A revision of the status of Lepadogaster lepadogaster (Teleostei : Gobiesocidae): sympatric subspecies or a long misunderstood blend of species?

Molecular (partial mitochondrial 12S ribosomal DNA sequences), morphological and meristic analysis of Lepadogaster lepadogaster lepadogaster, L. l. purpurea and L. zebrina were performed to investigate the relationships between these taxa. On the western shore of mainland Portugal, where the two subspecies of L. lepadogaster occur sympatrically, they differ in microhabitat preferences and their breeding seasons are largely out of phase. This information, combined with data on distribution patterns, led to the following conclusions: Lepadogaster l. purpurea is considered to be a valid species, L. purpurea (Bonnaterre, 1788), different from L. l. lepadogaster, now designated L. lepadogaster (Bonnaterre, 1788). L. zebrina was found to be a synonym of L. lepadogaster. The two newly defined species were found to be in sympatry at Madeira and the Canary islands, the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula, and the Mediterranean at least as far as Genoa (Italy). Diagnostic characters and a list of synonyms are provided. (C) 2002 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2002, 76, 327-338

The seabed appearance of different coral bank provinces in the Porcupine Seabight, NE Atlantic: results from sidescan sonar and ROV seabed mapping

Carbonate mounds, identified as deep-water coral banks, have been reported recently from three provinces in the Porcupine Seabight, SW of Ireland. As yet, the mechanisms behind their formation and development are only partly understood. This contribution discusses their seabed appearance and present-day sedimentary environment, based on a large-scale TOBI sidescan sonar mapping carried out in 2002, and on detailed ROV video records from specific sites within the three mound provinces, collected in 2001. The study of the present-day characteristics and variability of these mounds can help to understand their development history in the past. The imagery clearly shows that the sedimentary environment in the Magellan and Hovland Mound provinces in the northern Porcupine Seabight is much quieter than in the current-swept Belgica Mound province on the eastern flank of the basin. In the latter area, for example, gravel lags and coarse sediments are found, together with patches of sorted sands, striations, barchan dunes and sediment waves. The difference in environment results in different mound appearances. The richest coral communities with the most abundant live coral occurrences are found in the Belgica province, while for example on the Magellan Mounds only a few live coral colonies are left. The present-day situation of the coral banks in the Porcupine Seabight thus illustrates the influence of the interplay between current and sediment dynamics on coral growth and mound development