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Context Despite the key ecological role played by epifaunal communities associated with macroalgae in temperate coastal rocky shores worldwide, biodiversity and ecological patterns of their associated invertebrate communities are still poorly known. Aims The present study aims to compare the amphipod assemblages associated with the dominant canopy-forming macroalgae in shallow subtidal habitats of the Alboran Sea, as well as to explore its biogeographical patterns and the influence of protection measures. Methods Replicate samples of both Ericaria selaginoides (=Cystoseira tamariscifolia) and Halopteris scoparia were collected at two different bioregions within the Alboran Sea and both inside and outside marine protected areas. Key results Amphipoda was the dominant taxon within the mobile epifaunal community, both in terms of number of species (47 different species were recorded) and individuals (>70% of the total abundance). Assemblages associated with E. selaginoides and H. scoparia differed and showed a marked response to the Mediterranean–Atlantic gradient in this region; species related to warmer waters become increasingly dominant towards the east. However, there were no significant differences in amphipod assemblage composition, abundance or species richness between protected and non-protected areas. Conclusions Obtained results highlighted the relevance of these native macroalgae as habitat for epifauna, as well as the influence of macroalgal identity and regional biogeographical patterns on amphipod distribution. Implications This study provides valuable baseline information to monitor human-induced changes such as coastal pollution, invasive species, and climate change. It also draws attention about the uncertain response of epifaunal communities to management strategies (such as marine protected areas) and ecological processes (e.g. increasing predation pressure).

Para el sector financiero, la transfiguración tecnológica ha requerido de una importante inversión para dosificar la infraestructura digital, no solo en equipamiento, sino en capital humano, con altas competencias para manejar y desarrollar plataformas informáticas que entreguen tanto servicios como seguridad a los usuarios del sector bancario, principalmente. La figura del «FINTECH», vista como una opción para generar productos financieros y canalizar transacciones entre instituciones y clientes, tiene más de dos décadas, acrecentándose en el 2008, dada la necesidad de simplificar la presencia de clientes en las entidades, tomándole a Ecuador cerca de diez años implementarlo plenamente, activándose más en esta etapa de crisis sanitaria, obligando al consumidor a utilizar servicios en línea. En principio, muchas organizaciones que se dedicaban a la actividad de prestación «FINTECH», no eran muy bien vistas o confiables, sin embargo, el mismo sector bancario se ha empoderado de este modelo de gestión, y hoy se ha transformado en una acción esencial, donde se mide la competitividad en el otorgamiento de estos intangibles. La investigación planteó el objetivo de establecer «en que forma las empresas fintech impactan en la simplificación de servicios financieros presenciales en Ecuador». Se tomó una muestra importante de los bancos más sobresalientes del país (por región), que brindan este tipo de servicios. El soporte metodológico del estudio se sustenta en la aplicación de varias tipologías investigativas, conjuntamente con el método deductivo indirecto. Aprovechando el recurso estadístico SPSS/25, se establecieron las correlaciones entre las variables, cuyos principales hallazgos se explican en las conclusiones.

Polyophthalmus zhadanae sp. nov. (Annelida, Opheliidae), is described from the coast of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia (Arabian Gulf) after specimens collected in the intertidal and shallow subtidal. This new species is characterised by the body pigmentation pattern, distribution of lateral eyes, presence of small dorsal and ventral parapodial cirri and pygidial features. External and internal anatomy was described after examination with SEM and micro-CT. The presence of several body structures in the genus such as a cephalic palpode-like papilla is discussed. Furthermore, the diversity of genus Polyophthalmus and the presence of Polyophthalmus pictus (Dujardin, 1839) in the Indo-Pacific is reviewed and a key to species is provided.

Resumo Retomamos a narrativa de Moreira, de César Aira, considerando-a em sua rede discursiva e nas disputas interpretativas de que ela participa, para, a partir dela, discutir como a leitura constitui-se num elemento central de sua poética. Inscrevendo-se no interstício em que escritura e experiência se conectam e problematizando a oposição entre o relato e sua interpretação, entre sincronia e diacronia, a leitura funciona como potência que articula e dá origem ao autor, à obra e ao leitor de Aira em Moreira e, desse modo, torna-se um dos elementos do jogo convocados na configuração do “efeito Aira”. Abstract This paper approaches the narrative in César Aira’s Moreira from its discursive network and the interpretative disputes in which it takes place in order to discuss how reading constitutes a central element in Aira’s poetics. By inscribing itself into the interstice in which writing and experience are connected, and by questioning the opposition between narrative and its interpretation, between synchrony and diachrony, reading becomes a power that articulates and originates the author, his work and reader in Moreira, and thus reading becomes one of the elements of the game that configures the “Aira effect”. Resumen Se retoma la narrativa de Moreira de César Aira desde la red discursiva y las disputas interpretativas en las que participa, y se discute cómo la lectura se constituye en un elemento central en su poética. Al inscribirse en el intersticio en el que escritura y experiencia se conectan, y al cuestionar la oposición entre el relato y su interpretación, entre sincronía y diacronía, la lectura deviene en potencia que articula y origina al autor, a la obra y al lector de Aira en el Moreira y, así, se convierte en uno de los elementos del juego que se convocan en la configuración del “efecto Aira”.

Para entender el comportamiento de consumo, sobre todo de distintos segmentos poblacionales, se debe profundizar en sus necesidades, hábitos, deseos, emociones, aspiraciones, motivaciones, experiencias, entre otros elementos propios de cada individuo o grupo etario. El ser humano por naturaleza es influenciable (sigue modas y tendencias culturales), más aun en una era de convivencia digital, acelerada por la pandemia del Covid-19, obligando a instituciones públicas y privadas a re direccionar sus planes estratégicos, en pro de no sacrificar participación en el mercado, acogiendo a la tecnología como su mejor activo funcional, mejorando la sistematización (hardware y software), con herramientas y medios de masificación colectiva para no perder el contacto con los clientes, sobre todo es fases de confinamiento, en una inclusión mutua. Se tomó como objeto de estudio al Ecuador, un país como cualquier otro en tiempos de crisis sanitaria, con necesidades de toda índole, pero con amplios esfuerzos para superarlas. Los hallazgos permitieron conocer cuál es la conducta del consumidor generacional, su grado de adaptación tecnológica y los principales medios de contacto utilizados (redes sociales). El objetivo planteado fue “determinar de qué manera la tecnología influye en el comportamiento de consumo de los distintos grupos etarios de Ecuador”. Aplicando el método deductivo indirecto, sustentado en varias tipologías investigativas, con un instrumento en escala de Likert y el programa IBM SPSS Statistics – 25, se realizó la comprobación de las hipótesis, por medio de coeficiente p (Rho) de Spearman, el cual desplego un grado de correlación alto (0,624) en el supuesto general.

Biodiversity loss is considered one of the main threats to marine ecosystems. In this framework of biodiversity decline, organisms that provide biogenic habitat play a relevant role by their capacity to structure assemblages and influence ecological processes. The Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis is considered an ecosystem engineer because it alters local environmental conditions maintaining habitat suitability for other organisms, and enhancing local biodiversity. Although it is widely recognized that mussel beds increase diversity, the drivers shaping these assemblages are poorly explored. We investigate whether mussel size homogenisation shapes the abundance, richness and structure of macrobenthic assemblages associated with mussel beds in two shores of the Galician coast (NW Spain). At each shore, two sites, 10 m apart, were selected and at each site, faunal assemblages were compared between mussel clumps showing shells of various sizes (control), and mussel clumps with closely similar-sized mussels, considered as homogenised. Homogenised clumps showed, in general, higher values in total number of individuals and species than control clumps. Regarding the effect of mussel size homogenisation on the multivariate structure of the assemblages, significant differences between control and homogenised clumps were found in three out of the four sites. Most relevant associated species usually reached higher abundances in homogenised clumps than control ones. Therefore, mussel size homogenisation influenced the structure of the macrofaunal assemblages associated with mussel beds but, its effect was context dependent (i.e., varied with sites). Information about the species contribution to dissimilarities among homogenised and control clumps was provided and the potential influence of sediment and algae on mussel clumps was discussed COMPETE 2020, FEDER | Ref. PTDC/CTA-AMB/30181/2017, n. 30181 Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. UIDB/ 04423/2020 Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. UIDP/04423/2020 Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. CEECIND/03893/ 2018

Marinas are hot spots of non-indigenous marine species (NIS). Introductions of NIS, regardless of their actual or potential impacts, can be considered as a biocontamination of the ecosystem. To characterize the biocontamination status of a marina it is important to know which habitats and major taxa can provide the most useful information. To address this issue, we analyze the associated macrofaunal community associated to soft substrate (sediment; SS) and artificial hard substrate (lateral surface of pontoons; AHS) of six marinas from Southern Spain. 9 NIS were found, including 8 crustaceans (7 peracarids) and 1 polychaete; 8 NIS were found on AHS and 4 in sediments. Indeed, site-specific BioContamination Index (SBCI) showed higher values in AHS than SS. Our results indicate peracarids in AHS should be the primary target for assessing the level of biocontamination in marinas. This may help scientists and environmental managers to stablish strategies for monitoring marine bioinvasions.

Las largas jornadas laborales a las que se someten los médicos en el contexto hospitalario, ejercen un efecto negativo sobre su estado físico y emocional, abarcando hasta 16 a 24 h al día y hasta 32 a 36 h continuas sin descanso. A nivel de pruebas de laboratorio y signos clínicos, se han descrito alteraciones en los niveles de glicemia, catecolaminas, cortisol, frecuencia cardiaca, entre otros. El objetivo fue comparar el perfil metabólico en los estudiantes externos e internos de la Facultad de Ciencias Médicas de la Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, antes y después del turno hospitalario. Este estudio apareado, se realizó en los hospitales Roosevelt, San Juan, Regional de Cuilapa, Regional de Escuintla y Nacional de Antigua, evaluándose la glicemia, el perfil lipídico y el cortisol; signos vitales y estilos de vida antes y después de turno en 80 estudiantes. Se observó variación significativa en los valores de cortisol (p = .023), glicemia (p = .002) y triglicéridos (p = .050) antes y después del turno. Se concluyó que después del turno el estudiante experimentó aumento en los valores de cortisol y disminución en los niveles de glicemia y triglicéridos; estos cambios no se asociaron al grado académico, a sexo ni a servicio hospitalario, pero sí al hospital.

The addition or loss of habitat-forming species may lead to significant changes in the structure and functioning of marine benthic ecosystems as a whole. However, the nature of the impact of invasive macroalgae on native mobile invertebrate assemblage is still hard to predict. In this sense, the degree of morphological resemblance (mainly structural complexity) between native and exotic habitat-forming species has been proposed as a suitable predictor of epifauna response to biological invasions. The recently introduced macroalga Rugulopteryx okamurae is becoming a dominant element in coastal rocky bottoms in the Strait of Gibraltar, where it is sympatric with the native species Dictyota dichotoma. Despite the high morphological similarity between both habitat-forming species, native and exotic macroalgae hosted different macrofaunal assemblages. Dictyota dichotoma showed lower number of species, abundance of individuals, and diversity values than the introduced macroalga. Most shared species showed higher abundance on R. okamurae, but there was high variability in the response to macroalgal identity across higher taxa. Thus, there were no major differences in polychaete assemblage between macroalgal species or among sites, when considering univariate measures (abundance of individuals, number of species and H′ values) or species composition (with the exception of abundance values), while peracarid crustaceans and molluscs showed the opposite pattern. Therefore, our results suggest that morphological similarities among habitat-forming species do not always allow predicting of whether the invasive taxa are functionally equivalent to native ones. They also highlight the relevance of fine taxonomical resolution for revealing complex impacts of invasive macroalgae. In addition, R. okamurae’s capacity to determine significant changes on native fauna has been pointed out.

Detailed morphological study of more than 2600 North East Atlantic (NEA) sphaerodorids (Sphaerodoridae, Annelida) and phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequences of representatives of several identified morphospecies enforced changing the current systematic classification within the family, allowed the discovery of new species, provided new information about the morphological and genetic characterisation of members of this group, and increased the species occurrence data to better infer their geographic and bathymetric distribution ranges. Phylogenetic analyses of nuclear (18S rRNA and 28S rRNA) and mitochondrial sequences (COI and 16S rRNA) of NEA short-bodied sphaerodorids revealed outstanding results including paraphyly of the genera Sphaerodoropsis, Sphaerodoridium, and Sphaerephesia. The number of longitudinal and transverse rows of dorsal macrotubercles is proposed as potential synapomorphies for the main clades, and are consequently herein used for the genera delimitation. The new classification proposed here implies nomenclatural changes and the erection of a new genus, Geminofilum gen. n., to accommodate the species previously considered as Sphaerodoropsis with two transverse rows of dorsal macrotubercles per segment. Four species are being described herein: Euritmia nordica Capa & Bakken, sp. n., Sphaerephesia multichaeta Capa, Moreira & Parapar, sp. n., Sphaerephesia ponsi Capa, Parapar & Moreira, sp. n., and Sphaerodoridium celiae Moreira, Capa & Parapar, sp. n. Characterisation of the other 21 species, including updated iconography, and an identification key to all NEA short-bodied sphaerodorids are provided, Financial support was provided to MC by ForBio Research School, funded by the Research Council of Norway (project no. 248799) and the Norwegian Taxonomy Initiative (project no. 70184215) and by the Ramón y Cajal program (RYC-2016-20799) funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad, Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Comunidad Autónoma de las Islas Baleares and the European Social Fund. The Norwegian Taxonomy Initiative provided financial support to AN (knr 49-13, pnr 70184228), to TB (knr 53-09, pnr 70184216, knr 55-12, pnr 70184227); and by the Swedish Taxonomy Initiative [https://www.artdatabanken.se/en/the-swedish-taxonomy-initiative/] (dnr 140/07 1.4 and 166/08 1.4), to AN. Collections at MNCN and MNHN were visited by MC thanks to the European Commission Taxonomic Initiative SYNTHESYS (ES-TAF-2839, ES-TAF-7033, and FR-TAF-2644), SEM work was partially funded by Fauna Ibérica: Polychaeta VI (CGL2014-53332-C5-3-P). Publication fees were covered by NTNU Publishing Fund to MC

Three leptostracan species (Crustacea: Phyllocarida) are reported from mud volcanoes at the Moroccan margin of the Gulf of Cadiz (NE Atlantic). Nebalia strausi Risso, 1826 and N. abyssicola Fage, 1929 were found in experimentally deployed organic substrates in Mercator, Meknès and Darwin mud volcanoes; N. abyssicola was also found among bathymodiolin bivalves and is recorded for the first time in the Atlantic Ocean. The third species was collected from the Gemini mud volcanoes and is described herein as Sarsinebalia ledoyeri sp. nov. The new species is characterised by having the eyes provided with ommatidia and lacking pigment, the ventral margin of the eye is concave along distal half, the antennular scale is more than twice as long as wide, the second article of the mandibular palp bears one seta on lateral surface about 0.5 times as long as the article and one subterminal seta longer than the third article, the distal article of the maxilla II endopod is about 1.8 times as long as the proximal article, the maxilla II exopod is clearly longer than the endopod proximal article, the lateral margin of the pleopod I exopod lacks setae and the posterodorsal border of pleonites VI–VII is provided with rounded to pointed denticles.

Pecan shells are a rich source of various bioactive compounds with potential antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. This study investigated the effect of pecan variety and method extraction on the antioxidant property of shell extracts. Twenty different varieties of pecan shells were subjected to either aqueous or ethanolic extraction and were examined for total phenolics and antiradical activity. The phenolic content and antiradical activity of shell extracts were significantly (p &lt, 0.05) varied with different pecan cultivars. The total phenolic content of ethanol extracts ranged from 304.2 (Caddo) to 153.54 (Cherokee) mg GAE/g of dry extract and was significantly greater (p &lt, 0.05) than those obtained by aqueous extraction. The antiradical activity of ethanol extracts ranged from 840.6 (Maramec) to 526.74 (Caper Fear) mg TEg−1, while aqueous extracts ranged from 934.9 (Curtis) to 468.3 (Elliot) mg TEg−1. Chemical profiling of the crude and acid hydrolyzed extracts was performed by reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography and flow injection electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Lignin degradation products such as lignols, dilignols, trilignols, and oligolignols were found to be the major components of tested extracts. Phenolic content and antiradical activity of pecan shell extracts are significantly varied with cultivars and methods of extraction.

Urbanization is currently one of the most widespread disturbances urgently requiring empirical data regarding its effects on coastal ecosystems. The aim of this study was to compare patterns of variability in populations of the Mediterranean mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis, between urban and non-urban intertidal rocky shores, over a temporal scale of 12 months and multiple spatial scales (from cm to 10 s of km). For this, variance components associated with percentage cover, spat and total density, condition index, shell length and clump thickness of mussels were compared. Different patterns emerged depending on the response variable and the spatial and temporal scale. There was in general, a higher variability in urban than in non-urban shores, particularly for shell length, spat and total density that can be interpretated as a first stage of degradation, before noticing changes in mean values of these variables. Moreover, the most relevant scales of variability of total and spat density changed with urbanization (10 s of km in urban; 10 s of cm/m in non-urban). Results highlight the need for adopting proper management plans that should include the relevant spatial and temporal scales of variability; otherwise, they will fail in ameliorating urbanization effects on intertidal ecosystems.

The importance of marinas as infrastructures for recreational boating is increasing substantially. However, information on their soft-bottom benthic communities, a key tool for managing programmes, is still scarce. We combined environment features with macro- and meiofaunal soft-bottom community information for assessing the ecological status of marinas with an integrative approach. To address this issue, we focused on eight marinas of the Southern Iberian Peninsula. Macro- and meiofauna data revealed high benthic heterogeneity at a spatial scale. The environmental variables which correlated best with macrofauna were mainly phosphorus, granulometry, and total organic carbon, and secondarily important variables were faecal coliforms, the biocide Irgarol, and heavy metals; total hydrocarbon concentration was also significant for meiofauna. Annelida was the dominant phylum in terms of number of species (37%) and abundance (66%) and were better descriptors of the environmental conditions than Arthropoda and Mollusca. Although identification to the species level is desirable and mandatory for assessing biological pollution, significant differences among marinas and correlations between fauna and abiotic variables were already detected at the level of family and order. This implies that biota assessment at higher levels may still be useful in monitoring programmes limited by time and budget constraints. The major novelty of this study lies in the development of an integrative assessment method based on the following selected ecological indicators: Marinas Environmental Pollution Index (MEPI), Biocontamination Index (BCI), macrofaunal biotic indices (AMBI, M-AMBI, BENTIX, MEDOCC and BENFES), macrofaunal taxa richness and Shannon-Wiener's diversity, and nematode:copepod index. This approach was able to discriminate marinas of the Southern Iberian Peninsula based on their ecological status, which ranged from poor to good. The method can be useful to design standards for assigning “sustainable quality seals” to those marinas with better values of ecological indicators., Financial support for this study was provided by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (Project CGL 2017-82739-P co-financed by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación -AEI- and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional - FEDER-).

[Abstract]: Based on samples collected during the BIOICE project off Iceland, four species of marine annelids belonging to the family Pectinariidae were identified: “Amphictene auricoma” (O.F. Müller, 1776), “Cistenides granulate” (Linnaeus, 1767), “Cistenides hyperborean” Malmgren, 1865 and “Lagis koreni” Malmgren, 1866. Taxonomic remarks and data on geographical and bathymetric distribution are presented. The distribution of each species off Iceland was evaluated and two patterns were defined: “C. granulate” and “C. hyperborean” were mainly found in waters off the northeast coast, while “A. auricoma” and “L. koreni” were found on the southern coast. Several body characters with taxonomic value in this family were reviewed under the stereo microscope and scanning electron microscope, with special emphasis on the neuropodial uncini. Remarks on these special chaetae are included in the diagnoses. Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades; PGC2018-095851-B-C64

Zamora, José Luis, Parapar, Julio, Helgason, Gudmundur V., Moreira, Juan (2020): Taxonomy and distribution of Icelandic Fauveliopsidae (Annelida) collected during the BIOICE project. Journal of Natural History 53 (47-48): 2951-2974, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1757170, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2020.1757170

Prevalence of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Three Andean Countries: Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis 2000-2017

Temporal variation patterns and bioturbatory activity of polychaete assemblages have been insufficiently studied. Two subtidal fine-sediment sites have been sampled in order to describe and compare polychaete temporal variation patterns. In order to estimate bioturbation potential (BP), a new approach is proposed that aims maximum versatility for comparative studies. Both assemblages differed significantly in terms of temporal variation of sedimentary and faunal attributes. The most exposed site was dominated by species characteristic of muddy-fine sand and presented a seasonal pattern with higher densities and BP values from mid-summer to early winter. The most sheltered and muddy site was dominated by Paradoneis lyra and presented an irregular temporal variation. Signs of moderate organic enrichment were found, particularly in the less exposed site. Spatial and temporal variations appear to be related to sediment features and hydrodynamic stress, which also affect BP of each assemblage. Our results suggest that the bioturbatory activity of polychaetes is more extensive and relevant in finer sediments.

This paper reports the southernmost record of Camacho faroensis Myers, 1998 (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Aoridae) from samples collected at the continental slope (Ferrol Canyon) off the NW Iberian Peninsula during the DIVA-Artabria I expeditions. This species was initially described from the Faroe Islands but type specimens are incomplete and lack relevant features (e.g., antenna 1, pereopod 5). Therefore, a detailed redescription and drawings are provided based on examination of the type series and the new material collected. To date, the genus Camacho Stebbing, 1888 is composed of three species being C. faroensis as the only one reported so far from the Northern Hemisphere. This species is characterized by the following characters: absence of eyes, cephalic lobes reduced, presence of two ventral spines on peduncle article 1 distal margin of antenna 1, presence of spines (stout setae) on pereopods 5–7, reduced inner rami of uropod 3, and lacking distal setae. A key for all recognized species of the genus is also included.