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The Azores, Madeira, Selvagens, Canary Islands and Cabo Verde are commonly united under the term “Macaronesia”. This study investigates the coherency and validity of Macaronesia as a biogeographic unit using six marine groups with very different dispersal abilities: coastal fishes, echinoderms, gastropod molluscs, brachyuran decapod crustaceans, polychaete annelids, and macroalgae. We found no support for the current concept of Macaronesia as a coherent marine biogeographic unit. All marine groups studied suggest the exclusion of Cabo Verde from the remaining Macaronesian archipelagos and thus, Cabo Verde should be given the status of a biogeographic subprovince within the West African Transition province. We propose to redefine the Lusitanian biogeographical province, in which we include four ecoregions: the South European Atlantic Shelf, the Saharan Upwelling, the Azores, and a new ecoregion herein named Webbnesia, which comprises the archipelagos of Madeira, Selvagens and the Canary Islands.

2011). The use of the DNA barcode gene 16S mRNA for the clarification of taxonomic problems within the family Sertulariidae (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa). -Zoologica Scripta, 40, 520-537. The Sertulariidae are the most speciose family of the Hydrozoa, and their systematics are problematic. Here, 77 new 16S mtDNA sequence 'barcodes' of Atlantic and Mediterranean sertulariids were subject to phylogenetic analyses along with another 29 already deposited in Genbank. Amongst the 12 nominal genera and around 40 putative species analysed, several taxonomic inconsistencies and corroborations were highlighted by the genetic data. Patterns of morphological characters between the specimens analysed genetically were extremely congruent with molecular estimates. The genera Sertularia, Dynamena and Symplectoscyphus were found to be polyphyletic, and the genus Sertularella paraphyletic. The validity of Sertularella robusta at a species level was confirmed, along with the exclusion of Sertularelloides cylindritheca from the genus Sertularella. Potential cryptic species were detected within Sertularella fusiformis, Sertularella mediterranea, Sertularella ellisii, Sertularia distans, Dynamena disticha, Thuiaria articulata and Diphasia margareta. Conversely, probable cases of synonomy were revealed for the species pairs: Sertularia cupressina and Sertularia argentea, Amphisbetia minima and Amphisbetia operculata, and Thuiaria thuja and T. articulata. 16S haplotype data also revealed probable phylogeographic structure across localities of the NE Atlantic and Mediterranean. As an alternative 'DNA barcode', the 16S gene has the great advantage of being easily amplified and sequenced across hydrozoan taxa. Furthermore, the marked increase in deposited 16S sequences in public databases facilitates the identification of hydrozoan samples to the level of family, genus, and especially species or even populations, in a manner that is coherent with phenotypic and geographic ⁄ environmental differences.

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M o u N ta i N s i N t h e s e a Can We Protect seamounts for Research? abstR aCt. Extractive processes such as fishing and mining are degrading seamount ecosystems considerably, raising serious concerns about the impacts of these practices on global ocean biodiversity and key fluxes. Despite the data collected to date, we remain ignorant of the quantitative details of many of these issues. To address this limitation, we call for the closure of selected seamounts for research purposes. These research seamounts will act as baselines for recovery, and should be earmarked for monitoring and fundamental research.

The impact of bottom trawling on cold-water corals (CWC) has been thoroughly studied and shown to be long-lasting; however the effects of bottom longlining on CWC ecosystems have received little attention. The present paper identifies the principal CWC species landed by bottom longlining in Faial (Azores) from 150 to 600 m depth. Data were obtained from a survey of 297 landings during four months coupled with 16 interviews with fishermen. A distinction was made among corals brought on deck directly entangled in the fishing gear (primary by-catch) from corals brought up associated with other larger CWC species or rocks (secondary by-catch). Forty-five (15.2%) of 297 fishing trips surveyed landed coral specimens. The survey recorded 39 different CWC taxa in the by-catch, belonging to five different orders (Scleractinia, Alcyonacea, Antipatharia, Zoanthidea and Anthoathecata). Secondary by-catch included a larger number of species but the total number of corals was in the same order of magnitude for both groups. The taxa most frequently encountered were Leiopathes spp., Errina dabneyiand Dendrophyllia sp. CWC taxa in the by-catch were mostly medium size (10–60 cm), 3-dimensional and branched colonies. Local ecological knowledge of fishermen confirmed that the corals recorded were representative of their past experience and also revealed a general agreement that there has been a decrease of CWC by-catch on traditional fishing grounds. Corals are common by-catch in bottom longline fisheries around the Azores and so conservation measures may be required.

Bottom trawl fishing threatens deep-sea ecosystems, modifying the seafloor morphology and its physical properties, with dramatic consequences on benthic communities. Therefore, the future of deep-sea fishing relies on alternative techniques that maintain the health of deep-sea ecosystems and tolerate appropriate human uses of the marine environment. In this study, we demonstrate that deep-sea bottom longline fishing has little impact on vulnerable marine ecosystems, reducing bycatch of cold-water corals and limiting additional damage to benthic communities. We found that slow-growing vulnerable species are still common in areas subject to more than 20 years of longlining activity and estimate that one deep-sea bottom trawl will have a similar impact to 296–1,719 longlines, depending on the morphological complexity of the impacted species. Given the pronounced differences in the magnitude of disturbances coupled with its selectivity and low fuel consumption, we suggest that regulated deep-sea longlining can be an alternative to deep-sea bottom trawling.

Thirty-four adult individuals of Loligo forbesi (males and females with dorsal mantle lengths from 27–77 cm) were observed in captivity in a 3 m diameter closed sea-water system on Faial Island, Azores. Squids were caught by jigging and were fed with horse mackerel (Trachurus picturatus) and chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus), either alive or dead. The maximum survival was 73 days. Feeding behaviour was dependent upon both the size of prey and its state of preservation;e.g. the squid would eat the head of small fish (< about 15 cm), reject the head of medium-sized fish (about 15–35 cm) and would eat only the dorsal part of a big fish (> about 35 cm) or a fish poorly preserved.Seventeen chromatic, 9 postural and 6 movement components of body patterns were observed and described. Conspecific interactions considered to be aggression and dominance were observed among males; no such interactions occurred when one male and two females were kept together. Body patterns in relation to relaxation, stress, shock, feeding, locomotion and aggression are also described.