Morphodynamic Study of a 2018 Mass-Stranding Event at Punta Umbria Beach (Spain): E ect of Atlantic Storm Emma on Benthic Marine Organisms

Very few mass stranding events of invertebrates have been reported. In this paper, we report a mass stranding of multiple benthic organisms occurred at Punta Umbría beach (S Spain) after the passage of storm Emma (28 February to 5 March 2018). The most abundant organisms were identified, and exceptional meteorological and oceanographic events were analyzed, as a basis to understand the causes of stranding. The morphodynamic changes a ecting the beach profile during the storm were inferred using a cross shore depth-integrated and time averaged numerical model (CSHORE). Among the stranded species, decapods (Upogebia spp., Atelecyclus undecimdentatus), sipunculids (Sipunculus nudus), starfish (Astropecten sp.), and sessile tunicates were dominant. Storm Emma involved extreme significant wave heights of up to 7.27 m, low pressures, strong SW winds, precipitations and spring tides that modified the seabed elevation to depth as deep as 10 m. Simulations suggest that benthic organisms living at a water depth between 10 to 0.3 m were buried under a layer of sediment of up to ca. 10 cm deposited during the storm. This burial preceded the transport of intertidal and subtidal benthic organisms to the dry beach, causing their stranding. Impacts on the quality of habitat, biodiversity and the productivity of coastal ecosystems are discussed

Larval morphology of the family Parthenopidae, with the description of the megalopa stage of Derilambrus angulifrons (Latreille, 1825) (Decapoda: Brachyura), identified by DNA barcode

Although Parthenopidae is a brachyuran decapod family comprising almost 140 species, there is little knowledge about its larval morphology. There are only two complete larval developments reared in the laboratory and some larval stages described for seven species. In the present work these data are compared and analysed. A summary is made of the larval features that characterize parthenopids that can be used to distinguish them from other brachyuran larvae. In addition, the megalopa stage of Derilambrus angulifrons and Parthenopoides massena was collected from plankton and identified by DNA barcodes. The morphology of the megalopa of D. angulifrons is described for the first time, and that of P. massena is compared with a previous description