About two new families of acanthodian fishes (Acanthodii)

Determinants of orchid species diversity in world islands.

This study aims to determine the condition of reef fish of the Chaetodontidae family in Krueng Raya and Ujong Pancu waters, Aceh Besar District. The study was conducted in October 2019, where six observation locations were representing the two regions. Fish observations were carried out using the Underwater Visual Census (UVC) method. The results of the study found four genera of Chaetodontidae fish consisting of 21 species. Benteng Inong Balee Station is the location with the highest number of individuals and species of Chaetodontidae fish, 38 individuals belonging to 11 species. On the other hand, Lhok Mee Station is the location with the least number of individuals and species of Chaetodontidae fish found, only 13 individuals belonging to 6 species. The highest abundance of Chaetodontidae fish was found at Ahmad Rhang Mayang Station (521.11 ind/ha). Meanwhile, the least abundance of Chaetodontidae fish was found at Lhok Mee Station, ( 115.38 ind/ha). The number of species, Krueng Raya waters have a higher number of Chaetodontidae fish species than Ujong Pancu waters. On the other hand, the abundance value Ujong Pancu waters have a higher average abundance value of Chaetodontidae fish than Krueng Raya waters. Overall, based on the biological index, the community structure of reef fish of the Chaetodontidae is still stable. Compared to previous study, the present study shows that, within a period of 6 years, the condition of Chaetodontidae fish in Aceh Besar waters has increased in the number of species, abundance, and diversity of fish.

Population density, number of species, diversity, and species-area relationships of fish species in eight common coral reef-associated families were studied in three marine parks receiving total protection from fishing, four sites with unregulated fishing, and one reef which recently received protection from fishing (referred to as a transition reef). Data on coral cover, reef topographic complexity, and sea urchin abundance were collected and correlated with fish abundance and species richness. The most striking result of this survey is a consistent and large reduction in the population density and species richness of 5 families (surgeonfish, triggerfish, butterflyfish, angelfish, and parrotfish). Poor recovery of parrotfish in the transition reef, relative to other fish families, is interpreted as evidence for competitive exclusion of parrotfish by sea urchins. Reef substrate complexity is significantly associated with fish abundance and diversity, but data suggest different responses for protected versus fished reefs, protected reefs having higher species richness and numbers of individuals than unprotected reefs for the same reef complexity. Sea urchin abundance is negatively associated with numbers of fish and fish species but the interrelationship between sea urchins, substrate complexity, coral cover, and management make it difficult to attribute a set percent of variance to each factor-although fishing versus no fishing appears to be the strongest variable in predicting numbers of individuals and species of fish, and their community similarity. Localized species extirpation is evident for many species on fished reefs (for the sampled area of 1.0 ha). Fifty-two of 110 species found on protected reefs were not found on unprotected reefs.

Analysis of the parasitic copepod species richness among Mediterranean fish

A complete account on the shallow-water Pycnogonida known up to now from depths between 0-30 m in the Caribbean Sea of Colombia is presented. Almost all the information included herein is based upon the data obtained by the first author during a 14-month fieldwork programme carried out at the Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas de Punta de Betin (INVEMAR) in Santa Marta, Magdalena department. 5312 specimens of 50 species, including 7 species new to science in the genera Ammothella (2), Tanystylum (1), Callipallene (2), Anoplodactylus (1) and Endeis (1), were collected from 179 samples at 45 stations. The area covered by this research ranges in the west from Punta Brava, just near the airport of Santa Marta, eastward to Punta el Diamante at the eastern border of the Tayrona National Park, extending over about 70 km of coastline. Additionally, 6 other pycnogonid species reported previously from outside this area, which are also known from the Caribbean Sea of Colombia are briefly reviewed. The species from the Santa Marta area are described in detail, with comments on their intraspecific affinities, habitat preference, phenology, vertical distribution and geographic distribution. Quantitative samples were taken approximately monthly at three stations at Bahía Concha over one year to compare the species composition from substrata of different structure, namely stands of the brown algae Digenia simplex and Sargassum cymosum on a dead Porites reef, and a stand of Thalassia testudinum, which was interspersed with dead coral substratum and coralline algae. Number of species at all of these stations was found to be similar and species composition of the two species of brown algae almost identical. Achelia sawayai was by far the most numerous species in samples of Digenia simplex, whereas Tanystylum acuminatum and T. isabellae were most numerous in Sargassum cymosum. Species composition in Thalassia was rather different from that of the algal vegetation. In Thalassia, Ammothella appendiculata and A. exornata were the commonest species which were not found in Digenia and Sargassum. No evidence was found that reproduction of pycnogonids in this tropical area is limited to certain periods of the year. One might presume a shorter reproductive cycle only for Tanystylum acuminatum, because ovigerous males appeared at the end of the rainy season in December and remained until May, therefore for most of the duration of the dry season. Generally, number of species and specimens collected at all three quantitative sampling stations was rather variable from month to month, implying a heterogenous distribution within the substratum, which surely depend on the distribution of their food. Zoogeographic patterns are at present almost impossible to interpret, owing to the limited information available on the distribution of most species. However, it can be seen that the Santa Marta region has a very high number of shallow-water pycnogonid species, compared with the fauna of Panamá and Belize, where only 34 and 33 species have been recorded, respectively. However, the high number of species found in the Santa Marta area may be a result of the extensive collecting efforts made over a period of more than one year.

Sixteen fish aggregation devices (FADs) were deployed in 50 to 500 m deep of water in the Canary Islands. Species composition and abundance were determined by visual census carried out by divers on 55 occasions from April to October 1995 and from August 1996 to May 1997. A total of 15 species representing nine families of fish were observed. Pseudocaranx dentex (Bloch and Schneider, 1810), Seriola spp. and Naucrates ductor (Linnaeus, 1758) were the most abundant species. The number of species associated with FADs increased with immersion time, but fish biomass did not increase. The maximum number of fish species registered exactly under the FADs at any one time was five. The average estimated biomass was 9.47 Kg per FAD (SD= 25.2). However, when only baitfish were taken into account, the mean aggregated fish biomass was 3.20 Kg (SD= 4.32). The estimated biomass was higher when Coryphaena spp. was present, increasing to 53.9 Kg per FAD (SD=53.6). A significantly lower fish biomass and number of species was observed in FADs deployed in shallower waters (50-100 m depth).

This monograph sums up the state of knowledge of ptyctimous mites fauna of Tanzania on the basis of literature data. Diagnoses of 61 species known from Tanzania (TAN) are given, 15 species have been redescribed on the basis of types and 22 species have been redescribed in earlier papers. One new species: A. ( H.) onkos sp. nov. is described. For each species a morphological diagnosis and geographic distribution are given. Eight species are new to TAN, including one new to the Afrotropical Region. Keys for identification of species and higher taxa are given. The fauna of ptyctimous mites of Tanzania (TAN) shows some differences and specificities as well as some similarities to the fauna of the nearby hotspot Madagascar with neighbouring islands (MAG), to that of the Afrotropical Region and even to that of distanced faunas of other zoogeographic regions of the southern hemisphere. The fauna of TAN comprises slightly more genera and subgenera (19) than that of MAG (18), although the number of species in MAG is much higher (111) than in TAN (61 species). The specious higher taxa are: Pocsia, Plonaphacarus and Notophthiracarus. Pocsia is represented by the highest number (10) of species found in the Afrotropical Region, and it is likely this subgenus originates from Tanzania (7 endemic species). Plonaphacarus is relatively rich in species in the Oriental Region. Notophthiracarus is even more speciose in the fauna of MAG and the Australasian Region. Over a half of the species known from Tanzania (37) were found in the material collected in 2010 from the Uluguru and Nguru Mts. Both these mountain ranges show some specificity of fauna. Two species occur only in the Nguru range, while as many as 7 species are endemites in the Uluguru.

The article presents results of the study of flora of the reservoirs in the eastern part of the Dnieper-Donetsk basin. An annotated list of flora was compiled on the base of personal field research, analysis of herbarium materials, and available literature data. The annotated list provides information on the herbarium specimens, species distribution in the study region, its general geographic distribution, habitat ecology, conservation status, life form, economic significance, and known literature references in the study region. It is established that the flora of water bodies of the area in question includes at least 61 species of higher aquatic vascular plants. The family Potamogetonaceae is the most species-rich (18 species, about 30% of the total aquatic flora of the region). The most species-rich genus is Potamogeton (16 species); other taxa are represented by a small number of species. A dominant life form is a group of submerged rooted aerohydatophytes, which numbers 28 species (45.9% of the total flora); the rooted aerohydatophytes with leaves floating on the water surface account for 12 species (19.6%). In terms of geographical distribution, the most abundant is the species group with a circumpolar type of area (28 species). Fourteen species have Eurasian ranges. Other area types are represented by a small number of species. The aquatic flora of the eastern part of the Dnieper-Donetsk basin has a high sozological value. Twenty-six species (42.6% of the flora) have conservation status. The Red Book of Ukraine includes six species, viz. Aldrovanda vesiculosa L., Utricularia intermedia Hayne, U. minor L., Salvinia natans (L.) All., Trapa natans L., and Nymphoides peltate (S.G. Gmel.) Kuntze. Three of them are listed in Annex I of the Berne Convention, and the other three are tertiary relics. Three species are included in the European Red List of Vascular Plants. The list of rare, endangered, typical, and in need of special protection plant groups (Green Book…., 2009) includes 14 aquatic assemblages. Recently, against the background of a general decrease in autochthonous floristic diversity, new invasive species have appeared in the region, behaving aggressively towards the native flora: Pistia stratiotes L. and Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms.

Ensemble projections of fish distribution in response to climate changes in the Yellow and Bohai Seas, China

Dentre as famílias botânicas que ocorrem nos campos rupestres, Eriocaulaceae destaca-se como uma das mais representativas, tanto pela grande riqueza, como pelo elevado número de endemismos. A família é composta atualmente por 10 gêneros. Paepalanthus Mart. possui ca. 400 espécies agrupadas em vários táxons infragenéricos, entre eles Paepalanthus subgen. Xeractis Koern., grupo endêmico da Cadeia do Espinhaço em Minas Gerais. Foi efetuado o levantamento das espécies de Paepalanthus subgen. Xeractis que ocorrem na porção central da Cadeia do Espinhaço em Minas Gerais, principal centro de diversidade do gênero. Foram registradas 10 espécies e duas variedades: P. argenteus (Bong.) Koern. var. argenteus, P. calvulus (Ruhland) Hensold, P. chrysolepis Silveira, P. comans Silveira, P. dianthoides Mart., P. homomallus (Bong.) Mart., P. latifolius Koern., P. mollis var. itambeensis Hensold, P. nigrescens Silveira, P. plumosus (Bong.) Koern., P. revolutus Hensold e P. superbus (Silveira) Hensold. São apresentadas chaves de identificação para os subgêneros de Paepalanthus e espécies de P. subgen. Xeractis, além de descrições e comentários sobre morfologia, distribuição geográfica, hábitat e conservação das espécies.

BackgroundCoral reefs are areas of maximum biodiversity, but the parasites of coral reef fishes, and especially their species richness, are not well known. Over an 8-year period, parasites were collected from 24 species of Lutjanidae, Nemipteridae and Caesionidae off New Caledonia, South Pacific.ResultsHost-parasite and parasite-host lists are provided, with a total of 207 host-parasite combinations and 58 parasite species identified at the species level, with 27 new host records. Results are presented for isopods, copepods, monogeneans, digeneans, cestodes and nematodes. When results are restricted to well-sampled reef fish species (sample size > 30), the number of host-parasite combinations is 20–25 per fish species, and the number of parasites identified at the species level is 9–13 per fish species. Lutjanids include reef-associated fish and deeper sea fish from the outer slopes of the coral reef: fish from both milieus were compared. Surprisingly, parasite biodiversity was higher in deeper sea fish than in reef fish (host-parasite combinations: 12.50 vs 10.13, number of species per fish 3.75 vs 3.00); however, we identified four biases which diminish the validity of this comparison. Finally, these results and previously published results allow us to propose a generalization of parasite biodiversity for four major families of reef-associated fishes (Lutjanidae, Nemipteridae, Serranidae and Lethrinidae): well-sampled fish have a mean of 20 host-parasite combinations per fish species, and the number of parasites identified at the species level is 10 per fish species.ConclusionsSince all precautions have been taken to minimize taxon numbers, it is safe to affirm than the number of fish parasites is at least ten times the number of fish species in coral reefs, for species of similar size or larger than the species in the four families studied; this is a major improvement to our estimate of biodiversity in coral reefs. Our results suggest that extinction of a coral reef fish species would eventually result in the coextinction of at least ten species of parasites.

Background and aims - The occurrence of natural plant communities on Cuenriched substrates over significant areas of the earth's surface is exceptional. In Katanga (D.R.Congo), natural outcrops of copper-rich rocks are colonised by highly original plant communities. A number of plant species have been proposed as possibly endemic to those sites. Here we revise the taxonomic, phytogeographic and conservational status of these plants. Methods - Almost all the herbarium materials of supposed Cuendemics available in BR and BRLU have been revised and all relevant taxonomic revisions have been consulted. Literature and herbarium data have been supplemented by original observations in the field. Conservational status was established using IUCN criteria based on current and projected variation of population size and number. Key results - Thirty-two taxa are identified as strict endemics of Curich soil in Katanga, i.e. absolute metallophytes. Twenty-four of these are known from one to five localities only. Twenty-three other taxa are identified as broad endemics, i.e. with > 75% of occurrence on Curich soil. Fifty-seven other names formerly used for supposed endemics are rejected either for nomenclatural or phytogeographic reasons. A number of species formerly regarded as endemics have been discovered off copperenriched substrates due to progress in the botanical exploration of Katanga. The taxonomic value of a number of proposed endemics is still uncertain and requires further research. For a number of taxa, local geographic distribution still remains insufficiently known. The low proportion of endemics (c. 5%) in the flora of Curich soil in Katanga possibly indicates a recent origin of much of this flora. Arguments in favour of neoendemism and relictual endemism, respectively, are discussed briefly. Ten percent of strict endemics are extinct and 65% are critically endangered, due to actual or projected habitat destruction by copper mining. Endemics restricted to primary habitats may be the most difficult to conserve. Several species, mostly annuals, are able to thrive on secondary metalliferous habitats created by the mining industry and may thus be at lower risk. Conclusions - This review emphasizes the high conservation value of the flora of Curich soil in Katanga and should help prioritise future conservation efforts. © 2010 National Botanic Garden of Belgium and Royal Botanical Society of Belgium.

Using original and literature data on species richness, I compared the species‐area relations for 5 different size classes of the Arctic benthos: macrofauna sensu lato, polychaetes, nematodes, ciliates and diatom algae. The data pool covered a wide range of areas from single samples to the whole seas. Both the slopes and intercepts of the curves depended significantly on the logarithm of the mean body size of the group. The number of small species (ciliates and diatom algae) showed relatively higher local diversity but increased more slowly with the area than the number of larger ones. Thus, both α‐ and β‐components of species diversity of the marine benthos were size‐dependent. As a consequence, the actual relations between number of species and their physical size are spatially scale‐dependent: there are many more species of smaller size classes in any one local community, but at a global scope the situation changes drastically. The possible reasons are discussed, including dispersal efficiency, rates of speciation and size‐dependent perception of environmental heterogeneity. Body size is suggested to be the important scaling factor in manifestation of so‐called “general ecological laws”.

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Reef fish assessments were undertaken in 17 Pacific islands to describe the status of finfish resources in 63 villages where fishing is mainly artisanal. Surveys were performed by recording the number and size of edible fish species and benthic composition. Fishing impact was described through six proxies representing level of catch, alternative incomes, degree of commercial catch and country economic development derived from a simultaneous socioeconomic assessment. The relative importance of broadly defined habitat (geographical location, island and reef type, substrate composition) and fishing impact in controlling the distribution of fish trophic groups, families and species was measured through multivariate analysis. The extreme faunistic diversity was shown by the large variation in fish density (difference of up to an order of magnitude) and fish biomass (displaying a 20‐fold difference across the region). Herbivores were dominant in the eastern part of the region, at what we classified as complex islands and at islands with small lagoon and at coastal reefs, while carnivores were dominant at oceanic islands and atolls and at outer reefs. Specific habitat associations were shown for Scaridae, Acanthuridae, Siganidae, Balistidae, Lethrinidae, Lutjanidae and Serranidae. Relative importance and size decrease of several fish families (Mullidae, Scaridae, Lutjanidae and Serranidae) were related to high fishing impact. Acanthuridae and Lethrinidae appeared to have a role as opportunistic groups in impacted sites. The relative impact from fishing and habitat on fishes accounted for, respectively, 20 and 30% of variance, demonstrating the effect of human impacts even at such large scale and taking into account only limited fishing impact variables.