Examination of the reproductive biology of the abyssal seastar Dytaster grandis taken at different times of the year in the NE Atlantic suggests seasonal reproduction that is related to the seasonal pulse of phytodetritus to the deep-sea floor. Although this seastar is an omnivore, the availability of this labile organic material may fuel vitellogenesis during the summer and autumn months. The egg size suggests planktotrophic larval development. Spawning occurs in the early part of each year to allow the zygote to develop into a feeding larva to coincide with the downward flux of phytodetritus. Thus the flux of detritus may constitute an environmental forcing pressure at least at two points in the life history of D. grandis.

Whole flounder serum has been fractionated by gel filtration on Ultrogel AcA22. Pooled material from the first major peak of the elution profile was further fractionated by FPLC ion-exchange chromatography and this yielded one major and three minor peaks. Under both reducing and non-reducing conditions SDS electrophoresis showed that the major peak and two of the minor ones were immunoglobulin (Ig). All three of these Ig populations were tetrameric, with estimated molecular weights of 710 kD. However, approximately 90% of the major Ig species consisted of tetramers which were covalently linked by disulphide bonds, whereas the remaining 10% was composed of dimeric molecules held together by non-covalent interactions. The heavy chains of all three Ig populations had apparent molecular weights of approximately 72 kD but the light chain composition showed considerable heterogeneity. In the major population, five polypep-tides were detected in the light chain region of the gel with apparent molecular weights covering the range 22–28 kD. However, there was no difference in the light chain composition of covalently and non-covalently linked tetramers. The two minor populations differed both from each other and from the major species in respect of their light chain compositions. No evidence was found for a monomeric serum Ig, and alkaline urea electrophoresis failed to demonstrate a J chain.

Available data concerning the taxonomy, biology, ecology and biogeography of the genus Haploops is presented. The genus, represented by 15 valid species, is typically associated with deep and cold waters. Haploops is confined to the Arctic, north Atlantic and north Pacific Oceans with the exception of two Tasmanian species. Phyletic relationships show four principal groups of species, but there is no clear correlation between these groups and their biogeographical distribution. The biology of Haploops is typical of the biology of a cold-water amphipod. The distribution and the biology of Haploops is contrasted with that of Ampelisca, another genus of the family Ampeliscidae.

The age and growth rate of Modiolus modiolus have been studied from acetate peel replicas of polished and etched shell sections. Age estimates could be reliably obtained from the alternating patterns of light (summer) and dark (winter) growth lines present in the middle nacreous layer of the shell. Growth lines in the inner nacreous layer, however, generally converged to form blocks of nacre such that the identity of individual lines was lost, whilst in the umbones growth lines were often tightly compressed and difficult to resolve. Data obtained from analyses of the internal growth lines in the middle nacreous layer were used to construct growth curves for several subtidal populations using the von Bertalanffy growth equation. The fastest growth rate was recorded for mussels growing epifaunally on the legs of a drilling platform in the North Sea; these mussels achieved a maximum shell length of 110 mm within ten years. The oldest mussel (from Ling Bank in the northern North Sea) was 48 years old and measured 133 mm in length whilst the largest mussel (from Loch Spelve in western Scotland) was 147 mm long and 38 years old. With the exception of the relatively young population (maximum age 10 years) from the drilling platform, most of the benthic populations studied included mussels in excess of 35 years of age. It is clear, therefore, that M. modiolus is a potentially long-lived member of the subtidal benthos.

It has been observed previously that the digestive gland of the carnivorous gastropod mollusc, Murex trunculus, does not accumulate metals which occur in high concentration in the digestive gland of its prey, the detritus-feeding gastropod, Cerithium vulgatum. It is proposed that mechanisms of metal detoxification which operate in C. vulgatum render metals biologically unavailable to M. trunculus. In the present work, this scheme is tested by feeding tissues containing detoxified metals from a gastropod, bivalve and barnacle to carnivorous gastropods. Metals in the prey are accumulated in insoluble granules in the digestive gland of the gastropod, kidney of the bivalve and gut connective tissue of the barnacle. These tissues are fed to the carnivores and the granules pass through the entire length of the gut. They are egested as clean preparations within the faecal pellets and they still contain the metals introduced by the tissues of the prey. This transfer of detoxification between species indicates that the food chain progression of material can result in the reduction of the bioavailability of metals. The observations are recorded by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis.

Activity patterns of limpets were studied at two adjacent sites in an Irish sea lough, Lough Hyne, in order to relate timing of activity to physical and biological influences. Activity was suppressed during heavy rainfall, and osmotic stress from dilution appears to have led to increased mortality in transplanted limpets. Activity increased as tides progressed from neaps to springs, and for limpets low on the shore it was enhanced by wave action. It is suggested that lack of activity in calm water may reduce predation pressure from crabs, which caused high mortality in transplanted limpets. Either low relative humidity or dryness of the rock diminished activity of low-water limpets. Differences in feeding activity between low-water limpets and high-water limpets may relate to food supply, since more food was available low on the shore, and the guts of low-water limpets contained more diatoms than those of high-water individuals. Differences between the two sites are at present unexplained but may relate to differences in micro habitats.

Direct observations of egg masses on the shore indicates that Lipophrys pholis is a winter and spring spawner in Portuguese waters. The results are compared with those published for the British Isles.

Lipophrys pholis, Linnaeus, 1758, is a very common intertidal fish in the north-eastern Atlantic and in the North Sea. Considerable work has been published concerning its breeding season in British waters (Lebour, 1927; Qasim, 1957; Shackley & King, 1977). The breeding season of the species at the southern limit of its range is almost unknown, and Zander (1986) mentions the period from April to August for the whole species. Based on dates of first appearance of larvae in plankton collected in the Bay of Biscay, Villegas (1981) concluded that breeding should have begun as early as the end of December.

In this report we present data on the spawning season of this blenny based on direct observation of the presence of eggs and/or parental guarding males on the shore.

Data were collected at a site located at Arrábida (38°28′N, 8°59′W), near Senibal, 50 km south of Lisbon, Portugal. In the course of behavioural observations on the breeding males of L. pholis, the area was visited at various intervals during the period 1986 to 1989. The nests were located intertidally in holes in vertical walls. On each visit, the presence of eggs and/or black males inside the nests was registered. Each nest was mapped for inspection in subsequent visits. The results are summarized in Figure 1.

It is clear that in our study area breeding begins as early as December, and has virtually ended in June.

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.

In early June 1988, an extensive bloom of Phaeocystis sp. (29xlO6 cells 1−1) was observed in the eastern Irish Sea along the North Wales coast. Chlorophylls, carotenoids, free amino acids, fatty acids, vitamin C, carbon and nitrogen were measured in particles from three size categories (<22 μm, 22–100 μm and 100–200 μm) at a station 13 miles off the coast line. Phaeocystis sp. formed 99% of the total particle stock below 22 μm and was characterized by (1) the presence of chlorophyll c3, (2) the dominance of fucoxanthin over 19'- acyloxyfucoxanthins, (3) the presence of C18:5 fatty acid at trace levels and (4) different proportions of amino acids compared to those measured in particles greater than 22 μm. These larger particles were dominated by diatoms, dinoflagellates and ciliates. The poor nutritional value of Phaeocystis sp. for herbivorous zooplankton was characterised by its low content of polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin C. Comparison between the chemical composition of Phaeocystis sp. and copepod faecal pellets showed that the copepods were feeding predominantly on other phytoplankton.

Skeletal growth banding has been studied in the vertebral arm ossicles of the shallowwater brittle stars Ophiothrix fragilis, Amphiura filiformis, A. chiajei, Ophiura ophiura and O.

albida collected from near Oban. Scanning electron microscopy of ossicle microstructure show the bands reflect differences in stereom porosity and surface relief on the surface of the wing-like fossae of the ossicle. The evidence supports the interpretation of the bands as annual growth markers, with coarse-pored stereom laid down during periods of active growth in summer/autumn whilst finer-pored stereom, that often forms ‘breaking wave’- like ridges, is formed during periods of slow or negligible skeletal growth during the rest of the year. Growth curves fitted to growth ring measurements indicate three contrasting growth strategies amongst the species examined. These data generally support recent interpretations of demographic structure reached from studies of size frequencies in samples collected from other areas in the NE Atlantic range of these species.

One species of the cheilostome family Membraniporidae Busk is recorded for the first time in the Bay of Biscay. Observations were made on a dead fragment of Membranipora arborescens (Canu & Bassler), previously known in the Atlantic littoral of America (from the Cape Hatteras to Brazil), in the eastern Pacific (from Mexico to Equador) and in the coasts of western Africa.

During the summer months of 1983 Prorocentrum minimum (Pavillard) Schiller, not earlier recorded from the Adriatic, constituted a considerable proportion of the regular summer bloom in the Sibenik Bay (eastern Adriatic coast). During the subsequent years (1984,1985,1986) the proportions of P. minimum in summer blooms in the Ŝibenik Bay was constantly increasing (Marasović, 1986; Marasović, in press). At the same time its presence was reported from the other parts of the Adriatic coast, attributed to the intensified eutrophication of the Adriatic waters (Pucher-Petković & Marasović, 1987; Marasović et al., 1988; Pucher-Petković et al., 1988; Marasović, 1989).

A laboratory study simulating herbivorous feeding was carried out with the marine crustacean Neomysis integer (Leach) and the dinoflagellate Scrippsiella trochoidea (Stein). Analyses of the total fatty acids, sterols and fatty alcohols in the food and faecal material, and in the animal tissue, have allowed the detailed changes in the dietary lipids during feeding to be characterised.

The results show this feeding leads to a net decrease in total lipid in the material passing through the gut of the animal, particularly due to the bioassimilation of fatty acids. All fatty acid saturation classes are assimilated but the mono-unsaturated and particularly polyunsaturated fatty acids are preferentially assimilated over others. Herbivorous feeding does, however, lead to the quantitative and relative increase in ‘bacterial’-type odd C number branched-chain fatty acids in the faecal material.

A comparative study of the state of preservation of hydromedusae has been made based on a collection that has been preserved for 80–90 years. A report has been compiled in tabular form concerning the state of the collection in relation to the present pH of the preserving fluid. Recommendations are made based upon which fixative and preserving fluids have proved to be best for long-term storage.