In its decision (2010/477/EU) relating to the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD, 2008/56/EC), the European Commission identified the following points as focuses for monitoring: (i) 10.1.1: Trends in the amount, source and composition of litter washed ashore and/or deposited on coastlines, (ii) 10.1.2: Trends in the amount and composition of litter in the water column and accumu...

It is often assumed that ingestion of microplastics by aquatic species leads to increased exposure to plastic additives. However, experimental data or model based evidence is lacking. Here we assess the potential of leaching of nonylphenol (NP) and bisphenol A (BPA) in the intestinal tracts of Arenicola marina (lugworm) and Gadus morhua (North Sea cod). We use a biodynamic model that allows cal...

Controlling the growth of the polymorphs of calcium carbonate is important in understanding the changing environmental conditions in the oceans. Aragonite is the main polymorph in the inner shells of marine organisms, and can be readily converted to calcite, which is the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate. Both of these polymorphs are significantly more stable than vaterite, which is th...

It has been proposed that crustaceans should be excluded from a comparison of biological responses to ocean acidification among organisms with different calcium carbonate (CaCO3 ) forms in their calcified structures. We re-analysed our data without crustaceans and found high variation in organismal responses within CaCO3 categories. We conclude that the CaCO3 polymorph alone does not predict se...

Marine organisms have been recognized as a valuable source of bioactive compounds with industrial and nutraceutical potential. Recently, marine-derived carbohydrates, including polysaccharides and low molecular weight glycosylated oligosaccharides, have attracted much attention because of their numerous health benefits. Moreover, several studies have reported that marine carbohydrates exhibit v...

Shallow-water tropical reefs and the deep sea represent the two most diverse marine environments. Understanding the origin and diversification of this biodiversity is a major quest in ecology and evolution. The most prominent and well-supported explanation, articulated since the first explorations of the deep sea, holds that benthic marine fauna originated in shallow, onshore environments, and ...

Fusion of embryos or larvae prior to metamorphosis is rarely known to date in colonial marine organisms. Here, we document for the first time that the embryos of the broadcast spawning coral Platygyra daedalea could fuse during blastulation and further develop into conjoined larvae, and the settlement of conjoined larvae immediately resulted in inborn juvenile colonies. Fusion of embryos might ...

Dispersal is a crucial ecological process, driving population dynamics and defining the structure and persistence of populations. Measuring demographic connectivity between discreet populations remains a long-standing challenge for most marine organisms because it involves tracking the movement of pelagic larvae. Recent studies demonstrate local connectivity of reef fish populations via the dis...

Introduction Collectors and those involved in studying prehistoric Indian artifacts have almost certainly encountered remnants of fossils, both fragmentary and complete, preserved in the chert or flint of knives, blades, projectile points, scrapers and similar items. These fragments can resemble a variety of shapes, such as a circular or round minidonut-like appearance, thin narrow linear fragm...

cins,6'ii) and curromycins.i2'i]) In our search for novel antifungal metabolites from marine organisms, 1 was rediscovered from an Okinawan marine sponge of Rsammoclemma sp. as a potent antifungal substance. In addition to 1, we have found three new related metabolites, debromoclathrynamide A (2), (4E,6E)-debromoclathrynamide A (3), and (6E)clathrynamide A (4). This paper reports the first dete...