Crambe insularis sp. nov. (Crambeidae: Poecilosclerida) a New Crambeid from the Eastern Tropical North Pacific: Morphological, Molecular and Ontogenetic Approach

Morphology, ecology, and molecular biology of a new species of giant larvacean in the eastern North Pacific: Bathochordaeus mcnutti sp. nov.

Bathochordaeus mcnutti sp. nov. is described from the mesopelagic northeast Pacific Ocean (Monterey Bay, California, USA). Larvaceans in the genus Bathochordaeus are large, often abundant zooplankters found throughout much of the world ocean, but until recently it was unclear whether more than a single species of Bathochordaeus existed. Using remotely operated vehicles, we have made hundreds of...

Molecular systematics of marine gregarines (Apicomplexa) from North-eastern Pacific polychaetes and nemerteans, with descriptions of three novel species: Lecudina phyllochaetopteri sp. nov., Difficilina tubulani sp. nov. and Difficilina paranemertis sp. nov.

Most eugregarine apicomplexans infecting the intestines of marine invertebrates have been described within the family Lecudinidae and the type genus Lecudina. The diversity of these parasites is vast and poorly understood and only a tiny number of species has been characterized at the molecular phylogenetic level. DNA sequences coupled with high-resolution micrographs of trophozoites provide an...

Phylogeography, gene Flow and Population Structure of Crambe crambe (Porifera: Poecilosclerida)

Distichopora robusta sp. nov., the first shallow-water stylasterid (Gnidaria: Hydrozoa: Stylasteridae) fi:-om the tropical eastern Pacific

Stylasterid corals comprise about 250 species, making them the second largest group of calcified cnidarians, only the Scleractinia having more species (i.e. 1500; Cairns, 1999; Cairns et al., 1999). They are distributed worldwide in both deep and shallow-water marine environments, but most species occur in water depths of 200-500m (Cairns, 1984, 1992). Among the tropical shallow-water species, ...

Impact of the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation on Tropical Cyclone Activity in the North Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific

Tropical cyclones (TCs) are among the most devastating weather systems affecting the United States and Central America (USCA). Here we show that the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO) strongly modulates TC activity over the North Atlantic (NA) and eastern North Pacific (eNP). During positive IPO phases, less (more) TCs were observed over NA (eNP), likely due to the presence of stronger (wea...