Vassily A. Spiridonov

A COLLECTION OF CALLIANASSIDEA DANA, 1852 (DECAPODA, PLEOCYEMATA) FROM THE SAUDI ARABIAN RED SEA COAST WITH A CHECK-LIST OF ALL GHOST SHRIMPS (THALASSINIDEA AND CALLIANASSIDEA) KNOWN FROM THE AREA

During a survey of the coastal biodiversity of the Saudi Arabian Red Sea, four species of callianassid ghost shrimps were collected: Gilvossius bouvieri (Nobili, 1904), Neocallichirus mucronatus (Strahl, 1862a), Podocallichirus madagassus (Lenz & Richters, 1880), and Callianidea typa H. Milne Edwards, 1837. Of these, N. mucronatus is recorded from the Red Sea for the first time. With this new record, 29 species of the group are now known in the Red Sea fauna. The distribution of the species within the Red Sea is discussed in detail.

Benthic fauna of the Gorlo Strait, White Sea: a first species inventory based on data from three different decades from the 1920s to 2000s

This study presents an inventory of the sublittoral macrobenthic fauna of the Gorlo Strait, based on historical surveys (1922, 1980s) and an investigation carried out in 2004. A comparison of the species lists was carried out, giving particular attention to current nomenclature, synonymies and biogeographical affinity. Differences in species lists can be explained by differences in sampling gear and design, but generally species lists are complementary. The total number of species in all surveys amounts to 322, with an additional 39 taxa unidentified to species level. All the species identified represent 254 genera and 166 families. The macrobenthic fauna of the Gorlo is thus generally rich but mostly consists of rarely occurring species. This is discussed in the light of specific environmental conditions of the Gorlo, in particular low primary productivity in the water column, strong tidal currents and the unstable lithodynamics. The combined species list was characterised by high taxonomic distinctness index (96) sensu Clarke and Warwick (1998); the indices calculated for particular surveys showed only slight and mostly statistically non-significant differences from this value. The biogeographic structure of species composition of Gorlo does not differ between years, with the Arctic-boreal species constituting the majority (about 60%) and the Boreal and Arctic species having nearly equal shares (about 15%). Although our study revealed few North Atlantic species not hitherto recorded in the White Sea, stable shares of species with particular biogeographical affinity at the decadal scale, stability of the taxonomic distinctness indices and small differences in the composition of the core of most commonly occurring species indicate the absence of major shifts in the faunal composition: current climatic changes most probably have not yet significantly affected specific oceanographical conditions and benthic habitats of the Gorlo which shape the local macrobenthic fauna.

A new species and new records of deep‐water Calappidae (Crustacea: Decapoda) from the Indian Ocean with a key to the Mursia Desmarest, 1823 species of the region

Deep‐water Calappidae collected by German and Russian expeditions to the western Indian Ocean and additional material from several European and American museums were studied. Calappa japonica Ortmann, 1892 was recorded from the Red Sea for the first time, where it occurs in unusually deep waters and C. pustulosa Alcock, 1896 was recorded for the first time off Madagascar. Eight species of Mursia Desmarest, 1823 are known from the Indian Ocean (M. africana Galil, 1993, M. aspera Alcock, 1899, M. bicristimana Alcock and Anderson, 1894, M. coseli Crosnier, 1997, M. cristiata H. Milne Edwards, 1837, M. flamma Galil, 1993, M. curtispina Miers, 1886, and M. minuta n. sp.). For M. bicristimana the status was clarified and a new species described. This description is partly based on a specimen which prior to this study had been erroneously considered a syntype of M. bicristimana. New characters and a key are provided to facilitate identification of the Indian Ocean species of Mursia. The contrasting geographic distribution patterns of the two genera are discussed with regard to their vertical distribution.

Two new species of Thalamita Latreille, 1829 (Decapoda, Portunidae)

Thalamita matzuzawai sp. n. is described from the subtidal zone of Shikoku, Japan. This species is most similar to Thalamita picta Stimpson, 1858 and T. simillima Crosnier, 2002. It also shows similarity to the group of Thalamita species with a supplementary tooth at the base of the first anterolateral tooth, thus representing an intermediate position between these two groups. Thalamita williami sp. n. is described from Brunei. It belongs to the T. crenata Ruppell, 1830 group and is most similar to T. starobogatovi Tien, 1969.

Description of a new genus and new species of Sesarmidae (Decapoda: Brachyura) from the Farasan Islands, Saudi Arabia, Red Sea

A new genus, Eneosesarma, is created for a new species of sesarmid crab, E. azizi, from Saso Island, Farasan Archipelago, Saudi Arabia. The new species shows close affinities with species of the sesarmid genera Sesarmoides Serene and Soh, 1970 and Karstarma Davie and Ng, 2007, but differs from these in regard to carapace shape, morphology of male G1, and absence of stridulatory organ.

Toward the New Role of Marine and Coastal Protected Areas in the Arctic: The Russian Case

The role of marine and coastal protected areas (MCPAs) is becoming increasingly important in the changing Arctic. These protected areas potentially facilitate the adaptation of natural ecosystems to climate change by mitigating direct anthropogenic threats, balance various kinds of space and resources use, and alert the society to changes taking place in the marine and coastal ecosystems. This chapter explores how a historically established set of coastal and marine protected areas in the Russian Arctic can meet these challenges. Eight strictly protected nature reserves or zapovedniks, one national park, three federal natural reserves or zakazniks, and one nature monument encompass marine compartments or have marine buffer zones. They cover a number of essential biodiversity features: some marine areas within MCPAs may be considered as integral marine ecosystems or include sites of primary importance for ecosystem monitoring because of the existence of long-term observation datasets. The total marine surface area under protection totals nearly 96,000 km2, or about 2% of the areas of the Arctic seas under Russia’s jurisdiction (the Bering Sea excluded). Management of the Arctic MCPAs is a very complex task. It is no surprise that management effectiveness of the federal Arctic MCPAs in Russia is scored relatively low. Potential threats and future challenges to the protection of Arctic marine biodiversity and MCPAs are discussed in this chapter, essentially calling for strengthening the MCPA network. As it is difficult to expect that the number of MPAs in the Russian influence zone can be significantly increased in the next decade, the efforts of conservation organizations should be balanced between advocating for creating new reserves and strengthening the capacity of the existing MCPAs. General remoteness and limited access to most of the Arctic MCPAs call for development of remote sensing and other distant methods for monitoring and surveillance. The challenges for the MCPA network in the Arctic are difficult to meet when using only the inherent zapovednik and national park capacity and governmental support to date. To be effective, establishing a horizontal cooperation and partnership with science, NGOs, businesses, and local communities is the only way for protected natural areas to perform their important mission in a changing Arctic.

Biodiversity of the community associated with Pocillopora verrucosa (Scleractinia: Pocilloporidae) in the Red Sea

The symbiotic community associated with a scleractinian coral Pocillopora verrucosa has been studied along the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia from Al Wajh to the entrance of the Gulf of Aqaba. Forty colonies have been sampled from 2- to 15-m depth in 2 areas, southern and northern. Thirty-six associated species were found, including 15 symbionts and 21 species with uncertain status (SUS). The number of recorded symbiotic species was close to the statistically expected value, while SUS were rare and did not reach the value expected from the Chao 2 model. Species number and abundance positively correlated with the colony volume. Mean abundance of all species and symbionts and the number of SUS per covariate colony volume were higher in the northern area than in the southern area. This may be related to a higher habitat diversity of the surrounding reefs and to the presence of colonies with partially dead tissues in the north. These two factors have a weak impact on symbionts, but strongly affect SUS. The diversity of the pocilloporid-associated communities range from 36 to 127 species along the Indo-Pacific and Tropical East Pacific, with 9 to 19 of them being symbionts. The total species diversity varies owing to the SUS number, while the core of true symbionts includes much fewer species and is less variable. The diversity of Pocillopora symbionts in the Saudi Arabian coast (15 species) is among the highest for the studied areas in the Indo-Pacific.