A revision of Parhyalella Kunkel (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Gammaridea)

The genus Parhyalella Kunkel, sensu lato, is revised, based on a review of type material for all previously described species, and on new material….https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/peabody_museum_natural_history_bulletin/1045/thumbnail.jp

The genus Maera (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Melitidae) from Bermuda

Traditionally,the Bermudian amphipod fauna has included three species of Maera. After examining collections that span more than 10 years, we retain one species, M. tinkerensis; report a second species, M. quadrimana, as a verified record for the Atlantic; and describe four new species: M. ceres, M. miranda, M. ariel, and M. caliban. Discussion of M. quadrimana sensu lato, M. pacifica and M. rathbunae clarifies their taxonomic status and their relationship to the Bermudian fauna. Maera tinkerensis resides within the grossimana complex of species, and the other five species reside within the quadrimana complex. The zoogeographical implications of these morphological complex alignments are briefly considered. We provide data on habitat preferences and a key to the six species of Maera now recognized from Bermuda

First report of a freshwater amphipod (Gammaridea: Hyalellidae), Hyalella azteca (Saussure), from nonanchihaline waters of Bermuda

The discovery of the freshwater amphipod H. azteca in Bermuda is reported. No freshwater amphipods have previously been recorded from open water pond habitats on this western Atlantic island. H. azteca in Bermuda presumably dispersed from nearby North American populations; several possible methods for dispersal are discussed. Distinctive morphological features of Bermuda H. azteca are compared with similar characters reported for other New World populations

Pariphinotus Kunkel, 1910, the senior synonym of Heterophlias Shoemaker, 1933 (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Phliantidae)

The synonymy of the genera Pariphinotus and Heterophlias has been debated many times in the literature. Historically a distinction has been maintained between these two phliantid genera because of morphological differences reported in the literature by the original descriptors and subsequent workers. Our examination of specimens of both genera demonstrates Pariphinotus and Heterophlias to be synonymous. Heterophlias has been regarded as the valid genus by most authors; Pariphinotus, however, is shown to be the senior synonym of Heterophlias

Infection-Associated Nuclear Degeneration in the Rice Blast Fungus Magnaporthe oryzae Requires Non-Selective Macro-Autophagy

addresses: School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom.notes: PMCID: PMC3308974Freely-available open access article.The rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae elaborates a specialized infection structure called an appressorium to breach the rice leaf surface and gain access to plant tissue. Appressorium development is controlled by cell cycle progression, and a single round of nuclear division occurs prior to appressorium formation. Mitosis is always followed by programmed cell death of the spore from which the appressorium develops. Nuclear degeneration in the spore is known to be essential for plant infection, but the precise mechanism by which it occurs is not known

The salt marsh amphipod, Gammarus palustris Bousfield, 1969 at the northern limit of its distribution: II. Temperature-salinity tolerances

The tolerance of Gammarus palustris to temperature-salinity combinations was examined, with emphasis on low temperatures and salinities of late winter and early spring. The species is quite eurythermal and euryhaline. Differences in tolerances were related to life stage and seasonal acclimation of two generations. Juveniles tolerated low salinities better than adults, and appeared to be living closest to their upper lethal temperature limit compared with other life stages. Immature, over-wintering animals showed best tolerance to low temperatures and salinities of late winter and early spring, assisted by relatively high blood osmoconcentrations. It is concluded that G. palustris may be living near its low lethal temperature limits in New Hampshire

The genus Podocerus (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Podoceridae) from Guana Island, British Virgin Islands

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Geographic Variation in Western Atlantic Populations of Gammarus oceanicus Segerstråle (Amphipoda)

1. In New Hampshire populations of the circum-Atlantic species Gammarus oceanicus, 18 morphological characters were examined; ten of these characteristics were different and related to coastal or estuary habitats. 2. Comparisons of five characters in populations from Massachusetts to Hudson Bay, Canada supported this conclusion and showed that the differences were greatest between the populations of New Hampshire. 3. Six characters showed differences corresponding to the trends found in the G. locusta series from coastal to brackish and to those observed in species of the Zaddachi group in Europe, denoting a genetic basis for the variation. 4. The conjunction of characters not showing overlaps does not was not strong enough for us to recognize subspecies; the term neutral form was used. 5. Coastal forms and forms of estuaries would be inter-fertile in the laboratory but, it seems, with reduced chances of success. 6. The differentiation of the form of estuary, first in the southern part of the range of the species, is considered to be linked to the highly euryecid nature of G. oceanicus, to the absence of European species from the Zaddachi group, and at variable selection pressures from the local micro-environmen

The salt marsh amphipod, Gammarus palustris Bousfield, 1969 at the northern limit of its distribution: I. Ecology and life cycle

The ecology and life cycle of the American endemic Gammarus palustris were studied in salt marshes of Great Bay, N.H. at its apparent northern-most limit. The species is an obligate epibenthic inhabitant of the lower marsh, residing most of the year in a narrow zone limited shoreward near Extreme High Water Neaps. There is no off-marsh migration in winter. Zonation is complicated by a seasonal distributional cycle, and microhabitat preferences for Spartina alterniflora culms, grass blade junctions, Ascophyllum, rocks, and tidal debris, correlated with animal size within and between sexes, and related to temperature variation. The species is a detritus-aufwuchs feeder; larger adults eat some macroalgae. Embryonic development is relatively fast at temperatures above 10 °C compared to other Gammarus spp, reproduction is bivoltine, and females produce up to 3 broods per breeding period. Mechanical action of ice may influence population size. Microhabitat preferences of associated amphipod species are also discussed