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The first low-energy Coulomb-excitation measurement of the radioactive, semi-magic, two proton-hole nucleus 206Hg, was performed at CERN's recently-commissioned HIE-ISOLDE facility. Two γ rays depopulating low-lying states in 206Hg were observed. From the data, a reduced transition strength B(E2;21+→01+)=4.4(6) W.u. was determined, the first such value for an N=126 nucleus south of 208Pb, which is found to be slightly lower than that predicted by shell-model calculations. In addition, a collective octupole state was identified at an excitation energy of 2705 keV, for which a reduced B(E3) transition probability of 30−13+10 W.u. was extracted. These results are crucial for understanding both quadrupole and octupole collectivity in the vicinity of the heaviest doubly-magic nucleus 208Pb, and for benchmarking a number of theoretical approaches in this key region. This is of particular importance given the paucity of data on transition strengths in this region, which could be used, in principle, to test calculations relevant to the astrophysical r-process.

The νg9/2,d5/2,s1/2 orbitals are assumed to be responsible for the swift onset of collectivity observed in the region below 68Ni. Especially the single-particle energies and strengths of these orbitals are of importance. We studied such properties in the nearby 67Ni nucleus, by performing a (d,p)-experiment in inverse kinematics employing a post-accelerated radioactive ion beam (RIB) at the REX-ISOLDE facility. The experiment was performed at an energy of 2.95 MeV/u using a combination of the T-REX particle detectors, the Miniball γ-detection array and a newly-developed delayed-correlation technique as to investigate μs-isomers. Angular distributions of the ground state and multiple excited states in 67Ni were obtained and compared with DWBA cross-section calculations, leading to the identification of positive-parity states with substantial νg9/2 (1007 keV) and νd5/2 (2207 keV and 3277 keV) single-particle strengths up to an excitation energy of 5.8 MeV. 50% of the νd5/2 single-particle strength relative to the νg9/2-orbital is concentrated in and shared between the first two observed 5/2+ levels. A comparison with extended Shell Model calculations and equivalent (3He, d) studies in the region around 9040Zr50 highlights similarities for the strength of the negative-parity pf and positive-parity g9/2 state, but differences are observed for the d5/2 single-particle strength.

The majority of the almost 1,000 species of Palaemonidae, the most speciose family of caridean shrimp, largely live in symbioses with marine invertebrates of different phyla. These associations range from weak epibiosis to obligatory endosymbiosis and from restricted commensalism to semi-parasitism, with the specialisation to particular hosts likely playing a role in the diversification of this shrimp group. Our study elucidates the evolutionary history of symbiotic palaemonids based on a phylogenetic analysis of 87 species belonging to 43 genera from the Indo-West Pacific and the Atlantic using two nuclear and two mitochondrial markers. A complementary three-marker analysis including taxa from GenBank raises this number to 107 species from 48 genera. Seven larger clades were recovered in the molecular phylogeny; the basal-most one includes mostly free-living shrimp, albeit with a few symbiotic species. Ancestral state reconstruction revealed that free-living forms likely colonised cnidarian hosts initially, and switching between different host phyla occurred multiple times in palaemonid evolutionary history. In some cases this was likely facilitated by the availability of analogous microhabitats in unrelated but morphologically similar host groups. Host switching and adaptations to newly colonised host groups must have played an important role in the evolution of this diverse shrimp group.

Coral-associated fauna is a relatively understudied topic. Hence, the nature of the relationship between an associated organism and its host is usually unknown. In the present study, the obligate associations between gall crabs (Decapoda: Cryptochiridae) and mushroom corals (Scleractinia: Fungiidae) are reviewed from a phylogenetic perspective. Based on field surveys, examination of museum material and a literature review, a total of 35 fungiid species have been found that act as hosts for four gall crab species. Fungiid-associated gall crabs appear to be more geographically widespread than previously known, with new records showing their occurrences from the Red Sea and western Indian Ocean all the way to the central Pacific Ocean. The obligate nature of the association between cryptochirids and their hosts makes them an ideal model taxon to test for possible cospeciation events. The congruence between their phylogenies was tested by using the program Jane 4.0, resulting in cospeciation and duplication events between the crabs and their host corals. The sharing of several closely related host coral species by the same gall crab species or genus may provide support to models indicating phylogenetic relationships within the Scleractinia.

In recent years the systematic position of genera in the shrimp families Gnathophyllidae and Hymenoceridae has been under debate, with phylogenetic studies suggesting the families are not real family level units. Here, we review the molecular evidence as well as the morphological characters used to distinguish both families, leading to the conclusion that neither family is valid. Further, we studied the structural details of the single morphological character which distinguishes the two subfamilies (Palaemoninae, Pontoniinae) in Palaemonidae, as well as their phylogenetic relationship. As the supposed character distinction plainly does not hold true and supported by the phylogenetic results, the recognition of subfamilies in Palaemonidae is not warranted. As a consequence, all three supra-generic taxa (Gnathophyllidae, Hymenoceridae, Pontoniinae) are thus herein formally synonymised with Palaemonidae.

A new species of pontoniine shrimp belonging to the 'Periclimenes obscurus species group' is described from the Berau Islands, North East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Specimens were obtained from aglaopheniid hydrozoans of the genus Macrorhynchia. The new species is here described and figured. Its affinities with related species are discussed and a DNA-barcode is provided.

A second discovery of the echinoid associated shrimp species Diapontonia maranulus Bruce, 1986 is recorded from deep water off Curaçao, Leeward Islands of the Dutch Caribbean. The material is compared with the type description and paratypic material as well as with material of closely related species. A mtDNA COI barcode was obtained from the material. The systematic position of the genus is discussed.

Coulomb-excitation experiments to study electromagnetic properties of radioactive even-even Hg isotopes were performed with 2.85  MeV/nucleon mercury beams from REX-ISOLDE. Magnitudes and relative signs of the reduced E2 matrix elements that couple the ground state and low-lying excited states in Hg182-188 were extracted. Information on the deformation of the ground and the first excited 0+ states was deduced using the quadrupole sum rules approach. Results show that the ground state is slightly deformed and of oblate nature, while a larger deformation for the excited 0+ state was noted in Hg182,184. The results are compared to beyond mean field and interacting-boson based models and interpreted within a two-state mixing model. Partial agreement with the model calculations was obtained. The presence of two different structures in the light even-mass mercury isotopes that coexist at low excitation energy is firmly established.

A new coral-associated species of the genus Hamodactylus is described from Lembeh Strait, NE Sulawesi, Indonesia. The three other known species in the genus have been recorded in association with octocorals. The single ovigerous female specimen of the new species was collected from a scleractinian host. It can be easily separated from its congeners by the very long eyestalks and the chela of the second pereiopods having blunt tips of the fingers with tufts of long simple setae giving it an atyid-like appearance.

During fieldwork in 2009 at Ternate, Indonesia, a pair of a pontoniine shrimp species belonging to the genus Conchodytes was collected from a bivalve mollusk of the genus Spondylus. This constitutes the first record of a species of the genus Conchodytes associated with a spondylid host. The specimens can be distinguished from other known Conchodytes species based on both morphology and colour pattern. Its COI barcode however, strongly resembles those obtained from three specimens of C. meleagrinae and is nested in the C. meleagrinae clade of the reconstructed phylogeny. Based on morphology and colouration only the specimens associated with the Spondylus bivalve would have been described as a species new to science. The modest conflicting molecular data have lead the authors to fully describe and figure the Spondylus associated specimens and compare them with the Pinctada associated specimens. Based on the present information it is decided not to give the Spondylus associated specimens the status as a distinct species but regard them as host-related (colour)morph of Conchodytes meleagrinae.

A sponge-associated species of the genus Nippontonia new to science is described from Semporna, Sabah, Malaysia. The only other species in the genus is also known to be a sponge-dweller. The new species can be distinguished from its con- gener by a suite of characters mainly of the anterior appendages.

Background: The question of how many marine species exist is important because it provides a metric for how much we do and do not know about life in the oceans. We have compiled the first register of the marine species of the world and used this baseline to estimate how many more species, partitioned among all major eukaryotic groups, may be discovered., Results: There are ∼226,000 eukaryotic marine species described. More species were described in the past decade (∼20,000) than in any previous one. The number of authors describing new species has been increasing at a faster rate than the number of new species described in the past six decades. We report that there are ∼170,000 synonyms, that 58,000-72,000 species are collected but not yet described, and that 482,000-741,000 more species have yet to be sampled. Molecular methods may add tens of thousands of cryptic species. Thus, there may be 0.7-1.0 million marine species. Past rates of description of new species indicate there may be 0.5 ± 0.2 million marine species. On average 37% (median 31%) of species in over 100 recent field studies around the world might be new to science., Conclusions: Currently, between one-third and two-thirds of marine species may be undescribed, and previous estimates of there being well over one million marine species appear highly unlikely. More species than ever before are being described annually by an increasing number of authors. If the current trend continues, most species will be discovered this century., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)