A new species of Eunice (Polychaeta: Eunicidae) from Hainan Island, South China Sea

Ataxonomic survey of benthic marine animals from coastal regions of Hainan Island, South China Sea, revealed specimens of a new species of Eunice (Polychaeta: Eunicida: Eunicidae), Eunice uschakovi n. sp., collected from the intertidal zone. The species belongs to the group of Eunice that has yellow tridentate subacicular hooks and branchiae scattered over an extensive region of the body. It resembles E. miurai and E. havaica in having both bidentate and tridentate falcigers, but can be readily distinguished by branchial features. Comparisons between E. uschakovi and the two related species are presented.

Three new records of deep-water goniasterids (Echinodermata:Asteroidea:Goniasteridae) from China seas

In this paper,three deep-water species of the family Goniasteridae,Ceramaster misakiensis(Goto,1914),Nymphaster arthrocnemis Fisher,1913 and Pontioceramus grandis Fisher,1911,are recorded for the first time from Chinese waters based on collections deposited in the Marine Biological Museum,Chinese Academy of Sciences.The specimens examined were collected during the period 1956 to 1978 from the East China and South China Seas at depths of 184 to 472 m.Diagnosis,detailed figures,and the geographic distributions are provided.A revised list of Goniasteridae recorded from Chinese waters is proposed.

Benthic harpacticoid copepods of Jiaozhou Bay, Qingdao

The species richness of benthic harpacticoid copepod fauna in Jiaozhou Bay,Qingdao,on the southern coast of Shandong Peninsula,has not been comprehensively studied.We present a preliminary inventory of species for this region based on material found in nine sediment samples collected from 2011to 2012.Our list includes 15 species belonging to 15 genera in 9 families,the most speciose family was the Miraciidae Dana,1846(seven species);all other families were represented by single species only.Sediment characteristics and depth are determined to be important environmental determinants of harpacticoid distribution in this region.We briefl y detail the known distributions of species and provide a key to facilitate their identifi cation.Both harpacticoid species richness and the species/genus ratio in Jiaozhou Bay are lower than in Bohai Gulf and Gwangyang Bay.The poor knowledge of the distribution of benthic harpacticoids,in addition to low sampling ef fort in Jiaozhou Bay,likely contribute to low species richness.

Responses of benthic foraminifera to changes of temperature and salinity:Results from a laboratory culture experiment

The effects of temperature and salinity on intertidal foraminiferal community under laboratory conditions are poorly understood. We designed a two-factor crossed experiment in which foraminiferal communities were cultured at different temperatures (6, 12, and 18℃) and salinities (15, 20, 25, and 30 psu) for 10 weeks. In total, 2616 living (stained) specimens were obtained and analyzed. Foraminiferal abundance ranged from 9 to 202 individuals/10 g wet weight of sediment. The highest abundance was obtained at 12℃, 25 psu and the lowest at 6℃, 15 psu. Statistical results demonstrated that temperature affected foraminiferal community more significantly than salinity. Most foraminiferal community parameters (abundance, species richness, Margalef index, and Shannon-Wiener diversity) were significantly positively correlated to temperature, but not to salinity, whereas Pielou's evenness was significantly negatively correlated to both temperature and salinity. The interactive effect of temperature and salinity on foraminiferal abundance was significant. In addition, with increasing temperature, the species composition shifted from hyaline Rotaliida to porcellaneous Miliolida. The abundance of dominant species (e.g., Ammonia aomoriensis, A. beccarii, and Quinqueloculina seminula) showed significant positive correlations to temperature. Our study indicated that the intertidal foraminiferal community responds sensitively and rapidly to the changes of salinity and, especially,temperature by shifting foraminiferal species composition and altering the community parameters.