BACKGROUND Continuous efforts to estimate actual diversity and to trace the species distribution and ranges in the natural environments have gone in equal pace with advancements of the technologies in the study of microbial species diversity from microscopic observations to DNA-based barcoding. DNA metabarcoding based on Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) constitutes the latest advancement in the...

The occurrence of Arcobacter spp. was studied in seawater and plankton samples collected from the Straits of Messina, Italy, during an annual period of observation by using cultural and molecular techniques. A PCR assay with three pairs of primers targeting the 16S and 23S rRNA genes was used for detection and identification of Arcobacter butzleri, Arcobacter cryaerophilus, and Arcobacter skirr...

Evolutionary processes in marine plankton have been assumed to be dependent on the oceanic circulation system, which transports plankton between populations in marine surface waters. Gene flow facilitated by oceanic currents along longitudinal gradients may efficiently impede genetic differentiation of pelagic populations in the absence of confounding marine environmental effects. However, how ...

To predict how benthic communities will respond to disturbance, it is necessary to understand how disturbance affects the planktonic larval supply available to recolonize the area. Deep-sea hydrothermal vent fauna along the East Pacific Rise (EPR) experience frequent local extinctions due to tectonic and magmatic events, but the effects on regional larval abundance and diversity are unknown. We...

the larsemann hills range is an ice-free oasis on the ingrid christensen coast of princess elizabeth land, east antarctica, which includes bharti island, fisher island, mcleod island, broknes peninsula, stornes peninsula, and several other islands, promontories, and nunataks. the larsemann hills is an ice-free area of approximately 50 km2, located halfway between the vestfold hills and the amer...

Stinging plankton are a potential source of irritation and morbidity for those pursuing aquatic sports in areas where they are numerous. The problem is seasonal, and likely to be familiar to local people. We describe an incident in which a number of military personnel were affected by the stings of the thimble jelly fish (Linuche unguiculata), with a brief review of the biology of the problem a...