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Notes: Abstract Cultures of developing larvae of Gibbula cineraria (L.) were obtained from adults spawning in the laboratory, and these cultures were reared to settlement of the larvae at 9 days. Dispersal of the outer jelly coat of the egg appeared to be delayed in the presence of spermatozoa. Early cleavage followed the typical spiral pattern, and gastrulation was by epiboly. The trochophore larvae hatched at about 28 h, before shell-formation began. The first 90° of torsion was completed between 48 and 56 h. The second part of torsion was completed within 4 days, and preliminary attempts to retract into the shell were made at 76h. After 96 h, although torsion was complete, the larvae were still unable to retract fully into the shell. The larvae remained in a stage of “swimming-attempted creeping” until the 4th or 5th day after torsion was complete, but were unable to pull the shell upright until the end of this time. Throughout this stage, the velum was reduced and was finally shed. The animals all died after metamorphosis, which occurred at about 9 days, when the larval shell comprised 1 1/2 whorls, with a breadth of 250 to 300μm. Settlement appeared to be passive, i.e., governed by wave action and tides. In the light of these observations, theories concerning torsion are reappraised. The advantage to the larva of torsion is not clear, as the larvae are not able to retract into the shell until after metamorphosis, yet it is clear from previous authors' observations that the first part of torsion in most gastropods involves only larval structures. This makes it difficult to suggest that torsion is entirely of advantage to the adult snails. It is thus proposed that the two components of torsion may have evolved independently. The first, relatively rapid component of torsion, resulting in 90° of displacement of the mantle cavity in relation to the visceral mass, may be of advantage to the swimming larva. The final, slower component of torsion may be of advantage to the newly-metamorphosed benthic snail, and is the only component of torsion found in those gastropods which have no free-swimming larva.

Notes: Abstract Monthly samples of gonads of 3 common species of intertidal trochids, Monodonta lineata (da Costa), Gibbula umbilicalis (da Costa) and G. cineraria (L.) were fixed for examination by light microscopy. Numbers and proportions of immature and mature oocytes in sections of ovaries were determined. In M. lineata and G. umbilicalis, the annual reproductive cycles were very similar, the testis and ovary of both species being empty brown structures from September to January/February, when gametogenesis began and the gonads began to swell and turn green in both sexes. As ripening continued, the ovary remained green in G. umbilicalis, but in M. lineata turned greygreen by the end of May. The testis of both species changed, to yellowish in G. umbilicalis and creamy-pink in M. lineata. Spawning occurred throughout summer and early autumn, and the gonads reverted to their former empty state. These changes were matched by the increase and subsequent decrease in proportion of ripe oocytes in the gonad. Some ripe oocytes are not shed during the spawning season, but no evidence of cytolysis of such oocytes was found. In G. cineraria, in contrast, the ovary remained green and swollen and the testis remained creamy-white and packed with sperm throughout the year. The proportion of ripe to unripe oocytes in the ovary fluctuated for the entire sampling period, and did not indicate the time of spawning. In the testis of all three species, spermatogonia were rarely seen, and spermatid stages were uncommon.

Notes: Abstract Although laboratory experimental studies have shown that copper is toxic to marine organisms at concentrations found in contaminated sediments, there is little unequivocal evidence of undesirable ecological effects in the field, other than at extreme concentrations. We describe a study in Botany Bay, New South Wales, Australia, in which the concentrations of copper in marine sediments were experimentally enhanced. Changes in the abundance and taxonomic composition of the fauna of copper-treated sediments relative to those of two control treatments were monitored over a period of six months. Univariate (ANOVA) and multivariate (non-metric multidimensional scaling, MDS) analyses of the changes in the fauna showed that increased concentrations of copper (140 to 1200 μg g-1 compared with background concentrations of 29 to 40 μg g-1) had an impact on the fauna. The nature of the response varied among taxa. For example, in some taxa, numbers of individuals decreased through time relative to controls, whereas the abundance of another taxon remained fairly constant through time in the copper treatment while numbers of control individuals increased. Differences in the changes of the faunas through time among the control and copper treatments were not always consistent among replicate experimental units 5 m apart, nor were they consistent between replicate experimental sites 100 m apart. The magnitudes of the changes in the faunas caused by the copper treatment are considered in the context of the magnitude of previously measured “natural” temporal variation.

Notes: Abstract  Understanding the ecological role of artificial structures, such as seawalls, in shallow coastal waters is necessary in order to plan sound strategies of conservation and management of natural habitats. In Sydney Harbour (NSW, Australia), about 50% of the foreshore is made of retaining seawalls This study evaluates the changes caused to natural assemblages of organisms by these structures, by comparing intertidal assemblages between seawalls and vertical rocky shores. The following hypotheses were tested: that assemblages on seawalls would differ from those on rocky shores at mid-, but not at low-shore levels; where assemblages differ between habitats, there would be differences in cover/abundances of widespread species; patterns would be consistent among locations and through time; the variability of assemblages at the scales of 10s of cm and metres would differ between seawalls and rocky shores at mid- and low-shore levels. To test these hypotheses, assemblages on seawalls and rocky shores were sampled at three locations, at roughly 4-monthly intervals, over a period of about 18 months. Results indicated that mid-shore assemblages on seawalls were different from those on rocky shores, but this was not the case at low-shore levels. Few taxa were unique to either habitat. Cover of common species of algae and sessile animals and abundances of mobile grazers were variable with few consistent patterns. Variability at the scales sampled differed between habitats and heights on the shore. Seawalls and rocky shores, in general, supported a similar suite of species, but patterns of abundance and variation differed among locations and from height to height in each habitat. The implications of these findings for the future management of seawalls are briefly considered.

Notes: [Auszug] CHARLES Darwin's monographs on barn-acles remain standard works on this wide-spread and highly modified group of crustaceans. Now, in Barnacle Biology, new studies have been brought together with the various aims of replacing, com-plementing or simply adding footnotes to Darwin's interpretations. ...

Notes: Summary Previous investigations have shown that competition for space among sessile organisms in rocky intertidal communities is often reduced by predation or harsh environmental factors. Grazing gastropods are unlikely to compete for space, but at high densities might compete for food, unless some factor, such as predation, reduced the densities. The coexisting species of herbivourous gastropods on rock-platforms in New South Wales are not, however, subject to high levels of predation on shores sheltered from waveaction. In this study, three of these species were caged at densities from the natural, to 4 times the natural density on the shore, in different combinations of species, to investigate their competitive interactions. All three species, Nerita atramentosa, Bembicium nanum and the limpet Cellana tramoserica, showed increased mortality and reduced weight at increased density, over 100- or 200-day periods. The effect of high density on Cellana was greater than on Nerita or on Bembicium. In addition, Nerita was competitively superior to the other two species. Cellana, at high densities, adversely affected Bembicium. Nerita was not affected by high densities of either of the other two species, and Cellana was not affected by Bembicium. Under entirely natural conditions, the effects of increased density of Cellana on the mortality and tissue-weight of Bembicium could not occur, because of the high rate of mortality of Cellana when at increased density of its own species. The other effects of increased density of snails would, however, occur. Thus, there can be regulation of numbers of snails because of high densities of their own or other species on the shore. The supply of benthic, microalgal food is proposed as the limiting resource for which the species compete. Hypotheses are proposed to account for the mechanisms by which the three species acquire different amounts of the resource. These are based on aspects of the feeding biology of the snails. The continued coexistence, in intertidal regions, of Cellana, which shows the highest rate of mortality due to members of its own species, with the competitively dominant Nerita, which increases the mortality of Cellana, is apparently due to three factors. These are: (i) the presence of subtidal refuges for breeding populations of Cellana, (ii) regular spatial dispersion of Cellana which would probably decrease intraspecific competition for food, and (iii) the high variability in space and time of recruitment of planktonic larvae of both Cellana and Nerita. This last factor makes it unlikely that high densities of Nerita could occur on all shores in every year. Cellana could always recolonize any area where its density had previously been reduced, and thus, cannot be excluded by competitive interactions. Competitive interactions at high densities of gastropods can therefore cause reductions in the number of each species present on a shore. They cannot, however, lead to exclusion of any species or alter the composition of the community of herbivores on the shore. The difference between competition for space by sessile intertidal organisms, and competition for food by gastropods which graze on microalgae is discussed with respect to the structure of intertidal communities. In the former case, competitively dominant species must be dislodged from the resource, space, by disturbance (e.g. predation or hazards) before recolonization by inferior competitors can occur. In the latter situation, the food resource is renewable without further perturbation of the community, and the competitively dominant species could never consume it completely over a wide enough area, and for a sufficient length of time, to eliminate totally another species.