Brachyura

A total of 6 lung fluke species have been documented in Thailand, of which P. heterotremus is the most important, since it affects humans. Although P. westermani is found as metacercariae in the same crab species as P. heterotremus in Thailand, human infections with P. westermani have not been confirmed. To accurately discriminate between the individual metacercariae of these two species, we established a multiplex PCR method. Using this method, two products each were amplified from the metacercarial DNA samples of P. heterotremus (ca. 310 and 520 bp) and P. westermani (ca. 140 and 520 bp). In contrast, 520-bp products alone were found to be generated from the DNA samples of P. siamensis, P. bangkokensis and P. harinasutai, 3 other species of lung flukes known to occur in Thailand. Digestion of these 520-bp products with the restriction enzyme ScrFI could unequivocally discriminate species by the number and size of the produced band(s): 3 bands (ca. 60, 210 and 250 bp) for P. harina...

Chasmagnathus granulatus is an estuarine crab which actively moves from subtidal to supratidal areas. To elucidate the possible existence of extrabranchial sites for aerial gas exchange, we measured respiratory and acid-base variables in animals with and without branchial water (controls and experimental crabs, respectively) during air exposure. An histological study of the branchiostegite was also performed. Throughout 4 h of emergence C. granulatus did not suffer venous hypoxia, even without branchial water. The rate of oxygen uptake (M O 2 ) was similar in both groups. The rate of carbon dioxide excretion (M CO 2 ) and the gas exchange ratio (R) significantly decreased during emergence in both groups, with R significantly lower for experimental crabs. Consequently, CO 2 was accumulated in the hemolymph. This variable stabilized after 90 min in control animals, but experimental crabs continued accumulating CO 2 . Histological study of the branchiostegites demonstrated the presence of an attenuated and greatly perfused epithelium facing the branchial chamber lumen, with a shortest diffusion distance of 0.5 mm. Simple folds and lobulated projections increase the respiratory surface area. These results suggest that C. granulatus is a bimodal breathing crab, active both in water and air. When emerged, this species extract oxygen directly from air through branchiostegal lungs, but relies on branchial exchange to eliminate carbon dioxide.

The native distribution of the blue crab Callinectes sapidus in the western Atlantic extends from Nova Scotia to Argentina. Introduced to Europe at the beginning of the 20th century, it is currently recorded almost ubiquitously in the Mediterranean and in the Black Sea. An overview of the occurrence, abundance, and ecological impact of the species in southern European waters is provided; additionally, we present a pragmatic assessment of its management scenarios, explicitly considering the dual nature of C. sapidus as both an invasive species and a fishery resource. We emphasise that the ongoing expansion of C. sapidus in the region may represent a stimulating challenge for the identification and implementation of future strategies in the management of invasive crustaceans. The impact of the invader could be converted into an enhancement of the services delivered by southern European coastal ecosystems, while mitigation costs could be transformed into profits for local populations.

In recent years, recovery and characterization of enzymes from fish and aquatic invertebrates have taken place and this had led to the emergence of some interesting new applications of these enzymes. However, much less is known about lipases from crustaceans. A lipolytic activity was located in the crab digestive glands (hepatopancreas), from which a crab digestive lipase (CDL) was purified. Pure CDL has a molecular mass of 65 kDa as determined by SDS/PAGE analysis. Unlike known digestive lipases, CDL displayed its maximal activity on long and short-chain triacylglycerols at a temperature of 60 C. A specific activity of 500 U/mg or 130 U/mg was obtained with TC 4 or olive oil as substrate, respectively. Only 10% of the maximal activity was detected at 37 C. The enzyme retained 80% of its maximal activity when incubated during 10 min at 60 C, and was completely inactivated at a temperature higher than 65 C. Interestingly, neither colipase, nor bile salts were detected in the crab hepatopancreas. Which suggests that colipase evolved in invertebrates simultaneously with the appearance of an exocrine pancreas and a true liver which produce bile salts. No similarity between the 13 N-terminal amino acid residues of CDL was found with those of known other digestive lipases.

The male copulatory system of the European pinnotherid species Pinnotheres pisum, Pinnotheres pectunculi, and Nepinnotheres pinnotheres was investigated by gross morphology, scanning electron microscopy, histological methods, and confocal laser scanning microscopy. The brachyuran copulatory system is consistently formed by paired penes and two pairs of abdominal appendages, the gonopods, functioning in sperm transfer. In pinnotherids, the long first gonopods transfer the sperm mass into the female ducts. The first gonopod has the ejaculatory canal inside that opens both basally and distally. The second gonopod is solid, short, and conical. During copulation, the penis and the second gonopod are inserted into the basal lumen of the first gonopod. While the penis injects the sperm mass, the second gonopod functions in the transport of spermatozoa inside the ejaculatory canal toward its distal opening. The second gonopod is adapted for the sealing of the tubular system in the first gonopod by its specific shape and the ability to swell. Longitudinal cuticle foldings of the second gonopod hook into structures inside the first gonopod. The second gonopod can interact with the penis during copulation by a flexible flap separating the lumina in which the second gonopod and the penis are inserted.

Using a novel suite of computer-generated visual stimuli that mimicked components of optic flow, the visual responses of the tropical land crab, Cardisoma guanhumi, were investigated. We show that crabs are normally successful in distinguishing the rotational and translational components of the optic flow field, showing strong optokinetic responses to the former but not the latter. This ability was not dependant on the orientation of the crab, occurring both in "forwards-walking" and "sideways-walking" configurations. However, under conditions of low overall light intensity and0or low object0background contrast, the separation mechanism shows partial failure causing the crab to generate compensatory eye movements to translation, particularly in response to low-frequency (low-velocity) stimuli. Using this discovery, we then tested the ability of crabs to separate rotational and translational components in a combined rotation0translation flow field under different conditions. We demonstrate that, while crabs can successfully separate such a combined flow field under normal circumstances, showing compensatory eye movements only to the rotational component, they are unable to make this separation under conditions of low overall light intensity and low object0background contrast. Here, the responses to both flow-field components show summation when they are in phase, but, surprisingly, there is little reduction in the amplitude of responses to rotation when the translational component is in antiphase. Our results demonstrate that the crab's visual system finds separation of flow-field components a harder task than detection of movement, since the former shows partial failure at light intensities and0or object0background contrasts at which movement of the world around the crab is still generating high-gain optokinetic responses.

Hematodinium sp. is a parasitic dinoflagellate infecting the blue crab Callinectes sapidus and other crustaceans. PCR-based assays are currently being used to identify infections in crabs that would have been undetectable by traditional microscopic examination. We therefore sought to define the limits of quantitative PCR (qPCR) detection within the context of field collection protocols. We present a qPCR assay based on the Hematodinium sp. 18S rRNA gene that can detect 10 copies of the gene per reaction. Analysis of a cell dilution series vs. defined numbers of a cloned Hematodinium sp. 18S rRNA gene suggests a copy number of 10 000 per parasite and predicts a sensitivity of 0.001 cell equivalents. In practice, the assays are based on analysis of 1% of the DNA extracted from 200 µl of serum, yielding a theoretical detection limit of 5 cells ml -1 hemolymph, assuming that 1 cell is present per sample. When applied to a limited field survey of blue crabs collected in Maryland coastal bays from May to August 2005, 24 of 128 crabs (18.8%) were identified as positive for Hematodinium sp. infection using qPCR. In comparison, only 6 of 128 crabs (4.7%) were identified as positive using traditional hemolymph microscopic examination. The qPCR method also detected the parasite in gill, muscle, heart and hepatopancreas tissues, with 17.2% of the crabs showing infection in at least one of these tissues. Importantly, it is now possible to enumerate parasites within defined quantities of crab tissue, which permits collection of more detailed information on the epizootiology of the pathogen.

Macroinvertebrate benthic communities are one of the key biological components considered for the assessment of benthic integrity in the context of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). However, under moderate contamination scenarios, the assessment of macrobenthic alterations at community level alone could be insufficient to discriminate the environmental quality of coastal and transitional waters. Keeping this in view, sediment quality of moderately contaminated sites in a coastal lagoon (Óbidos lagoon, Portugal) was assessed by the combination of sediment metal levels, Carcinus maenas biomarkers (accumulated Environ Monit Assess (2012) 184:7141-7151 environmental quality assessment in lagoon systems. Moreover, the application of different statistical methods was also found to be recommendable.

Cancer pagurus is most appreciated in southern Europe for its muscle and brown meat content. In Portugal, consumption occurs mostly in summer and at Christmas. In this study the seasonal nutritional quality of edible tissues of female and male C. pagurus was determined. Tissue composition was affected by season and sex. All tissues had a well-balanced essential amino acid composition. Muscle and gonads of females had n-3/n-6 ratios in the range of the usual recommended values, and all tissues had PUFA/SFA above the recommended level. Autumn was the season with the highest brown meat yield, total essential amino acids (muscle), taurine (all tissues), EPA (male gonads), and n-3/n-6 ratio (gonads). However, it was also the season with the highest fat content and cholesterol concentration in ovaries. Therefore, people with restricted diets should moderate the consumption of ovaries in autumn. The remaining tissues pose no risks with respect to their proximate chemical composition.

Off-road vehicles (ORVs) are popular in coastal recreation, although they have negative impacts on sandy shores. In South Africa, ORVs are banned from most coastal areas, while some areas are designated for restricted ORV use, providing an opportunity to assess whether ORV traffic restrictions translate into biological returns. In Sodwana Bay, the impact of ORVs on ghost crab populations was investigated. During Easter 2012, ghost crab burrows were counted on beach sections open and closed to traffic. Burrow density in the Impact section was less than a third that of the Reference section, and by the end of the study burrow size in the Impact section was half that of the Reference section. ORV traffic caused a shift in burrow distribution to the Lower beach. However, differences in burrow densities between sections were 14 times smaller than differences obtained at a time when ORV use in Sodwana Bay was not controlled. While confirming the well-established detrimental effects of ORV use on sandy beach ecosystems, results demonstrated that traffic restrictions on beaches measurably minimize impacts to the fauna, thus translating into clear-cut biological returns.

fatality due to ingestion of the crab Demania reynaudii that contained a palytoxin-like toxin. Toxicon 26, 105-107, 1988.-Clinical accounts of a human fatality resulting from ingestion of the crab Demania reynaudii are documented. The causative toxin was suggested to be palytoxin on the basis of dose-death time relationships and chromatographic properties.

Decapod crustaceans are well known as producers of air and substrate borne sounds 1-s. For some species, these sounds have been shown to play an important role in intraspecific communication ~-7, but relatively little is known about how these signals are detected by the animalsg, ~0. HORCH and SALMON s presented the first demonstration that crustaceans could hear air borne sounds.

The superfamily Portunoidea including extinct lineages is herein evaluated via cladistic analysis of adult morphological characters and traditional systematics. Nearly every fossil species has been examined via type material, or if this was not possible, through illustrations and original descriptions. The analyses indicate that the superfamily is much more diverse at the family level than has previously been recognized, and three subfamilies, Catoptrinae, Carcininae, and Macropipinae, are herein elevated to family status. One new family, Longusorbiidae; two new genera, Euronectes and Viaophthalmus; and two nomen nova are named herein in addition to the recognition of seven new combinations. The fossil record of each of the resulting families is evaluated and summarized, indicating that the superfamily extends into the Cretaceous but that many of the families are indeed much younger lineages.

The current study was conducted to determine the LC 50 value of ammonia-N as well as the effects of acute exposure to elevated ammonia on the haemolymph osmolality, ionic composition, ammonia-N and pH levels of early juvenile mud crabs, Scylla serrata. The results show that early S. serrata juveniles have a high 96-h LC 50 value of 95.35 mg/L ammonia-N (6.81 mg/L NH 3 -N) or 6.80 mmol/L total ammonia-N (0.486 mmol/L NH 3 -N). Following a 96-h exposure, the haemolymph osmolality and K + levels of the surviving crabs remained unaltered (p N 0.05) at all ammonia-N concentrations, while the haemolymph Na + and Ca 2+ were significantly lower (p b 0.05) for the crabs exposed to 5.710 and 7.138 mmol/L ammonia-N. While the haemolymph ammonia-N levels of the crabs significantly increased (p b 0.01) with increasing external ammonia-N concentrations, the haemolymph ammonia-N of the crabs remained below the external ammonia-N concentrations. The haemolymph pH of the crabs significantly increased between 0.714 and 4.283 mmol/L total ammonia-N. However, at 5.710 mmol/L total ammonia-N the haemolymph pH dropped and was not significantly different (p N 0.05) from that of the control crabs which coincided with significantly lower (p b 0.05) haemolymph Na + and Ca 2+ levels. These physiological responses may explain the high ammonia tolerance of early S. serrata juveniles.

Pachydactylus and its close relatives (Chondrodactylus, Colopus, Palmatogecko) constitute the most species-rich component of the southern African gekkonid fauna. We conducted a phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial (cytb, 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA) and nuclear (RAG-1) gene sequences for these geckos. Pachydactylus tetensis + P. tuberculosus form the sister group to the remaining taxa, and we resurrect the genus Elasmodactylus to accommodate these two basal species. The P. bibronii group is sister to Chondrodactylus angulifer, and is here transferred to the latter genus. Pachydactylus kochii is the sister species of Colopus wahlbergii and is transferred to that genus. All remaining taxa -including the P. namaquensis group, the 'small-bodied' Pachydactylus, and Palmatogecko -form a well-supported monophyletic assemblage recognised herein as Pachydactylus sensu stricto. The major clades within Pachydactylus s.s. include the capensis, serval/weberi, rangei, rugosus, and geitje groups, as well as a diverse "northwestern group" that occurs chiefly in northern Namibia and southern Angola. The finescale regional endemism apparent among members of the southern African Pachydactylus Group probably reflects an interplay between substrate specialisation and vicariant events (both geologically and climatically associated) since at least the Miocene. Explicit phylogenies for Pachydactylus, cordylid lizards, scorpions, and other taxa provide a basis for the first fine-scaled analytical biogeographic analysis of southern Africa. . Comparison of Bayesian inference (BI; left) and maximum parsimony consensus (MP; right) trees derived from the combined sequence data. The MP tree is a consensus of two equally parsimonious trees. Bootstrap values > 50% are listed below branches of the MP tree.

Crabs has been known inhabiting diverse habitat. Crabs were found in the sea, and some other species were found in terrestrial or freshwater. Crabs is one of the important biotic components of the aquatic ecosystem as detrivore. Opak River is one of the major rivers in the Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta (DIY), which has a various conditions and direct impact on biodiversity including the diversity of crabs. Up to now, there is no database of crab species from Yogyakarta. The aim of this research was to determine the diversity of crabs from Opak River. Research were carried out for 5 months between June and October 2013. Samples were characterized and identified morphologically. The results show that there are five species of crabs in Opak River. Parathelphusa convexa (De Man, 1879) was commonly found from upstream to downstream. Varuna litterata (Fabricius, 1798) was found in downstream to estuary (brackish water). The other three species were only found in the estuary area viz. Ocypode ceratophthalma (Pallas, 1772), Episesarma versicolor (Tweedie, 1940), and Scylla serrata (Forsskål, 1775). It can be concluded that diversity of crabs in the Opak River estuary area is higher than the upstream and downstream areas.

The pinching forces of crustaceans are in many respects analogous to the biting forces of vertebrates. We examined the eVects of body size and chelae size and shape, on the closing forces of the Wddler crab, Uca pugilator, and the crayWsh, Procambarus clarkii. We hypothesized that the allometric relationships would be similar among species, and comparable to those reported for other decapod crustaceans. We further hypothesized that the scaling of the closing forces of crustaceans, with respect to body size and with the geometry of the pinching or biting structures, would be similar to that of vertebrates. We found that pinching forces increased with body mass, claw dimensions, and claw mass in U. pugilator, but only with claw height and claw mass in P. clarkii. Contraction time increased with body mass for both species combined, whereas contraction speed decreased. Pooled data for these and 17 other species of decapod crustacean revealed a positive correlation between the pinching force and body mass with a scaling exponent of 0.71. These data are remarkably comparable to the values on closing forces of vertebrate jaws, with the pooled data having a scaling exponent of 0.58, slightly below the value of 0.67 predicted for geometric similarity. Maximum closing forces vary tremendously among both crustaceans and animals in general, with body size and food habits being among the most important determining factors.

The structure and mechanical properties of the exoskeleton (cuticle) of the sheep crab (Loxorhynchus grandis) were investigated. The crab exoskeleton is a natural composite consisting of highly mineralized chitin-protein fibers arranged in a twisted plywood or Bouligand pattern. There is a high density of pore canal tubules in the direction normal to the surface. These tubules have a dual function: to transport ions and nutrition and to stitch the structure together. Tensile tests in the longitudinal and normal to the surface directions were carried out on wet and dry specimens. Samples tested in the longitudinal direction showed a convex shape and no evidence of permanent deformation prior to failure, whereas samples tested in the normal orientation exhibited a concave shape. The results show that the composite is anisotropic in mechanical properties. Microindentation was performed to measure the hardness through the thickness. It was found that the exocuticle (outer layer) is two times harder than the endocuticle (inner layer). Fracture surfaces after testing were observed using scanning electron microscopy; the fracture mechanism is discussed.

The aim of this work was the preparation and characterization of scaffolds with mechanical and functional properties able to regenerate bone. Porous scaffolds made of chitosan/gelatin (POL) blends containing different amounts of a bioactive glass (CEL2), as inorganic material stimulating biomineralization, were fabricated by freeze-drying. Foams with different compositions (CEL2/POL 0/100; 40/60; 70/30 wt %/wt) were prepared. Samples were crosslinked using genipin (GP) to improve mechanical strength and thermal stability. The scaffolds were characterized in terms of their stability in water, chemical structure, morphology, bioactivity, and mechanical behavior. Moreover, MG63 osteoblast-like cells and periostealderived stem cells were used to assess their biocompatibility. CEL2/POL samples showed interconnected pores having an average diameter ranging from 179 6 5 lm for CEL2/POL 0/ 100 to 136 6 5 lm for CEL2/POL 70/30. GP-crosslinking and the increase of CEL2 amount stabilized the composites to water solution (shown by swelling tests). In addition, the SBF soaking experiment showed a good bioactivity of the scaffold with 30 and 70 wt % CEL2. The compressive modulus increased by increasing CEL2 amount up to 2.1 6 0.1 MPa for CEL2/POL 70/30. Dynamical mechanical analysis has evidenced that composite scaffolds at low frequencies showed an increase of storage and loss modulus with increasing frequency; furthermore, a drop of E 0 and E 00 at 1 Hz was observed, and for higher frequencies both moduli increased again. Cells displayed a good ability to interact with the different tested scaffolds which did not modify cell metabolic activity at the analyzed points. MTT test proved only a slight difference between the two cytotypes analyzed.

A new strategy for immobilization of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) has been presented by self-assembling gold nanoparticles on chitosan hydrogel modified Au electrode. From a mildly acidic chitosan solution, a chitosan film is electrochemically deposited on Au electrode surface via a negative voltage bias. This process is accompanied by the hydrogen evolution reaction, and the released hydrogen gas made the deposited chitosan film with porous structure, which facilitates the assembly of gold nanoparticles and HRP. The resulting substrates were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The immobilized HRP displayed an excellent catalytic property to the reduction of H 2 O 2 in the presence of methylene blue mediator. The resulting biosensor (HRP-modified electrode) showed a wide dynamic range of 8.0 M-15 mM H 2 O 2 , and the linear ranges were 8.0 M-0.12 mM and 0.50-12 mM, with a detection limit of 2.4 M estimated at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. Moreover, the biosensor remained about 85% of its original sensitivity after four weeks' storage.

The systematics of the subfamily Parthenopinae MacLeay, 1838 (Parthenopidae MacLeay, 1838) is revised. Two subfamilies, the Cryptopodiinae Stimpson, 1871, and Lambrachaeinae Stevcic, 1994, are synonymised with the Parthenopinae. The generic composition of subfamily Parthenopinae is reviewed and 32 genera are now recognised globally, of which 12 are diagnosed as new, and comparisons with other genera made. A key is provided for all recognised genera of the Parthenopinae.

We studied the effect of parasitic invasion by the barnacle Sacculina carcini on shore crabs Carcinus maenas collected from the Menai Straits in North Wales, UK. A significant reduction in serum protein and circulating granular, semi-granular and hyaline blood cells was observed in parasitised individuals, while serum ammonium and glucose concentrations were significantly increased. No difference in hepatopancreatic glycogen concentration was found between healthy and parasitised crabs. Histological analysis showed the apparent removal of fibrillar protein from infected muscle by the parasite. Hepatopancreas tubule necrosis was also routinely observed in infected individuals. Parasitisation by S. carcini dramatically affects the haemocyte population and serum chemistry of infected crabs.

Juvenile blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus, extensively utilize oligohaline and freshwater regions of the estuary. With a presumptively larger surface-area-to-body weight ratio, juvenile crabs could experience osmo- and ionoregulatory costs well in excess of that of adults. To test this hypothesis, crabs ranging over three orders of magnitude in body weight were acclimated to either sea water (1,000 mOsm) or dilute sea water (150 mOsm), and gill surface area, water and sodium permeabilities (calculated from the passive efflux of 3H2O and 22Na+), gill Na+,K+-ATPase activity and expression were measured. Juveniles had a relatively larger gill surface area; weight-specific gill surface area decreased with body weight. Weight-specific water and sodium fluxes also decreased with weight, but not to the same extent as gill surface area; thus juveniles were able to decrease gill permeability slightly more than adults upon acclimation to dilute media. Crabs <5 g in body weight had markedly higher activities of gill Na+,K+-ATPase than crabs >5 g in both posterior and anterior gills. Acclimation to dilute medium induced increased expression of Na+,K+-ATPase and enzyme activity, but the increase was not as great in juveniles as in larger crabs.The increased weight-specific surface area for water gain and salt loss for small crabs in dilute media presents a challenge that is incompletely compensated by reduced permeability and increased affinity of gill Na+,K+-ATPase for Na+. Juveniles maintain osmotic and ionic homeostasis by the expression and utilization of extremely high levels of gill Na+,K+-ATPase, in posterior, as well as in anterior, gills. J. Exp. Zool. 305A:233–245, 2006.© 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The red king crab Paralithodes camtschaticus was deliberately introduced to the Barents Sea in the 1960s and 1970s from its 10 native area in the North Pacific. The carapace of these crabs is a favoured substrate for the leech Johanssonia arctica to deposit 11 its eggs, and the leech is a vector for a trypanosome blood parasite of marine fish, including cod. We examined cod for trypanosome 12 infections during annual cruises along the coast of Finnmark in North Norway over three successive years from stations along a 13 gradient of over 1000 km. In every year the level of trypanosome infection in cod was significantly highest in the area with the great-14 est density of king crabs. We propose the hypothesis that the burgeoning population of red king crabs in this area is indirectly 15 responsible for increased transmission of trypanosomes to cod by promoting an increase in the population of the leech vector. 16

Abstract: The stomatogastic nervous system of the crab, Cancer borealis, produces a slow gastric mill rhythm and a fast pyloric rhythm. When the gastric mill rhythm is not active, stimulation of the modulatory commissural ganglion neuron 1 (MCN1) activates a gastric mill rhythm in which the lateral gastric (LG) neuron fires in antiphase with interneuron 1 (Int1). We present theoretical and experimental data that indicate that the period of the MCN1 activated gastric mill rhythm depends on the strength and time course of the MCN1 evoked slow excitatory synaptic potential (EPSP) in the LG neuron, and on the strength of inhibition of Int 1 by the pacemaker of the pyloric network. This work demonstrates a new mechansim by which a slow network oscillator can be controlled by a much faster oscillatory neuron or network and suggests that modulation of the slow oscillator can occur by direct actions on the neurons and synapses of the slow oscillator, or indirectly by actions on the fast oscillator and its synaptic connection with the slow oscillator.

The genus Daldorfia Rathbun, 1904, is revised with 12 species, two of which are described as new. The Daldorfiinae is rediagnosed and consists of four genera, Daldorfia, Thyrolambrus Rathbun, 1894, and two new monotypic genera, Olenorfia, and Niobafia. Thyrolambrus is reviewed and contains three species. Two poorly known species, Parthenopoides cariei Bouvier, 1914, and Lambrus (Parthenopoides) erosus Miers, 1879, do not belong in Parthenopoides Miers, 1879, or Pseudolambrus Paulson, 1875, respectively, where they are now classified. The two species are here transferred to Olenorfia, new genus, and Niobafia, new genus, respectively.

The objective of this study was to determine the taxonomic composition and ecological aspects of decapod crustacean species belonging to the infraorders Anomura and Brachyura in shallow marine and estuarine waters from southern Bahia, a coastline about 640 km in extent, corresponding to approximately 7% of the Brazilian coast. Sixteen species of the infraorder Anomura and 68 of the infraorder Brachyura are reported for the study area. The most important families in terms of number of species were the Panopeidae with 11 species, and the Ocypodidae and Portunidae with 9. Among the Brachyura, the southern distribution of the species Austinixa leptodactyla Coelho, 1997 (Pinnotheridae), endemic to Brazil, is extended from the coast of Sergipe to Bahia (Prado, Cumuruxatiba Beach, 17°06'18.6"S, 39°10'50.4"W). The ocypodid Uca (Leptuca) cumulanta Crane, 1943 and also the pinnotherids Austinixa aidae (Righi, 1967) and Fabia byssomiae (Say, 1818) are reported for the first time from the Bahia coast. The specimen of F. byssomiae examined was collected in the mantle cavity of the clam Macoma constricta (Bruchière, 1792) (Bivalvia: Tellinidae), a new host record for the species.

Variation in glutathione antioxidant biochemistry in response to metal contamination and accumulation under field conditions was examined in the brachyurid grapsid, Parasesarma erythodactyla. Significant relationships suggesting accumulation were found between sediment metals and metals in crab tissue for Pb, Cu, Cr, Zn, and Se in males and Cd, Pb, Cr Zn, As, and Se in females. Higher pH and lower organic content were associated with greater uptake of selected metals in males and females. Higher salinity was related to increased metal uptake for Cu and Zn in males and lower salinities to increased Se uptake for males and females. When examining metals, which were elevated in crabs, patterns of site discrimination were similar to sediment metal site discrimination for both males and females. In terms of biochemical responses, glutathione levels remained constant while glutathione peroxidase activity was elevated in individuals where metals were elevated. Only females with the highest levels of accumulated metals exhibited increases in lipid peroxidation products. Glutathione peroxidase activity may be a sensitive biomarker of metal exposure and biological effect and lipid peroxides as a secondary marker when accumulated metals are high.

Ciphergen ProteinChip Technology TM is a proteomic tool, used for the discovery of new and sensitive biomarkers. This approach was used to evaluate the protein profile of crabs exposed to various pollutants. Two different exposure experiments were performed: spider crabs (Hyas araneus) were exposed for 3 weeks to diallyl phatalate (DAP), bisphenol A (BisA) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE-47), while shore crabs (Carcinus maeanas) were exposed to crude oil, crude oil spiked with alkylphenols (APs) and 4-nonylphenol (NP). Gender and species-related protein pattern alterations were observed and compared to controls. Results showed different responses to pollutants by the two species. Major disruption in protein peak expression was observed in samples exposed to mixtures of pollutants, i.e. oil spiked with APs. Compared to shore crab, spider crab species showed a lower degree of response in terms of number of altered protein peaks following exposure. In general, female individuals of both species showed a larger number of significantly altered proteins compared to males. Data analysis by non-metric multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) was performed. Bi-dimesional-MDS plots revealed a good separation of groups for both spider and shore crabs. In some cases, a good discrimination can also be observed between the two genders within each treatment.

The effects of salinity (10, 17 and 35 ppt) on O 2 consumption, CO 2 release and NH 3 excretion by crabs and oxidative stress parameters and antioxidant defenses of its tissues were reported. An increase in salinity caused a decrease in O 2 consumption and CO 2 release and an increase in ammonia excretion by crabs. Lipid peroxidation, protein carbonyl, H 2 O 2 levels and total antioxidant capacity of the tissues elevated significantly at 35 ppt salinity except in abdominal muscle where H 2 O 2 content was low. Ascorbic acid content of tissues was higher at 17 ppt salinity than at 10 and 35 ppt salinities. With increasing salinity, a gradual decrease in SOD, an increase in catalase, no change in GPx and a decrease followed by an increase in GR activities were recorded for abdominal muscle. While for hepatopancreas, an increase followed by a decrease in SOD and catalase, decrease in GPx and GR activities were noticed with increasing salinity. In the case of gills, a decrease followed by an increase in SOD, a decrease in catalase and GPx and an increase in GR activities were noted when the salinity increased from 10 ppt to 35 ppt. These results suggest that salinity modulation of oxidative stress and antioxidant defenses in Scylla serrata is tissue specific.

In several mountainous regions of Northeastern India, foci of Paragonimus infection reportedly involving species that are known to prevail in China have been identified. The present study was undertaken to demonstrate the surface fine topography and sequence analysis of the ribosomal deoxyribonucleic acid (rDNA; second internal transcribed spacer, ITS2) of the metacercarial stages of the lung fluke collected from a mountain stream of the area (Miao, Changlang District in Arunachal Pradesh). The encysted metacercariae were oval in shape and had a smooth surface. The newly excysted metacercaria had a ventral sucker larger than the oral; the body surface was covered with numerous single-pointed and thorn-like tegumentary spines, of which those on the anterior part of the body were bigger in size and showed a gradual reduction in length and number towards the posterior end; dome-shaped papillae in variable numbers were seen around the rim of the oral sucker and were sparsely distributed all over the body surface. The polymerase chain reaction-amplified rDNA ITS2 sequences of the metacercariae were aligned with known sequences for the various species of Paragonimus, and the expectation value was found to be most significant with P. westermani, revealing an absolute match. The surface topography including the number and distribution of papillae and spination patterns and the ITS2 sequences of the metacercariae strongly suggest that the Paragonimus species, prevalent in the region of India, is in fact P. westermani. P. pulmonalis (Baelz 1880 P. ohirai Miyazaki 1939; P. iloktsunensis Chen 1940; P. skrjabini Chen 1959; P. miyazaki Kamo et al. 1961 and P. heterotremus Chen and Hsia 1964, all reported to be occurring in Asia, P. africanus and P. uterobilateralis Voelker and Vogel 1965 in Africa and P. mexicanus Miyazaki and Ishii 1968 in America are considered pathogenic to man. While P. westermani is distributed mostly in Asia, P. heterotremus is the predominant causative agent of paragonimiasis in Thailand (Blair et al. 1999a, b).

A new species of pinnotherid crab of the genus Afropinnotheres Manning, 1993, is described from the brown mussel, Perna
perna (Linnaeus, 1758), in southwestern India. This is the first record of the genus from the western Indian Ocean, the
other four species been recorded from the eastern Atlantic. The new species can be distinguished from all congeners in
possessing a more rounded male carapace, form of the chela, relatively longer ambulatory legs which have no natatory
setae, presence of dense pubescence on the male ambulatory legs, and the shape of the male and female telsons. The Indian
Pinnotheridae is also reviewed and the taxonomy of the species reappraised. The taxonomy of Pinnaxodes Heller, 1865,
and Holothuriophilus Nauck, 1880, is also discussed, in the context of their similarity to Afropinnotheres.

A modification to Performance-Tested MethodSM (PTM) 070601, Reveal® Listeria Test (Reveal), is described. The modified method uses a new media formulation, LESS enrichment broth, in single-step enrichment protocols for both foods and environmental sponge and swab samples. Food samples are enriched for 2730 h at 30C and environmental samples for 2448 h at 30C. Implementation of these abbreviated enrichment procedures allows test results to be obtained on a next-day basis. In testing of 14 food types in internal comparative studies with inoculated samples, there was a statistically significant difference in performance between the Reveal and reference culture U.S. Food and Drug Administration&#39;s Bacteriological Analytical Manual (FDA/BAM) or U.S. Department of Agriculture-Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) methods for only a single food in one trial (pasteurized crab meat) at the 27 h enrichment time point, with more positive results obtained with the FDA/BAM reference ...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the long-term bioaccumulation and elimination of Cd, Pb, Mn, Zn and Fe by Pinna nobilis tissues after their 90 day-transplantation period at Téboulba fishing harbor. During the transplantation period, the Cd, Pb, Mn, Zn and Fe concentrations in the different tissues of the mussels were measured before and after exposure period. Metal (Cd, Pb, Mn, Zn and Fe) accumulation in P. nobilis mussels varied depending on the analyzed tissue and the caging times. Notable differences in Cd, Pb, Mn, Zn and Fe accumulation patterns within the digestive gland, gills and muscle were found and may be due to the ability of each tissue to accumulate metals. During the depuration phase, the elimination of Cd, Pb, Mn, Zn and Fe depended on the target tissue and the metal speciation. Cd, Pb, Mn and Fe were eliminated rapidly from one organ and increased in other when compared to those of 90 day transplanted mussels. The increase of metal loads during the elimination phase is not clear and particularly what kind of processes is responsible for such response. However, it is reasonable to assume that metals increase is related to the existence of an accumulation/detoxification mechanism, which involves the transport of metals from an organ to another. The data obtained indicate that because of the significantly high quantities of Cd, Pb, Mn, Zn and Fe accumulated during the exposure phase, the transplanted mussels are suitable bioindicators for monitoring trace metals in marine ecosystem.

Determining the acute nitrate tolerance of marine animals is important for conservation as high levels of nitrate may be discharged into aquatic ecosystems via various anthropogenic sources. Typically, sodium nitrate (NaNO 3 ) is used to determine the acute nitrate toxicity of marine animals. The standard procedure involves dissolving NaNO 3 salt in distilled water to create a stock solution, which is then diluted in seawater to obtain the desired nitrate concentration for the toxicity test. However, due to the relatively low toxicity of NO 3 − , large volumes of the stock solution are required to create high NaNO 3 -N concentrations in the test solutions for LC 50 (median lethal concentration) calculations. As the stock solution contains no other elements, other than Na + and NO 3 − , this can lead to drastically altered Na + /K + ratios (compared to natural seawater) of the test solutions, which could significantly affect the osmo-ionoregulation of the animals, and subsequently bias survival data.

The brachyuran fauna of the Arabian Sea coast of the Sultanate of Oman is reviewed, and 120 true crab species (Brachyura) belonging to 84 genera and 27 families are documented based on literature records and new collections. Twenty-seven species are added as new records for the region in addition to the 93 species of crabs recorded by ABSTRACT The brachyuran fauna of the Arabian Sea coast of the Sultanate of Oman is reviewed, and 120 true crab species (Brachyura) belonging to 84 genera and 27 families are documented based on literature records and new collections. Twenty-seven species are added as new records for the region in addition to the 93 species of crabs recorded by

The activities of individual force-sensitive mechanoreceptors of the dactyl (terminal leg segment) of the crab, Carcinus maenas, have been recorded during free walking. These receptors have also been mechanically and electrically stimulated in freely moving animals to directly evaluate their function in locomotion. All force-sensitive mechanoreceptors fired during the stance phase of walking and were silent during swing. Receptor discharges showed regular phase relationships to bursts in motor neurons of leg muscles. Crabs walk laterally and use the legs of one side either in trailing to actively push the animal to the opposite side, or in leading, to less forcefully pull the animal in that direction. Individual force-sensitive mechanoreceptors differed in their patterns of activity during trailing or leading according to their location on the dactyl. Units of proximal receptors fired more vigorously when used in trailing than in leading. Discharges in trailing were also increased b...