Search

Black corals are important components of mesophotic and deep-water marine habitats. Their presence at great depths (e.g., 50 to 200 m) makes accessibility difficult, limiting our understanding of the associated biodiversity. Amphipods dominate vagile epifauna in marine habitats around the world, fulfilling important ecosystem functions. However, there are no studies on amphipods exclusively associated with black corals, including relationships between their ecological patterns (e.g., abundances) and the size of coral colonies. We investigated the epifaunal composition and abundance associated with black coral colonies of Antipathella wollastoni in the subtropical eastern Atlantic Ocean. In total, 1,736 epifaunal individuals were identified, of which 1,706 (98.27%) were amphipods, belonging to 6 taxa. We identified and described a new amphipod genus and species within the Stenothoidae family, Wollastenothoe minuta gen. nov., sp. nov., which outnumbered the amphipod assemblage (86.15%) and provided a complete taxonomic key of Stenothoidae family including this new finding. For the first time, the association between an amphipod species and a black coral was described, including a strong correlation between coral colony size and amphipod abundances. This study demonstrates that epifauna associated with mesophotic black corals remains largely undescribed.

[Abstract] Rhodolith seabeds are ‘ecosystem engineers’ composed of free-living calcareous red macroalgae, which create extensive marine habitats. This study addressed how depth influenced the structure (size and morphology) of rhodoliths and the abundance of associated floral and faunal epibionts across the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. Sampling was carried out at two sites within five regions (Brittany, Galicia, Madeira, Gran Canaria, and Principe Island), from temperate to tropical, covering a latitudinal gradient of 47°, in three depth strata (shallow, intermediate and deep), according to the rhodolith bathymetrical range in each region. Depth typically affected the rhodolith size at all regions; the largest nodules were found in the intermediate and deep strata, while rhodolith sphericity was larger at the shallow depth strata. Higher biomasses of attached macroalgae (epiphytes) were observed at depths where rhodoliths were larger. The abundance of epifauna was variable across regions and depth strata. In general, the occurrence, structure, and abundance of the associated biota across rhodolith habitats were affected by depth, with local variability (i.e., sites within regions) often displaying a more significant influence than the regional (large-scale) variation. Overall, this study showed that the rhodolith morphology and associated epibionts (flora and fauna) were mostly affected by depth, irrespective of latitude.

Amphipods are one of the dominant epifaunal groups in seagrass meadows. However, our understanding of the biogeographical patterns in the distribution of these small crustaceans is limited. In this study, we investigated such patterns and the potential drivers in twelve Cymodocea nodosa meadows within four distinctive biogeographical areas across 2000 Km and 13° of latitude in two ocean basins (Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean). We found that species abundances in the assemblage of seagrass-associated amphipods differed among areas following a pattern largely explained by seagrass leaf area and epiphyte biomass, while the variation pattern in species presence/absence was determined by seagrass density and epiphyte biomass. Seagrass leaf area was also the most important determinant of greater amphipod total density and species richness, while amphipod density also increased with algal cover. Overall, our results evidenced that biogeographical patterns of variation in amphipod assemblages are mainly influenced by components of the habitat structure, which covary with environmental conditions, finding that structurally more complex meadows harboring higher abundance and richness of amphipods associated.

Artificial structures can be considered as high spatially structured habitats in the marine pelagic system, where patch connectivity would be strongly dependent on the exchange of larvae or dispersing individuals. Fish-farms located offshore may alter ecological connectivity, modifying trophic resources, and species dispersal among patches. High population densities of invertebrates can be found associated with fish-farm fouling communities, which can act as a seed source, contributing to the patterns of connectivity through individuals exchange between subpopulations or with sink populations. A field experiment was performed to analyse the role of fish-farms in the colonisation of new uninhabited habitats (floating experimental units) located at different positions relative to the fish farm and the main current, containing artificial habitats with and without feed pellets similar to those used in the fish farm. Amphipods were used as example of direct developing invertebrates for studying dispersing individuals from the fish farm to the new habitats. The richest and most abundant populations in this study were found close to and downstream of the fish farm, surpassing 1,000 amphipods at their maximum. Moreover, some floating habitats located more than 2 km from the fish farm were colonised in only 15 days. Thus, the role of fish farms has been shown to extend beyond a ‘stepping-stones’ effect in species dispersal, and have an additional effect on ecological connectivity by increasing population sizes and acting as population source. Our study aims to provide recommendations for coastal zone management in order to predict potential spread from fish farms to other platforms in the future and promote solutions related to interactions and consequences of connectivity within and between marine facilities.

Rhodolith seabeds are habitats underpinned by free-living calcareous macroalgae. We partitioned the relevance of the scale of temporal (four seasons throughout two successive years) and spatial (three depth strata: 18, 25 and 40 m) variation on the diversity, structure and abundance of amphipod assemblages living in rhodolith seabeds from Gran Canaria Island. In total, 3996 individuals, belonging to 32 taxa, were identified. Multivariate analyses showed consistent differences in assemblage structure among seasons and depths; more diverse and abundant amphipod assemblages were often observed during spring at 18- and 25-m than at 40-m depth. Ovigerous females of Gammaropsis ostroumowi and Ampithoe ramondi were observed mainly at 18 and 25 m. Juveniles of both species were exclusively recorded at 18 and 25 m, so denoting a clear segregation in their population structure with depth. In summary, this study has demonstrated that the ecological pattern of amphipods associated with rhodolith seabeds can vary greatly across both time (seasons) and space (depth).

El presente estudio se centra en la evaluación de la docencia universitaria a partir del análisis de género en el ámbito académico de la Facultad de Ciencias, considerando principalmente cinco aspectos: la integración de la perspectiva de género en los contenidos de las materias docentes, la visibilización de las aportaciones de las mujeres en todas las ramas del conocimiento, la utilización de un lenguaje no sexista, la existencia de estereotipos sexistas en los perfiles profesionales y las posibles actitudes discriminatorias por razón de género. Dichos aspectos se evaluaron mediante encuestas al alumnado de los diferentes grados de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Universidad de Alicante, a fin de poder valorar la percepción de este sobre las cuestiones de género en la docencia recibida. Los resultados obtenidos permiten conocer aquellas acciones en las que el alumnado es capaz de percibir desigualdades por cuestión de género, tales como problemas léxicos y de actitudes del profesorado y alumnado. Dichas cuestiones deberían mejorarse mediante estrategias educativas que ofrezcan herramientas y materiales al profesorado universitario que permitan la inclusión de la perspectiva de género en sus respectivas materias.