A loggerhead turtle nest was accidentally discovered during the raking of a beach at St Tropez, France, on 18 July 2006. This is the northernmost loggerhead nest so far in the Mediterranean and in the world. The clutch was deposited close to the sea in a sand-soil-pebbles mixture and became partially inundated in September. In total there were 141 eggs, none of which hatched. Only 24% of the eggs contained embryos, while 107 eggs contained yolk but no visible embryo. The failure to hatch was probably the result of the non-suitable nest environment, the low mean incubation temperatures and the inundation. Further observations of beaches are recommended to establish other nesting occurrences of loggerhead turtles in this region.

During a monitoring programme of stranded marine mammals conducted along the north-east coast of the Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, we collected marine tucuxi dolphins (Sotalia guianensis) stranded along the beach. We examined the carcasses to identify characteristic evidences of fishery by-catch. From July 2001 to August 2007 43 S. guianensis were found in the study area, with an annual mean of 6.1 stranding events. Dolphins stranded with evidence of fishery interaction (‘by-catch’) occurred in almost every year (annual mean = 2). The majority of the by-catch events occurred during winter and spring. Most of the stranded dolphins were sexually mature. From 43 S. guianensis stranded from 2001 to 2007, 32.5% (N = 14) of these presented evidence of by-catch. Twenty-nine other dolphins did not show clear evidence of by-catch or it could not be evaluated. Most of the by-caught dolphins occurred in the northern zones of the study area where gill-net use is intense.

Some adult specimens of the bluespotted cornetfish, Fistularia commersonii (Osteichthyes: Fistulariidae), are recorded for the first time along the Algerian coasts, in Skikda Bay (eastern Algeria) and offshore Bou Ismaïl Bay (central Algeria). More than 100 fish measuring from 73 to 88 cm were captured by fishermen. A sample of three specimens is described here. This species is the first lessepsian immigrant fish in Algeria, indicating its fast spreading ability and its success in the Mediterranean environments.

The occurrence of the tropical seagrass species Halophila stipulacea (Hydrocharitaceae) is reported within the harbour of Palinuro (Salerno, central Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy). The bottom covered by the seagrass has been evaluated in about 16 m2, fragmented in various small patches distributed in a narrow belt between 0.5 and 5 m depth, and all settled on dead matte of the endemic Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica. Mean density was 10,500 shoots m−2. This record documents a displacement of about 180 km north of the previously documented limit of Halophila stipulacea in the western Mediterranean, likely mediated by pleasure boat traffic and anchoring, and favoured by climate change. This record illustrates a further example of the changing Mediterranean Sea biogeography: north–south patterns in biotic ranges will probably replace the presently well established west–east patterns in the Mediterranean Sea of tomorrow.

The study was conducted at the fringing reef of Sesoko Island (Okinawa, Japan), in the north-western Pacific. Artificial injuries were inflicted to the upper portions of colonies of the massive coral Porites lutea. The colonies were fixed to cement blocks and placed at two reef locations of different light intensity: one with moderate light (20–30% of incident photosynthetic active radiation, PAR0) and one with low light (2–5% PAR0). After six months of the treatment, all injuries were photographed. Analysis of photographs made under light and electron microscopes showed that the coral was able to recover from the injuries at both light variants. Under moderate light, some of the injuries completely healed and some injuries recovered partially. Under low light all injuries recovered partially. These partially recovered injuries were occupied by algae at dead portions of the injuries. In moderate light, coral polyps overgrew all algal settlers and were the winners in the competition for substratum. In low light, Peyssonnelia conchicola, Corallophila apiculata, Centroceras clavulatum, Anortichium tenue, and Lobophora variegata that colonized the injured areas overgrew coral polyps and were the winners in the competitive struggle for the substratum. It was shown that overgrowing is the main mechanism of coral–algal competition for substratum in light ranging from 2 to 30% PAR0. This mechanism of overgrowth of corals by algae, and the reverse, are discussed in detail.

Pseudoceros bicolor and Pericelis cata, species of the turbellarian order Polycladida previously listed for regions of the Caribbean Sea, are here recorded for the first time from Brazil. This is also the first record of the genus Pericelis from Brazil. The morphology of the specimens is described and photographs of living forms are given. The present records expand the known geographical range of both species to a transition zone between tropical and subtropical environments.

Calcareous tube polychaetes (family Serpulidae) are notorious biofoulers that are easily transported and introduced to allochthonous habitats. Here we report the recent introduction of Hydroides dianthus (Verrill, 1873) to eastern Japan as its first occurrence in East Asia, probably from European or American coasts. Specimens had been found on artificial hard substrata together with congeners H. ezoensis, H. exaltatus and H. fusicolus in Tokyo Bay, Japan in 2006. The origin, vector, source of introduction and possible impact of H. dianthus on Japanese coasts is discussed from a perspective based on worldwide Hydroides transport.

The humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae, is a highly migratory species distributed in all oceans of the world. It has been indicated that humpbacks do not normally feed while in their tropical breeding grounds or during migration. Here we document the first evidence of recent feeding in southern Brazil, a mid-latitude area in the western South Atlantic Ocean. On 4 April 2002, the carcass of a 7.27 m humpback whale incidentally caught in Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil, was collected. Investigation of the stomach contents revealed that the whale had ingested large amounts of the small shrimp Acetes americanus (Decapoda: Sergestidae), as well as planktonic larvae of unidentified species of Brachyura. Applying the average swimming speed recorded for this species on the western South Atlantic coast, and the mean time passage of the food through the digestive tract of another balaenopterid, we can estimate that the feeding area is some 20.7 nautical miles off the coast. This demonstrates that the productive waters of the southern and south-eastern Brazilian coast may occasionally be used by humpback whales as an opportunistic feeding zone, and adds the shrimp A. americanus as a new prey species for the humpback whale. There is evidence that other baleen whales may also sometimes feed in this region.

On the basis of monthly sampling of benthic life stages after larval recruitment of native and exotic mytilids (Musculista senhousia and Xenostrobus securis) in Japan, we examined variations in the spatio-temporal distributions of these mytilids in the brackish Lake Hamana along the Pacific coast of central Japan. We found similarities in their life histories, e.g. the number and the occurrence and duration of cohorts. However, M. senhousia densities were much higher than X. securis (nearly three times on average). We detected a contrast between the spatial distributions of these two mytilids. This contrast may be related intimately to the characteristics of the bottom sediments: much higher densities of M. senhousia were detected on the sediments of fine sand/mud-mixed gravels, whereas higher densities of X. securis were detected on artificial flattened rocks. Difference in microhabitat separation for these two mytilids may contribute to avoiding interspecific interactions during the benthic stages and thus to allowing the coexistence of these two mytilids on estuarine tidal flats in the brackish Lake Hamana.

We report the occurrence of Trachurus lathami and Callorhinchus callorynchus in Mar Chiquita coastal lagoon (37°44′S 57°25′W, Buenos Aires, Argentina). The capture of both specimens apparently represents the first record in a coastal lagoon. The presence of both species in this lagoon, suggests that fluctuating characteristics of environmental factors in estuaries, present proper scenarios for incursions of estuarine-non-dependent marine fish.

The distribution and abundance of the Australasian barnacle Austrominius modestus around the Isle of Cumbrae, Scotland, were examined in October 2007. The species was found at all of the nineteen sites examined, which included highly exposed to highly sheltered sites. Its abundance varied from common to occasional. Over fifty years after its initial appearance as a single specimen (1954), Austrominius now appears to be well established on the island. Factors that may have influenced its spread and establishment are described, however, at this stage the relative importance of these cannot be determined. Consequently, further research is planned here, to collect quantitative data on the abundance of Austrominius and the other barnacle species that occur intertidally and how their relative abundances vary both within and between shores.

The sighting of the marbled crab Pachygrapsus marmoratus on the western coast of northern Cotentin confirms the presence of this species in the English Channel. This new sighting may be related to the northern progression of the species probably due to increased sea surface temperatures.

On 30 April 2008, a male specimen of the giant devil ray Mobula mobular was by-caught alive by a pelagic pair trawler in the central Adriatic Sea. The specimen was examined, measured (disc length and disc width, clasper and cephalic fin length), weighed (total weight) and photorecorded as soon as possible in order to release it alive at sea. This occurrence represents the first documented record of M. mobular in the Adriatic Sea. The Mediterranean geographical distribution of such a rare mobulid species was discussed and updated.

Sharks of the genus Carcharhinus encountered at Chumphon Pinnacle, Gulf of Thailand, have been misidentified by divers as grey reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos). Based on a set of characteristic diagnostic features, the sharks are identified as bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas).

The present paper reports new records of Apogon smithi in Turkey and A. queketti in Israel and raises the subject of the newly emerging pattern of nearly simultaneous appearance of new Indo-Pacific records along the entire Levantine coast of the Mediterranean Sea. A key to the species of Apogon in the Mediterranean is supplied.

Here we report the stranding of two occasional species of the genus Mesoplodon not previously recorded on the Andalusian coast. Two Blainville's beaked whale stranded in two different events, one in Matalascañas (Huelva) in 1996 and another in Tarifa (Cádiz) in 2003, and two Sowerby's beaked whale were found stranded together on the coast of Rota (Cádiz) in 2007. These strandings are located near the range boundaries of both species, whose distribution is poorly known. Additionally, three new records of Gervais' beaked whale stranded on the Andalusian coast are presented.

The tripletail or blackfish (Lobotes surinamensis, Lobotidae) is recorded for the first time from an oceanic island in the South Atlantic, based on two individuals sighted and photographed near a buoy at Fernando de Noronha Island, off north-eastern Brazil.

The striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) is a small, pelagic and cosmopolitan cetacean. Though it is the most common dolphin species in the Mediterranean Sea, it is not considered resident in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea. Fifteen striped dolphins were found dead in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea in the last eight years (1999–2007). More specimens were found in southern than in the northern part of the Adriatic. Analysis of twelve microsatellite loci and sequencing of 882 base pair (bp) fragment of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region were performed for genetic characterization. The mean allelic diversity (7±0.78) and mean expected heterozygosity (0.727±0.05) reveal high genetic variation. Significant deviation from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium was observed at two loci. Sequence analysis of the mtDNA control region identified seven unique haplotypes with 22 polymorphic sites in ten individuals. The haplotype diversity (0.911±0.077) was high, while nucleotide diversity was strikingly low (0.006±0.003). Results presented here support the notion of the striped dolphin not being resident species in Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea.

This paper reports the twinspot bass Serranus flaviventris as followers of the goldspotted eel Myrichthys ocellatus in Tinharé Island, Bahia State, north-eastern Brazil. The goldspotted eel disturbs the sediment in coastal waters exposing prey in which the the twinspot bass forages. This note describes for the first time the following behaviour between Serranus and Anguiliform fish. In the remainder of the note we present a review of this behaviour for small serranids in shallow waters of Bahia, north-eastern Brazil.

The reproductive cycle of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus was studied in three sites situated in differently polluted locations near Algiers. Gonad indices and histological examination demonstrated a different pattern in the reproductive cycle between the population closest to the Algiers metropolis and the population situated outside the Algiers Bay. The former presented a clear yearly cycle with a high gonad index in spring followed by a spawning period. The latter showed a succession of smaller gonad indices and spawning periods throughout the year. Comparison of the three populations indicated that the higher the pre-spawning gonad increase, the lower the number of spawnings per year. The reproductive cycle was studied over two years that differed in seawater temperature. The 2-year comparison suggested that an early rising sea temperature triggered more precocious spawning, and higher spring and summer temperatures prolonged the spawning period. The pollution level did not act on the gonad index intensity.