in live specimens either in the field or live in the laboratory. Live colour patterns are shown to be useful for differentiating species in the Paguroidea from Iberian waters. Colour information has not been frequently documented in previous studies, mainly because of difficulties in accessing live specimens. Up to 51 species are currently recorded within the study area, 45 of which are included in the present work, focusing on the distinctive colour traits for each species that can be observed in the field. A complete key for identifying the species within the study area based on colour patterns is included. This study is the first attempt to put in place this type of tool oriented to field work. Further studies will be required to complete and update this information, especially for species which are scarce or difficult to observe alive.El estudio de los patrones de coloración en ejemplares vivos observados tanto en el campo como en laboratorio, han permitido investigar la existencia de patrones de coloración distintivos para las especies de cangrejos ermitaños que habitan en la península ibérica y zonas geográficamente cercanas. Estos patrones de coloración han demostrado ser de gran utilidad en los Paguroidea de aguas Ibéricas para la identificación de especies. La información relativa al color ha sido frecuentemente obviada en el pasado, principalmente debido a las dificultades para acceder a los ejemplares vivos. En la actualidad existen alrededor de 51 especies registradas en la zona de estudio, 45 de las cuales se incluyen en el presente trabajo, poniendo el foco en los rasgos de color distintivos de cada especie que pueden observarse en el campo. Se incluye una clave completa para la identificación de las especies dentro del área de estudio basada en los patrones de color. Este estudio es el primer intento de implementar este tipo de herramienta orientada al trabajo de campo. Serán necesarios más estudios para completar y actualizar esta información, especialmente para aquellas especies que son escasas o difíciles de observar en vivo

Extended Parental Care in the Freshwater Shrimp Genus Dugastella Bouvier, 1912 (Decapoda, Atyidae, Paratyinae)

5 páginas, 1 figura.Parental care and extended parental care are known behaviours in decapod crustaceans (see Thiel, 2000, 2003). While parental care before hatching, which involves incubation of the eggs (carrying, cleaning, and aeration) by females, is a common behaviour in the majority of decapod taxa (with the exception of Dendrobranchiata), extended parental care is a rare behaviour in decapods, restricted only to some species of brachyuran crabs (Diesel, 1989, 1992, 1997; Diesel & Horst, 1995; Ng & Tan, 1995), hermit crabs (Hazlett, 1983; López Greco et al., 2004; Calado et al., 2006), astacid crayfishes (Johnston & Fiegel, 1997; Vogt & Tolley, 2004), and caridean shrimps (Duffy, 1996). In the majority of these cases, the parental female presents different types of parental activity towards the offspring after hatching, like habitat control, elimination of predators, or sharing meals. Also, there are some cases in which larvae develop transient structures that allow them to remain fixed to the pleopods of the female abdomen, like in astacids (see Vogt & Tolley, 2004) and several species of the genus Sclerocrangon Sars, 1883 (see Makarov, 1968; Lacoursière-Roussel & Sainte-Marie, 2009). However, the most infrequent cases of extended parental care in decapods are those where females carry their juvenile offspring under their abdomen after the hatched larvae develop there (cf. abdominal brood pouches, or incubation chamber). These cases have only been reported in one species of Brachyura, Tunicotheres moseri (Rathbun, 1918) (see Bolaños et al., 2004), and one caridean, the kangaroo shrimp Dugastella valentina (Ferrer Galdiano, 1924) (see Cuesta et al., 2006). Taking into account this last case, and considering that there are only two species in the genus Dugastella Bouvier, 1912, the objective of the present study was to corroborate whether the other species, D. marocana Bouvier, 1912, also presents the same behaviour. These two species have a a restricted distribution, D. valentina occurs in the Gulf of Valencia (southern Europe) and D. marocana is found in some localities of Morocco (northwestern Africa).Collections in Morocco by JEGM and JEGR were possible thanks to fundings provided by “CSIC Proyectos Intramurales Especiales” 2006 3 01 238 to JAC.Peer reviewe

Utilidad de los archivos de prensa en el estudio de inestabilidades de ladera en Asturias (NO de España)

[ResumenLa aplicación de los archivos de prensa al estudio de inestabilidades de ladera en Asturias plantea diversas limitaciones metodológicas. Entre ellas destacan la baja frecuencia de noticias referentes a inestabilidades, la recogida prácticamente exclusiva de aquellas que afectan a infraestructuras y la ausencia de una toma de datos de carácter científico. Sin embargo, el análisis de la información de 209 noticias pertenecientes al período 1980-94 ha puesto de manifiesto su utilidad en diversos aspectos, como la ubicación global de las inestabilidades de ladera en la Cuenca Carbonífera Central, y la valoración de su impacto sobre infraestructuras. Es destacable asimismo la posibilidad que ofrece este tipo de archivos como regis·tro cronológico de inestabilidades, lo que ha permitido establecer una aproximación a la relación temporal entre los eventos de precipitación e inestabilidad.[Abstract] The application of newspaper archives to the study of slope instabilities in Asturias has several methodological limitations. Sorne of them are the low frequency of news refering to slope instability and the publication of only those affecting people and infrastructures without a scientifical data collection. Nevertheless, the analysis of the information about 209 news in the period 198094 has evidenced its utility in showing the spatiallocation of instabilities in the Central Coal Basin, and giving an approach to its impact over infrastructures. It is also worth to point out the possibility of using these archives as chronological instability records. This has allowed the establishment of an approach to the temporal relationships between rainfal1 and instability events for the studied interval

Demixing in a single-peak distributed polydisperse mixture of hard spheres

An analytic derivation of the spinodal of a polydisperse mixture is presented. It holds for fluids whose excess free energy can be accurately described by a function of a few moments of the size distribution. It is shown that one such mixture of hard spheres in the Percus-Yevick approximation never demixes, despite its size distribution. In the Boublik-Mansoori-Carnahan-Starling-Leland approximation, though, it demixes for a sufficiently wide log-normal size distribution. The importance of this result is twofold: first, this distribution is unimodal, and yet it phase separates; and second, log-normal size distributions appear in many experimental contexts. The same phenomenon is shown to occur for the fluid of parallel hard cubes.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, needs revtex, multicol, epsfig and amstex style file

Antimicrobial response is increased in the testis of European sea bass but not in gilthead seabream upon nodavirus infection

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have a crucial role in the fish innate immune response, being considered a fundamental component of the first line of defence against pathogens. Moreover, AMPs have not been studied in the fish gonad since this is used by some pathogens as a vehicle or a reservoir to be transmitted to the progeny, as occurs with nodavirus (VNNV), which shows vertical transmission through the gonad, and/or gonadal fluids but no study has looked into the gonad of infected fish. In this framework, we have characterized the antimicrobial response triggered by VNNV in the testis of European sea bass, a very susceptible species of the virus, and in the gilthead seabream, which acts as a reservoir, both in vivo and in vitro, and compared with that present in the serum and brain (target tissue of VNNV). First, our data show a great antiviral response in the brain of gilthead seabream and in the gonad of European sea bass. In addition, for the first time, our results demonstrate that the antimicrobial activities (complement, lysozyme and bactericidal) and the expression of AMP genes such as complement factor 3 (c3), lysozyme (lyz), hepcidin (hamp), dicentracin (dic), piscidin (pis) or β-defensin (bdef) in the gonad of both species are very different, but generally activated in the European sea bass, probably related with the differences of susceptibility upon VNNV infection, and even differs to the brain response. Furthermore, the in vitro data suggest that some AMPs are locally regulated playing a local immune response in the gonad, while others are more dependent of the systemic immune system. Data are discussed in the light to ascertain their potential role in viral clearance by the gonad to avoid vertical transmission.Postprin