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Swiftia Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864, is often found sparse in the NE Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. When the cruise MSM 16/3 “PHAETON” filmed the upper bathyal off Mauritania in 2010, the first dense populations dominated by Swiftia were discovered in the NE Atlantic Ocean, co-occurring with the framework-forming scleractinians Desmophyllum pertusum (Linnaeus, 1758) and Madrepora oculata Linnaeus, 1758. Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) video annotation from two canyons and two coral mounds considered Swiftia phaeton Sampaio, Beuck & Freiwald, 2022 presence, size class and abundance as well as substrate and geomorphology of the seafloor. Coral gardens definition included abundance and size of the species. Dense and very dense mono- and multispecific coral gardens dominated by S. phaeton were mapped between 20°24′N and 17°54′N in 470–640 m depth. The resilience of these coral gardens off Mauritania is mainly linked to the presence of hard substrate available to settle and to the exposition of currents rich in food. Still, these ecosystems are located inside a hydrocarbon exploration area off Mauritania and where fisheries occur since the 1960s. Sedimentation plumes caused by both activities can travel and impact on settlement, development, and survival of these populations. Hence, these vulnerable “oases” should be protected.

Highly migratory, cosmopolitan oceanic sharks often exhibit complex movement patterns influenced by ontogeny, reproduction, and feeding. These elusive species are particularly challenging to population genetic studies, as representative samples suitable for inferring genetic structure are difficult to obtain. Our study provides insights into the genetic population structure one of the most abundant and wide‐ranging oceanic shark species, the blue shark Prionace glauca, by sampling the least mobile component of the populations, i.e., young‐of‐year and small juveniles (

The deep sea plays a critical role in global climate regulation through uptake and storage of heat and carbon dioxide. However, this regulating service causes warming, acidification and deoxygenation of deep waters, leading to decreased food availability at the seafloor. These changes and their projections are likely to affect productivity, biodiversity and distributions of deep-sea fauna, thereby compromising key ecosystem services. Understanding how climate change can lead to shifts in deep-sea species distributions is critically important in developing management measures. We used environmental niche modelling along with the best available species occurrence data and environmental parameters to model habitat suitability for key cold-water coral and commercially important deep-sea fish species under present-day (1951–2000) environmental conditions and to project changes under severe, high emissions future (2081–2100) climate projections (RCP8.5 scenario) for the North Atlantic Ocean. Our models projected a decrease of 28%–100% in suitable habitat for cold-water corals and a shift in suitable habitat for deep-sea fishes of 2.0°–9.9° towards higher latitudes. The largest reductions in suitable habitat were projected for the scleractinian coral Lophelia pertusa and the octocoral Paragorgia arborea, with declines of at least 79% and 99% respectively. We projected the expansion of suitable habitat by 2100 only for the fishes Helicolenus dactylopterus and Sebastes mentella (20%–30%), mostly through northern latitudinal range expansion. Our results projected limited climate refugia locations in the North Atlantic by 2100 for scleractinian corals (30%–42% of present-day suitable habitat), even smaller refugia locations for the octocorals Acanella arbuscula and Acanthogorgia armata (6%–14%), and almost no refugia for P. arborea. Our results emphasize the need to understand how anticipated climate change will affect the distribution of deep-sea species including commercially important fishes and foundation species, and highlight the importance of identifying and preserving climate refugia for a range of area-based planning and management tools., ATLAS, A Trans-AtLantic Assessment and deep-water ecosystem-based Spatial management plan for Europe, SI

Mapping biodiversity is the marathon of the 21st Century as an answer to the present extinction crisis. A century in which science is also characterised by large scientific datasets collected through new technologies aiming to fill gaps in our knowledge of species distributions. However, most species records rely on observations that are not linked to specimens, which does not allow verification of species hypotheses by other scientists. Natural history museums form a verifiable source of biodiversity records which were made by taxonomists. Nonetheless, these museums seem to be forgotten by biologists in scientific fields other than taxonomy or systematics. Naturalis Biodiversity Center (NBC) in Leiden is care keeper of large collections of marine organisms, which were sampled in the Northeast Atlantic during the CANCAP and Tyro Mauritania II expeditions (1976–1988). Many octocorals were sampled and deposited in the NBC collection, where they became available for study and were partially identified by the senior author (M.G.) in the 1980s. Nonetheless, no checklist or taxonomic revision was published so far with the complete results. In 2016 the first author visited NBC to examine NE Atlantic Plexauridae octocorals. Plexauridae octocoral-vouchered records were listed and mapped to reveal high standard primary biodiversity records unreported so far for the NE Atlantic Ocean. Twenty-four Plexauridae species with ~ six putative new species to science were discovered and eleven new biogeographical records were made from distinct Macaronesian archipelagos. Finally, new depth range records were found for three species at sea basin level and for eight species at a regional scale.

Octocorals are prominent habitat builders in deep-sea ecosystems. The octocorals Dentomuricea aff. meteor and Viminella flagellum are common deep-sea octocoral species in the Azores Archipelago, where they form dense, structurally complex and diverse communities between 150 and 600 m of depth. The objective of this study was to determine the reproductive biology of the studied species, including basic reproductive traits, gametogenic cycle and reproductive timing. Specimens were collected during 2010 and 2011 as by-catch from deep-sea long-line fisheries and scientific cruises and were histologically processed. Both species were found to be gonochoric and most likely broadcast spawners. Gamete presence was observed throughout the study period, indicating continuous or quasi-continuous gametogenesis. In some sampling sites gametogenic peaks were found in October for D. aff. meteor and May for V. flagellum, however oocyte size distributions and fecundity did not display any marked seasonality throughout the region. Reproductive knowledge is rarely available for deep-sea octocorals, despite its fundamental importance, and relevance in management and conservation.

The deep ocean is the largest and least explored biome with the highest richness of species and phylogenetic biodiversity on Earth. The high costs of using sophisticated technological means to access deep-sea ecosystems gives an inestimable value to specimens collected in these environments. Azorean scientists have long started collaborating with fishermen to collect deep-sea marine invertebrate fauna accidentally captured during fishing activities, thus obtaining deep-sea organisms opportunistically. Specimens have been stored and catalogued at the Department of Oceanography and Fisheries – University of the Azores’ Marine Biological Reference Collection (COLETA) since 2006. The collection has been continuously growing through oceanographic cruises and fisheries observer programs in the framework of several national and international collaborations. Currently, COLETA has 14367 specimens and samples corresponding to 10827 databased entries representing mostly corals (3415) and sponges (1941) of the deep sea (Fig. 1), for which data are available until 2012 (Institute of Marine Research (IMAR - Azores), Portugal and Department of Oceanography and Fisheries (DOP) - UAC, Portugal 2015). Specimens and associated metadata have contributed for the the taxonomy, population genetics and life history (age, growth, reproduction) of corals and other organisms. The homonym COLETA database, besides the taxonomic identification and photography of the specimen, has metadata including geographic location, depth, and the method of collection (e.g. survey, fishing). Thus, COLETA has also been instrumental in the mapping of distribution of biodiversity and vulnerable marine ecosystems such as coral gardens, sponge grounds, hidrarian gardens and sea pen fields in the Azores Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Efforts have been made to make COLETA compatible with other databases, such as the database of historical records of cold-water coral occurrences in the Azores (e.g. Prince Albert of Monaco Campaigns in the 19th century) and other fisheries databases, in order to maximize its potential to study trends in biodiversity loss related to climate change and fisheries impacts. Underwater images of live specimens from video surveys have also been cross-referenced with specimens stored at COLETA in an effort to join taxonomists and ecologists in the characterization of new habitats. Curated collections and datasets based on vouchered records, which can be continuously consulted, are essential to study deep-sea biodiversity. A continuously growing collection has also the potential of adding a time frame to the study of the impact of climate change, fishing and pollution on the deep-sea. In an era of biodiversity loss, COLETA represents a good example of where physical specimens and associated metadata databases can be combined to research and discover species, to achieve ecosystem conservation and guide marine spatial planning.

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Chiocci, Francesco L. ... et. al.-- 6 pages, 2 figures, High-resolution morpho-bathymetric data at 1:200,000 scale obtained during the FAIVI cruise (2011) and the resulting geomorphologic map of the Terceira island offshore area (central Azores, Portugal) are presented for the first time. The uneven morphology around Terceira is primarily related to volcanic features, such as linear and cone-shaped eruptive centres and lava flows. Such features are mostly concentrated on volcanic ridges and are aligned along preferential axes, suggesting a strong interaction between tectonics and volcanic processes. The occurrence of active tectonics is also demonstrated by systems of faults cutting the seafloor to the north, east and south of the island. Mapped erosive-depositional features include an insular shelf located at < 150 m water depth (wd), small landslide headwalls, erosive scarps, channelized features and crescent-shaped bedforms. The presented map may represent the base for a first-order geo-hazard assessment. © 2013 Copyright D. Casalbore

Cold-water corals are widely considered as important structural components of benthic habitats, potentially enhancing local abundance in a variety of fish and invertebrate species. Yet, current knowledge of the taxonomic diversity and distribution patterns of these vulnerable, slow-growing organisms is scarce and fragmented, limiting the effectiveness of spatial management and conservation measures. We have conducted an exhaustive compilation of records of alcyonaceans, antipatharians, scleractinians and stylasterids available through present day to assess the diversity, distribution and spatial structure of coral assemblages in the Azores exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The resulting database comprises 2501 entries concerning historical oceanographic expeditions and other published sources, as well as unpublished data from bottom longline by-catch. Our taxonomic inventory appears to be fairly complete for the explored habitats, accounting for 164 species (79 alcyonaceans, 58 scleractinians, 18 antipatharians and 9 stylasterids), nine of which were documented for the first time. The Azores EEZ harbours a mixed coral fauna with several zoogeographic origins, showing the closest affinity with the Lusitanian–Mediterranean region. Very few apparent endemics were found (14%), and only in part supported by consistent sampling. Coral diversity is particularly high between 300 and 900 m depths, in areas recognized as traditional fishing grounds or exploitable fish habitat within the 100-mile limit of the EEZ. The composition of coral assemblages shows significant geographical structure among longitudinal sections of the study area at comparable depths (100–1500 m). There is no evidence of a possible role of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge or latitudinal effects underlying this pattern, which suggests that it may instead reflect assemblage variability among features. Stronger changes in species composition were found along the bathymetric gradient. Notwithstanding the mix of partially overlapping steno- and eurybathic species that characterize the vertical distribution of corals, there is a distinct transition from shallow (100–600 m) to intermediate (600–1000 m) depths. The analysis presented here constitutes a valuable contribution for efficient conservation policies of coral-associated vulnerable marine ecosystems and their sustainable use as fishing areas.

The impact of bottom trawling on cold-water corals (CWC) has been thoroughly studied and shown to be long-lasting; however the effects of bottom longlining on CWC ecosystems have received little attention. The present paper identifies the principal CWC species landed by bottom longlining in Faial (Azores) from 150 to 600 m depth. Data were obtained from a survey of 297 landings during four months coupled with 16 interviews with fishermen. A distinction was made among corals brought on deck directly entangled in the fishing gear (primary by-catch) from corals brought up associated with other larger CWC species or rocks (secondary by-catch). Forty-five (15.2%) of 297 fishing trips surveyed landed coral specimens. The survey recorded 39 different CWC taxa in the by-catch, belonging to five different orders (Scleractinia, Alcyonacea, Antipatharia, Zoanthidea and Anthoathecata). Secondary by-catch included a larger number of species but the total number of corals was in the same order of magnitude for both groups. The taxa most frequently encountered were Leiopathes spp., Errina dabneyiand Dendrophyllia sp. CWC taxa in the by-catch were mostly medium size (10–60 cm), 3-dimensional and branched colonies. Local ecological knowledge of fishermen confirmed that the corals recorded were representative of their past experience and also revealed a general agreement that there has been a decrease of CWC by-catch on traditional fishing grounds. Corals are common by-catch in bottom longline fisheries around the Azores and so conservation measures may be required.

Braga-Henriques, A., Carreiro-Silva, M., Porteiro, F. M., de Matos, V., Sampaio, Í., Ocaña, O., and Ávila, S., P. 2011. The association between a deep-sea gastropod Pedicularia sicula (Caenogastropoda: Pediculariidae) and its coral host Errina dabneyi (Hydrozoa: Stylasteridae) in the Azores. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: 399–407. The Azores region harbours the richest communities of stylasterid corals in the Northeast Atlantic area. Of the nine deep-water species found there, Errina dabneyi seems to be the most abundant species; it is commonly collected as bycatch from longline fishing. E. dabneyi host Pedicularia gastropods on their branches, and a detailed study of shell shape and morphometry at different growth stages, complemented by shell characterization through scanning electron microscopy, allows the individuals to be identified as Pedicularia sicula. The incidence of this species on E. dabneyi was high (69.8%), with abundances ranging between 1 and 223 individuals per colony. The pediculariids exhibited a high degree of plasticity and produced evident traces on the stylasterid skeletons at their fixation points, suggesting that they are ectoparasites and not predators of E. dabneyi. The stylasterid colonies also hosted a rich associated fauna dominated by suspension-feeders using the coral as substratum and for protection.

Carreiro-Silva, M., Braga-Henriques, A., Sampaio, I., de Matos, V., Porteiro, F. M., and Ocaña, O. 2011. Isozoanthus primnoidus, a new species of zoanthid (Cnidaria: Zoantharia) associated with the gorgonian Callogorgia verticillata (Cnidaria: Alcyonacea). – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: 408–415. In the Azores, Northeast Atlantic, an undescribed epizoan zoanthid is often found in association with the cold-water gorgonian Callogorgia verticillata at 110–800 m depth. This zoanthid was identified as a new species, Isozoanthus primnoidus sp. nov., based on morphological and anatomical characters of the polyps and type of cnidae. The distinguishing features of I. primnoidus are coenenchyme, column, and oral disc light brown, with short, translucent tentacles. Contracted polyps have column diameter up to 3 mm and height up to 2 mm. Ectoderm and outer mesogloea are densely encrusted with mineral particles and gorgonian sclerites. Capitulum bears a maximum of 14 distinctive ridges. Isozoanthus primnoidus was associated with 17% of C. verticillata colonies studied, and covered 14 ± 5% of the gorgonian colony. There was strong evidence of a parasitic relationship whereby I. primoidus progressively eliminates gorgonian tissue and uses the gorgonian axis for structure and support, and sclerites for protection.

Antipathella wollastoni is an antipatharian species common to Macaronesia, occurring in depths between 20 and 1425 m. Despite its importance as a habitat-forming species, there is no information about its basic biology. The aim of the current study is to describe its reproductive strategy, gametogenic cycle and reproductive timing. Sampling was performed monthly on six tagged colonies during one year and specimens were histologically processed. A. wollastoni was found to be a gonochoric broadcast spawner. Gametogenesis took place within the primary transversal mesenteries, and followed an annual cycle. The reproductive season coincided with an increase in seawater temperature but spawning, inferred from the disappearance of gametes, likely happened after the sea surface temperature peak of the year (September 2009). Polyp fecundity ranged from 1 to 309 oocytes/polyp. A decrease in polyp fecundity was detected in samples at the higher pre-spawning maturity stage, indicating possible repetitive spawning or oocyte absorption. Intra-colonial comparisons revealed a longer duration of the reproductive cycle in the medial colony section, and a gradient of increased oocyte size towards the apical section, possibly due to intra-colonial differences in energy allocation between reproduction and other biological processes, or as a strategy against predation on gametes/larvae. Colony height was positively correlated with polyp fecundity indicating that the reproductive output increases with colony size, SI

Background: Bivalve teredinids inflict great destruction to wooden maritime structures. Yet no comprehensive study was ever carried out on these organisms in European coastal waters. Thus, the aims of this study were to: investigate the diversity of teredinids in European coastal waters; map their past and recent distributions to detect range expansion or contraction; determine salinity-temperature (S-T) requirements of species; flag, for future monitoring, the species that pose the greatest hazard for wooden structures. Results: A total of nine teredinid species were found established in European coastal waters. Seven were considered cryptogenic, of unknown origin, and two were considered alien species. Teredo navalis and Nototeredo norvagica were the species with the widest distribution in European waters. Recently, T. navalis has been reported occurring further east in the Baltic Sea but it was not found at a number of sites on the Atlantic coast of southern Europe. The Atlantic lineage of Lyrodus pedicellatus was the dominant teredinid in the southern Atlantic coast of Europe. In the Mediterranean six teredinid species occurred in sympatry, whereas only three of these occurred in the Black Sea. The species that pose the greatest hazard to wooden maritime structures in European coastal areas are T. navalis and the two lineages of L. pedicellatus. Conclusions: Combined data from field surveys and from the literature made it possible to determine the diversity of established teredinid species and their past and recent distribution in Europe. The environmental requirements of species, determined using climatic envelopes, produced valuable information that assisted on the explanation of species distribution. In addition, the observed trends of species range extension or contraction in Teredo navalis and in the two lineages of Lyrodus pedicellatus seem to emphasise the importance of temperature and salinity as determinants of the distribution of teredinids, whereas their life history strategy seems to play an important role on competition. Teredo navalis and pedicellatus-like Lyrodus species should be monitored due to their destructive capability. The two alien species may expand further their distribution range in Europe, becoming invasive, and should also be monitored., This research was partially funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal through a personal grant to LB (SFRH/BD/17915/2004).

Philippart, Catharina J.M. et al., Reproductive cycles of marine invertebrates with complex life histories are considered to be synchronized by water temperature and feeding conditions, which vary with season and latitude. This study analyses seasonal variation in the occurrence of oyster (Crassostrea gigas) and mussel (Mytilus edulis/. galloprovincialis) larvae across European coastal waters at a synoptic scale (1000s of km) using standardised methods for sampling and molecular analyses.We tested a series of hypotheses to explain the observed seasonal patterns of occurrence of bivalve larvae at 12 European stations (located between 37°N and 60°N and 27°W and 18°E). These hypotheses included a model that stated that there was no synchronisation in seasonality of larval presence at all between the locations (null hypothesis), a model that assumed that there was one common seasonality pattern for all stations within Europe, and various models that supposed that the variation in seasonality could be grouped according to specific spatial scales (i.e., latitude, large marine ecosystems and ecoregions), taxonomic groups, or several combinations of these factors.For oysters, the best models explaining the presence/absence of larvae in European coastal waters were (1) the model that assumed one common seasonal pattern, and (2) the one that, in addition to this common pattern, assumed an enhanced probability of occurrence from south to north. The third best model for oysters, with less empirical support than the first two, stated that oysters reproduced later in the south than in the north. For mussels, the best models explaining the seasonality in occurrence of larvae were (1) the model that assumed four underlying trends related to large marine ecosystems, and (2) the one that assumed one common seasonal pattern for larvae occurrence throughout Europe.Such synchronies in larval occurrences suggest that environmental conditions relevant to bivalve larval survival are more or less similar at large spatial scales from 100s to 1000s of km. To unravel the underlying mechanisms for this synchronisation is of particular interest in the light of changing environmental conditions as the result of global climate change and the possible consequences for marine food webs and ecosystem services. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

Há grande demanda por novos cultivares de feijão-caupi na região de Bragantina, Estado do Pará. Para atendê-la foi realizada uma seleção no cultivar BR3-Tracuateua, cultivado na região há mais de 20 anos. Foi usado o método da seleção de planta individual com teste de progênie. Os critérios para seleção foram: boa qualidade do grão, sanidade, arquitetura de planta adequada e alta produção de grãos. Emsetembro de 2000 foram selecionadas 274 plantas. Em 2000 e 2001 essas progênies foram avaliadas em dois ensaios, ambos no delineamento de blocos aumentados, sendo selecionadas 24. Dessas, 16 foram avaliadas pelos produtores em unidades de observação e nove foram selecionadas. Com elas foram organizados sete ensaios de Valor de Cultivo e Uso, em blocos casualizados, com quatro repetições, no período de 2002 a 2004. Destacaram-se as progênies Urubuquara-113 e Urubuquara-70, lançadas para a região Bragantina, respectivamente, com os nomes de BRS Milênio e BRS Urubuquara. cultivar BRS Milênio teve média de produtividade de 1.399 kg ha-1e a Urubuquara, de 1.277 kg ha-1. Ambos são adequados tanto à agricultura familiar quanto à empresarial e têm grãos da classe branco, subclasse brancão. Made available in DSpace on 2015-02-03T09:06:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 BRSMilenio.pdf: 26714 bytes, checksum: 91facc6ec1c88015d1ad129b87735506 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-04-20