An updated checklist of ctenophores (Ctenophora: Nuda and Tentaculata) of Mexican seas

Ctenophores are one of the most conspicuous and frequent groups of the gelatinous zooplankton community, but their regional diversity in tropical and subtropical latitudes remains largely unknown. We provide an overview and update of the current knowledge of the diversity in Mexican seas, including ocean and coastal-neritic environments of the Gulf of Mexico, the Mexican Caribbean Sea, and the Mexican Pacific Ocean. Ctenophore records were reviewed based on the available scientific and gray literature, the Naturalista network (www.naturalista.mx), and the ctenophore species collected in the Gulf of California by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. A total of 33 taxa (Class Nuda and Tentaculata) were found to occur in Mexican seas, of which 12 of the 33 taxa (36.4 % of the total) were recorded in the Gulf of Mexico, 7 (21.2 %) in the Mexican Caribbean Sea, 25 (75.8 %) in the Gulf of California, 11 (33.3 %) in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, and only 1 (3.0 %) are known in the Northeastern Pacific. Up to nine taxa included in our account represent first records for Mexico (i.e., Bathocyroe fosteri, Kiyohimea usagi, Lampocteis cruentiventer, Leucothea sp., Aulacoctena sp., Haeckelia beehleri, Charistephane fugiens, Bathyctena chuni, and Hormiphora californensis). Due to the lack of data on benthic ctenophores and the sparse studies on oceanic and deep-living species, it is expected that the list will grow as new surveys are performed in the deep sea. The lack of long-term studies on Mexican ctenophores have limited our capacity to draw valid conclusions on their abundance, total diversity, endemicity, and trophic ecology in Mexico.Fil: Puente Tapia, Francisco Alejandro. Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones y Desarrollo Pesquero; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Gasca Serrano, Rebeca Adriana. El Colegio de la Frontera del Sur; MéxicoFil: Schiariti, Agustin. Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones y Desarrollo Pesquero; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Haddock, S.H.D.. Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute ; Estados Unido

New records of association between Brachyscelus cf. rapacoides (Arthropoda: Amphipoda) and medusae (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa and Hydrozoa) from São Sebastião Channel, southeast Brazil

Medusae have a great diversity of associations with different crustacean groups such as Amphipoda, Cirripedia, Isopoda, Copepoda, Decapoda and Mysidacea . Amphipoda is one of the most representative groups of marine symbiotic crustaceans, many species are associated as symbionts or parasites of other organisms including cnidarians, mollusks, other crustaceans, tunicates, as well as fishes, sea turtles, dolphins, and whales, hyperiids represent a remarkable lineage of amphipods that are adapted to live as holoplanktonic forms that evolved from benthic ancestors, and use as a substratum, shelter and source of food other pelagic organisms, mainly gelatinous zooplankters, at least during the first part of their life cycle.Fil: Puente Tapia, Francisco Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Gasca Serrano, Rebeca Adriana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Genzano, Gabriel Nestor. El Colegio de la Frontera Sur; MéxicoFil: Schiariti, Agustin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Morandini, André Carrara. Universidade de São Paulo; Brasi

Diet and stable isotope analyses reveal the feeding ecology of the orangeback squid Sthenoteuthis pteropus (Steenstrup 1855) (Mollusca, Ommastrephidae) in the eastern tropical Atlantic

In the eastern tropical Atlantic, the orangeback flying squid Sthenoteuthis pteropus (Steenstrup 1855) (Cephalopoda, Ommastrephidae) is a dominant species of the epipelagic nekton community. This carnivore squid has a short lifespan and is one of the fastest-growing squids. In this study, we characterise the role of S. pteropus in the pelagic food web of the eastern tropical Atlantic by investigating its diet and the dynamics of its feeding habits throughout its ontogeny and migration. During three expeditions in the eastern tropical Atlantic in 2015, 129 specimens were caught by hand jigging. Stomach content analyses (via visual identification and DNA barcoding) were combined with stable isotope data (∂15N and ∂13C) of muscle tissue to describe diet, feeding habits and trophic ecology of S. pteropus. Additionally, stable isotope analyses of incremental samples along the squid’s gladius—the chitinous spiniform structure supporting the muscles and organs—were carried out to explore possible diet shifts through ontogeny and migration. Our results show that S. pteropus preys mainly on myctophid fishes (e.g. Myctophum asperum, Myctophum nitidulum, Vinciguerria spp.), but also on other teleost species, cephalopods (e.g. Enoploteuthidae, Bolitinidae, Ommastrephidae), crustaceans and possibly on gelatinous zooplankton as well. The squid shows a highly opportunistic feeding behaviour that includes cannibalism. Our study indicates that the trophic position of S. pteropus may increase by approximately one trophic level from a mantle length of 15 cm to 47 cm. The reconstructed isotope-based feeding chronologies of the gladii revealed high intra- and inter-individual variability in the squid’s trophic position and foraging area. These findings are not revealed by diet or muscle tissue stable isotope analysis. This suggests a variable and complex life history involving individual variation and migration. The role of S. pteropus in transferring energy and nutrients from lower to higher trophic levels may be underestimated and important for understanding how a changing ocean impacts food webs in the eastern Atlantic

Insights into the Biodiversity, Behavior, and Bioluminescence of Deep-Sea Organisms Using Molecular and Maritime Technology

Since its founding, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) has pioneered unique capabilities for accessing the deep ocean and its inhabitants through focused peer relationships between scientists and engineers. This focus has enabled breakthroughs in our understanding of life in the sea, leading to fundamental advances in describing the biology and the ecology of open-ocean and deep-sea animals. David Packard’s founding principle was the application of technological advances to studying the deep ocean, in part because he recognized the critical importance of this habitat in a global context. Among other fields, MBARI’s science has benefited from applying novel methodologies in molecular biology and genetics, imaging systems, and in situ observations. These technologies have allowed MBARI’s bioluminescence and biodiversity laboratory and worldwide collaborators to address centuries-old questions related to the biodiversity, behavior, and bio-optical properties of organisms living in the water column, from the surface into the deep sea. Many of the most interesting of these phenomena are in the midwater domain—the vast region of ocean between the sunlit surface waters and the deep seafloor

The World Amphipoda Database: history and progress

We provide an overview of the World Amphipoda Database (WAD), a global species database that is part of the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Launched in 2013, the database contains entries for over 10,500 accepted species names. Edited currently by 31 amphipod taxonomists, following WoRMS priorities, the WAD has at least one editor per major group. All accepted species are checked by the editors, as is the authorship available for all of the names. The higher classification is documented for every species and a type species is recorded for every genus name. This constitutes five of the 13 priorities for completion, set by WoRMS. In 2015, five LifeWatch grants were allocated for WAD activities. These included a general training workshop in 2016, together with data input for the superfamily Lysianassoidea and for a number of non-marine groups. Philanthropy grants in 2019 and 2021 covered more important gaps across the whole group. Further work remains to complete the linking of unaccepted names, original descriptions, and environmental information. Once these tasks are completed, the database will be considered complete for 8 of the 13 priorities, and efforts will continue to input new taxa annually and focus on the remaining priorities, particularly the input of type localities. We give an overview of the current status of the order Amphipoda, providing counts of the number of genera and species within each family belonging to the six suborders currently recognized

Hyperiid Amphipods (Crustacea: Peracarida) in Mexican Waters of the Pacific Ocean.

v. ill. 23 cm.QuarterlyInformation on regional diversity of hyperiid amphipods of the eastern Pacific Ocean is still largely incomplete. Recent surveys of hyperiid fauna from the Mexican Pacific motivated a revision of extant faunistic accounts. This revised list includes all records from Mexican waters of the eastern Pacific (MP) from Baja California to the southern border with Central America. A total of 150 species belonging to 19 families and 48 genera of the Hyperiidea was included in this account; seven are new records in the MP. Up to 31 nominal species were excluded from previous listings. Overall, the epipelagic infraorder Physocephalata is highly diverse in the MP (119 species); Physosomata, containing deep-living forms, are less diverse (31 species). The northern part of the MP (including the gulf and off the Baja California peninsula) harbors the highest number of species/records, whereas nearly half of the species are known from the central areas and six from the southernmost sector of the MP. This pattern reflects current knowledge of the group in these areas and also geographic differences in the sampling/research efforts, but it is not a diversity gradient. Species richness of the MP is comparable with that known from other Pacific subregions. The epipelagic hyperiid fauna of the tropical MP remains relatively unknown and should be studied further to reveal regional patterns of diversity. The deep-living hyperiid community of the tropical eastern Pacific harbors a diversity that is deserving of further study

Sifonóforos (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) del Mar Caribe mexicano (agosto, 1986)

Thirty-one species of siphonophores were identified from 28 zooplankton samples colected during the ARCOMM I cruise, carried out in the in the epipelagic zone off the Mexican Caribbean coast (August, 1986) on board the B/O "Justo Sierra", of the UNAM. Zooplankton samples were collected using a standard net with a 0.5 mm filtering mesh, hauled from varible depths (9-220 m). The most abundant species were: Eudoxoides mitra (21% of total siphonophore numbers), Diphyes bojani (19.3%), Chelophyes appendiculata (14.3%), Abylopsis eschscholtzi (12.3%) and A. tetragona (10.5%). Overall mean abundance of siphonophores was 1568 Ind./1000m3, which is a low value when compared with other Western Atlantic areas. The most frequent species were E. mitra (in 96% of the stations), A. eschscholtzi (93%), and C. appendiculata and D. bojani (86%). Mean diversity (3.34 bits ind.-1), was relatively low when compared with the Yucatan Shelf and the southern Gulf of Mexico. The shiphonophore community structure appears to be homogeneous in this area.Se identificaron 31 especies de sifonóforos a partir de 28 muestras de zooplancton recolectdaas en el crucero ARCOMM I (agosto, 1986) a bordo del B/O "Justo Sierra" de la UNAM, en la zona epipelágica de las porciones centro y sur de Quintana Roo, en el Caribe de Méico. Las muestrs fueron recolectadas con un red estándar, con malla de 0.5 mm, a profundidades entre 9 y 220 m. Las especies más abundantes fueron: Eudoxoides mitra (21% de los organismos recolectados), Diphyes bojani (19.3%), Chelophyes appendiculata (14.3%), Abylopsis eschscholtzi (12.3%) y A. tetragona (10.5%). La abundancia promedio de los sifonóforos fue de 1568 ind./1000m3, un valor relativamente bajo comparado con otras zonas del Atlántico Occidental. Las especies más frecuentes fueron: E. mitra (en 96% de las estaciones) A. eschscholtzi (93%) C. appendiculata y D. bojani (86%). La diversidad promedio (3.34 bits ind. -1) es relativamente alta comparada con la Plataforma de Yucatán y el Golfo de México. Aparentemente, la estructura de la comunidad de sifonóforos es homogénea es esta zona