The roles of “top-down” and “bottom-up” factors were investigated in terms of their influence on the diatom and dinoflagellate abundances in the microtidal, salt wedge Huon Estuary, Tasmania, Australia. Long-term (1996–2005) changes in Chl a, the peridinin:Chl a ratio and the abundance of autotrophic dinoflagellates were observed to coincide with the warming of regional surface waters. There we...

Cnidarian toxins represent a rich source of biologically active compounds. Since they may act via oxidative stress events, the aim of the present study was to verify whether crude venom, extracted from the jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca, elicits inflammation and oxidative stress processes, known to be mediated by Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) production, in rats. In a first set of experiments, the...

8 Abstract Four meroplanktonic scyphomedusae, 9 Aurelia aurita, Chrysaora hysoscella, Cotylorhiza 10 tuberculata and Rhizostoma pulmo, and the holo11 planktonic, non-resident Pelagia noctiluca have 12 formed blooms in the northern Adriatic over the last 13 200 years. Published data about the historical occur14 rences of these five scyphomedusae, in combination 15 with our data, were used to ana...

Gelatinous zooplankton play an important role in marine food webs both as major consumers of metazooplankton and as prey of apex predators (e.g., tuna, sunfish, sea turtles). However, little is known about the effects of crude oil spills on these important components of planktonic communities. We determined the effects of Louisiana light sweet crude oil exposure on survival and bioaccumulation ...

A combination of stable isotope measurements and gut contents analysis was used to determine the major food sources of the sergestid crustacean Acetes sibogae, in commercial shrimp ponds at two farms in southeast Queensland, Australia. Slight differences were observed between farms but overall the results were consistent. Although gut contents analysis gave a good indication of the range and te...

In the U.S, the two major toxic syndromes caused by harmful algal blooms (HABs) that are found along the entire west coast are paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) and domoic acid poisoning (DAP), also known as amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP). Certain species of phytoplankton from the genus Pseudo-nitzschia, and the genus Alexandrium are concentrated by filter-feeding shellfish and finfish whi...

Plasticity in hatching can balance risks of benthic and pelagic development and thereby affect the extent of larval dispersal. Veligers of the nudibranch Phestilla sibogae hatched from their individual capsules if the encapsulated embryos were scattered from a torn gelatinous egg ribbon. Hatching occurred as early as day 4 at 231–251C. The early hatchlings lacked a propodium, swam, and were not...

Background: Neuronal antibodies that show immunoreactivity across a broad range of species are important toolsfor comparative neuroanatomy. Nonetheless, the current antibody repertoire for non-model invertebrates is limited.Currently, only antibodies against the neuropeptide RFamide and the monoamine transmitter serotonin areextensively used. These antibodies label respective neuron...