An endemic freshwater mussel species from the Orontes River basin in Turkey and Syria represents duck mussel’s intraspecific lineage: Implications for conservation

Amik Lake or, historically, Lake of Antioch, was a large freshwater body in the lower Orontes River basin (Hatay Province, Turkey) that was drained in the 1940s–1970s. Several endemic animal species were described from this lake, including the freshwater mussel Anodonta pseudodopsis Locard, 1883 (Bivalvia: Unionidae) characterized by a large rounded shell covered by a peculiar yellow or yellowish-brown periostracum. Molecular analyses of topotypes of this nominal taxon collected from the former lake’s tributaries in the Amik Plain indicate that it is an intra-specific lineage of the widespread Anodonta anatina (Linnaeus, 1758) based on the mitochondrial COI and 16S rRNA, and the nuclear 28S rRNA gene fragments. Geometric morphometric analyses using the lectotype and topotypes of Anodonta pseudodopsis support our DNA-based hypothesis on the status of this nominal taxon. A new synonymy is provided as follows: Anodonta anatina = Anodonta pseudodopsis syn. nov. The syntype of Anodonta pseudodopsis SMF 5129 “See von Antiochia” (Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum, Frankfurt, Germany) is designated here to be the lectotype of this nominal taxon. Finally, we conclude that Anodonta anatina range covers the Orontes River basin in Turkey and Syria and the Nahr al-Kabir al-Shamali River in the Latakia Governorate of Syria. This intraspecific lineage of Anodonta anatina and other freshwater mussels of the Middle East are highly threatened due to multiple anthropogenic impacts and must be a focus of international conservation efforts. The Karasu River in eastern Turkey hosts viable populations of all freshwater mussel species of the Orontes’s fauna and can be considered one of the most important water bodies for the conservation of these imperiled animals in the region.     

Guidelines on the use of structure-from-motion photogrammetry in geomorphic research

As a topographic modelling technique, structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry combines the utility of digital photogrammetry with a flexibility and ease of use derived from multi-view computer vision methods. In conjunction with the rapidly increasing availability of imagery, particularly from unmanned aerial vehicles, SfM photogrammetry represents a powerful tool for geomorphological research. However, to fully realize this potential, its application must be carefully underpinned by photogrammetric considerations, surveys should be reported in sufficient detail to be repeatable (if practical) and results appropriately assessed to understand fully the potential errors involved. To deliver these goals, robust survey and reporting must be supported through (i) using appropriate survey design, (ii) applying suitable statistics to identify systematic error (bias) and to estimate precision within results, and (iii) propagating uncertainty estimates into the final data products. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new species of the glass sponge genus Walteria (Hexactinell-ida: Lyssacinosida: Euplectellidae) from northwestern Pacific seamounts,providing a biogenic microhabitat in the deep sea

We report on a hexactinellid sponge new to science, Walteria demeterae sp. nov., which was collected from the northwestern Pacific seamounts at depths of 1271–1703 m. Its tubular and basiphytous body, extensive lateral processes, numerous oval lateral oscula which are irregularly situated in the body wall, the presence of microscleres with oxyoidal, discoidal and onychoidal outer ends, and the absence of anchorate discohexasters, indicate it belongs to the genus Walteria of family Euplectellidae, which is also supported by molecular phylogenetic evidence from 18S, 28S, 16S rRNA and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene sequences. The unique morphotype, which is structured by a thin and rigid framework of body wall and lateral processes consisting of diactins, characterizes it as a new species. Local aggregations of individuals of this new species coupled with their associated macrofauna in the Suda Seamount are reported, highlighting its functional significance in providing biogenic microhabitats in the deep sea.     

Alentiana palinpoda,a new commensal polynoid species from a seamount in the Northwest Pacific Ocean

Alentiana has only one member, A. aurantiaca (Verrill, 1885), commensal with sea anemone (Bolocera tuediae). Here, Alentiana palinpoda sp. nov., a second member in the genus Alentiana (subfamily Lepidastheniinae), a new commensal polynoid is described, based on a specimen collected from a deep-water seamount in the Northwest Pacific Ocean. The new species is characterized by large elytra that completely cover the dorsum and are present in every third segment in the posterior regions. Neuropodia are truncated, with two types of neurochaetae;supraacicular chaetae toothed on one side with a slightly inflated end, and subacicular chaetae that are heavy and smooth; the prechaetal lobe is larger than the postchaetal lobe, with the ventral part rolling upward and     

Ophiuroid fauna of cobalt-rich crust seamounts in the Northwest Pacific Ocean

Seamounts are vulnerable ecosystems in the deep sea and can be heavily impacted by human activities, such as bottom fishing and deep-sea mining. The species composition and distribution patterns of benthic fauna is key information for the designation of marine protected areas and environmental management plans. Three contracts for cobalt-rich crust exploration have been granted to China, Japan and Korea in the Northwest Pacific Ocean by the International Seabed Authority. However, our knowledge of benthic biodiversity in this area is extremely insufficient. During 2013–2020, eight Chinese Ocean Mineral Resources R&D Association (COMRA) cruises were conducted to investigate the benthic assemblages of nine seamounts in this region. In this study, 191 ophiuroids collected from seamounts in the Northwest Pacific were identified into 29 species in 11 families. Ophiacanthidae and Euryalidae were the two most dominant families with 12 and 6 species, respectively. Ophiotomidae and Ophiopyrgidae were represented by two species each, while seven families were represented by only one species. Four species were widely distributed among 4–5 seamounts, and 17 species were found only at a single site. An integrated regional taxonomic dataset of Ophiuroidea was generated and analyzed. A total of 23 and 14 species were obtained from the Magellan Seamount Chain (MSC) and the Marcus-Wake seamounts (MWS), respectively, with 8 species shared between the two seamount groups. The individual-based rarefaction curves did not reach an asymptote, suggesting that the sampling effort was inadequate for either the entire region or each single seamount. Most species distributed in a narrow depth range, and the species composition was different between water depths above and below 2000 m. Our results greatly improve the understanding of megafaunal biodiversity from seamounts in the Northwest Pacific Ocean, and highlight the necessity of further surveys to provide more robust information for environmental protection and management in this region.     

地貌学的基本范式及其在教学科研中的作用

自吉尔伯特和戴维斯的时代开始,地貌学的研究即已遵从理论优先的观察背负模式。从以描述为主的侵蚀循环学说、强调定量分析的地表过程、水力几何学到目前系统地貌学的研究,此中充盈着大量的范式、原理和基本概念,它们是地貌学作为一门科学存在和发展的理论基础。在课堂教学与课程发展层面上,从地貌学史的角度注重对基本范式的归纳和讲授,是培养与激发学生学习兴趣和专业素养的主要途径。通过对经典文献的研读,学生可以从中直接学习到详尽地描述和思辨方法,同时还会意识到对地貌学思想的传承和理论的接受应该批判地进行。在学科建设和科学研究方面,基于范式研究是利用共同的学术语言融入国际地貌学界的前提,凝练学科整体关心的科学问题,开展有组织持续有效的基础理论研究,是复兴国内地貌学的最佳途径。     

Investigating the molecular systematic relationships amongst selected Plesionika (Decapoda: Pandalidae) from the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea

Despite the high number of species and ecological diversity of pandalid shrimps, there has been no previous attempt to resolve evolutionary relationships of several genera using molecular tools. Although mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase I (COI) is widely used in barcoding studies to delimit species boundaries, additional insights into phylogenetic affinities can be obtained, especially when used in combination with data from additional genes. The knowledge of molecular diversity is essential to understand phylogenetic relationships and will help systematic clarifications. Based on partial fragments of the 16S and COI genes, we have focused specifically on addressing the systematic relationships of the economically and ecologically important shrimp genus Plesionika within a framework of five genera from within the Pandalidae. Our results showed that species within Plesionika are substantially divergent when compared with other genera, exhibiting the highest average nucleotide divergence, with 0.1123 and 0.0846 in COI and 16S genes, respectively. In addition, sequence divergence was found to vary greatly within the genus Plesionika (COI/16S): 0.0247/0.0016 between Plesionika antigai and Plesionika heterocarpus and 0.1616/0.098 between Plesionika heterocarpus and Plesionika edwardsii. We did not find amino acid sequence divergence between P. heterocarpus and P. antigai compared with P. heterocarpus and P. edwardsii (8.10%, K2P distance). Three species of Plesionika (P. antigai, P. heterocarpus and Plesionika scopifera) appear well separated from other Plesionika species in both maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses. The present study confirms the utility of COI over 16S as a genetic marker to resolve relationships between different species of Plesionika from the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea, in addition to species delimitation. The findings highlight the need to further review paraphyly within Plesionika in an attempt to recognize a concordance in the evolutionary history of Plesionika with major ecological and geological events.     

A new species of Plaxiphora (Mollusca: Polyplacophora) from southern New Zealand

Plaxiphora boydeni n.sp. from wave‐exposed rocky shores of southern New Zealand is described and illustrated. This is the first published record of the genus from the New Zealand mainland. P. boydeni is readily distinguished from the 2 other New Zealand species of the genus, which occur in the subantarctic region, by the absence of bristle‐tufts on the girdle.     

Abergasilus amplexus Hewitt, 1978 (Ergasilidae: Copepoda) from New Zealand,with a description of the male

The male of Abergasilus amplexus Hewitt, 1978 is described for the first time. Previous records of A. amplexus are discussed and a new locality, Te Whanga Lagoon, Chatham Islands, is reported.     

A new species of Zelandobius (Plecoptera: Gripopterygidae: Antarctoperlinae) from the upper Rangitata River,Canterbury, New Zealand

Zelandobius edensis n. sp. is described from a spring‐fed creek in the headwaters of the Rangitata River catchment, South Canterbury, New Zealand. Adult males exhibit varying degrees of brachyptery and the only female collected also had short wings. Larvae are easily identified by their covering of long translucent hairs not found in other members of the Zelandobius confusus‐group. The link between adult and nymph was confirmed by comparing 600‐base‐pair sequences of the mitochondrial gene, cytochrome c oxidase 1. Observations suggest the life cycle may be strongly synchronised by temperature constraints on nymphal growth and development, and/or a short season suitable for feeding and reproduction by the terrestrial adults.