Two new genera (Photeros and Enewton) and three new species of bioluminescent signaling ostracodes (Myodocopida: Cypridinidae) from Jamaica are described. They belong to a large cypridinid clade with male mating displays that we have found only in the Caribbean Sea. The species-specific displays and habitats in which each occurs are an integral part of each species definition. We postulate that the signaling clade has undergone rapid evolution driven by sexual selection particularly in Photeros Cohen and Morin, the only ostracode with both species-specific mating displays and clear species-specific morphological characters in the large male copulatory (eighth) limbs for each species (see also Morin and Cohen, 2010). Photeros comprises at least 19 species that are superficially somewhat similar in morphology (including 3 new species, all with authorship attributed to Morin and Cohen, 5 reassigned herein and 11 undescribed). The new Jamaican species are P. jamescasei, P. johnbucki, and P. mcelroyi. Species reassigned herein to Photeros are Vargula parasitica (with additional description based upon types and new Jamaican material), V. morini and V. annecohenae (from Belize), and V. graminicola and V. shulmanae (from Panama, with new information on lips and copulatory limbs). Photeros parasitica is a carrion feeder, not a parasite. We reassign Vargula harveyi to a new genus Enewton Cohen and Morin, with a more complete species description, including that of the previously unknown males and their bioluminescent mating displays. Morphological and display characters of genera and species are compared in tables. Homologies of morphological characters (some new), particularly in the upper lip, first antenna, seventh limb, and male eighth (copulatory) limb are described and discussed. Because signaling species are highly endemic, shallow signaling species are threatened by an increase in artificial lighting at night where their mating displays now occur. Videos of the displays from the three new species of Photeros are provided in the electronic accessory materials (Appendix 5).

A large clade of cypridinid ostracodes, found only in the Caribbean, uses species specific courtship displays of secreted luminescence, produced by males, to attract photically silent females to mate. We recently described two new genera, Photeros and Enewton, which are part of this clade (Cohen and Morin, 2010). Within the various subclades of these signaling ostracodes in the Caribbean, only Photeros has been shown to have species-specific differences in both their luminescent displays and the morphology of the large male copulatory (eighth) limb (Cohen and Morin, 2010). The apparent ancestral display pattern, which occurs among at least some species in all the signaling clades of Caribbean ostracodes, is produced as a series of pulses of light secreted into the water column mostly in a vertical pattern, either upward or downward, above species-specific habitats. The pulses are of fairly long duration and become shorter and closer together. A derived pattern of very rapid pulses, which also shows within train interpulse distance shortening, is found only in the genus Photeros. It is likely that the high diversity found in this clade and other signaling clades has been driven by their life history patterns in conjunction with sexual selection acting via the courtship displays and their reproductive structures.

The amphipod genus Stygobromus occurs in a variety of subterranean habitats in North America, including caves, phreatic (groundwater) lakes, and superficial subterranean habitats (seeps and epikarst). The habitats share the absence of light but differ in other features, such as pore size of the habitat, available food, and degree of seasonality. Measurements of body size, antennal size, and antennal segment number of type specimens were compared for 56 species occurring in the eastern United States. Except for differences in body size, differences among species in the four different habitats were not significant. Body size was related to relative pore size of the habitat, e.g., epikarst, with the smallest spaces, had the smallest species. However, in all habitats, there was one very large species (> 15mm); these enigmatic species apparently occupy a distinct ecological niche, perhaps being more predatory. Differences in relative antennal size showed no significant differences among habitats, and differences in number of antennal segments were marginally significant (P  =  0.06) among habitat types and not in the predicted pattern. Differences among habitats in seasonality and available food seemed to be a minor part of the selective environment; absence of light seemed to be a major part of the selective environment.

The southern rough shrimp Trachysalambria curvirostris is one of the dominant, small-sized penaeid species in the benthic community of Kagoshima Bay, southern Japan. The growth pattern and longevity of T. curvirostris were estimated from monthly length-frequency distributions of 11,345 specimens collected from June 2002 to December 2005. Carapace length (CL) ranged from 6.2-21.8 mm in males and 3.3-27.4 mm in females. Both males and females were first recruited in August or September with modal sizes around 9.0 mm CL. The growth of T. curvirostris was best described by the Pauly and Gaschütz equation as L_t  =  19.04[1 − exp−1.201(t/12 0.372) − (0.562/2π)sin(2π(t/12 − 0.723))}] for males and L_t  =  28.89[1 − exp−1.306(t/12 0.051) − (0.761/2π)sin(2π(t/12 − 0.797))}] for females. Females recorded higher growth performance indices compared to males of the same age group. The monthly growth rates and the percentage occurrence of soft-shelled individuals in both sexes tended to decrease with progression of age. The relationship between carapace length and body weight showed negative allometry, for both males and females. The longevity of this species was estimated to be around 18 months for both sexes.

Reproduction was studied in the land crab Johngarthia lagostoma on Ascension Island in the central South Atlantic from 2005 to 2008. Both sexes are mature by 60-70 mm carapace width (the sample > 4,000 crabs consisted almost entirely of mature specimens). Breeding occurs around the east and south shores of the island, but was studied predominantly at the only easily accessible site at North East Bay. The annual breeding migration extends from January to May, with peak migration in March in most years. The intensity of migration varies between years, and is not obviously related to rainfall. There is lunar entrainment, with increased numbers at the shore in the first quarter, but largest numbers in the last quarter. Both males and females migrate, but with females in greater numbers. At the shore 80% of the crabs are females. A few females mate and lay eggs in the upland residential areas, a greater number do so on the migration route, but the majority only after reaching the shore. Reproductive investment per brood averaged 5% on a dry weight basis, and fecundity averaged 72,000 eggs.

In order to elucidate the functional and molecular mechanisms employed during accessory sex gland seasonal development, we performed suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) experiments in the crab, Eriocheir sinensis, by constructing forward and reverse cDNA libraries enriched with up- or down-regulated transcript genes. A total of 175 ESTs were obtained from 180 randomly picked clones in the two libraries, with an average insert size of 450 bp, and a cloning efficiency > 90%. Comparative sequence analysis of ESTs with sequences reported in public genomic databases identified 88 unigenes, 35 of which were homologous to reported proteins, with the remainder unidentified. Unigene Annotation identified some unigenes via the Gene Ontology classification. Some of these unigenes had greater activity in the early stage of gland development, with an inferred function in cellular processes (involved in cell proliferation and differentiation), and the other genes with inferred functions in protein synthesis, energy metabolism, and signal transduction were more prevalent during the peak stage of gland development. Hence, genes elevated during the early stage may play roles in the process of rapid cell growth, while those elevated during the peak stage may play important roles in protein synthesis and secretion, as well as sperm capacitation and fertilization. SSH results were validated by the real-time PCR analysis of five candidate genes, whose expression correlated well with the SSH results, and exhibited relative expression levels that were five fold greater than those observed in the SSH libraries, confirming the SSH success.

The complete larval development and the morphology of the first juvenile stages of two freshwater-breeding crab species endemic to Jamaica are described and illustrated in detail in the present paper. One of these species, Sesarma windsor, lives in and near caves in the karst regions of central western Jamaica, whereas the second species, Metopaulias depressus, occurs sympatrically but with a wider range in western and central Jamaica in water-filled leaf axils of bromeliads. Even if these species are placed in separate genera, they are extant representatives of the same adaptive radiation that resulted in at least ten Jamaican endemic crab species thriving in different land-locked habitats. Consequently, larval morphologies of the two species are very similar, but conspicuously different from the developmental patterns in their marine relatives. Both species display an abbreviated mode of development, showing morphological reductions in some features and pre-displacement in the expression of several others. Both species pass through two non-feeding zoeal stages, after which S. windsor moults to a facultatively lecithotrophic megalopa. In contrast, M. depressus directly moults from the zoea II to a juvenile stage (also facultatively lecithotrophic) that shows a mixture of juvenile and vestigial larval characters, such as a partly folded pleon, but no longer larval traits such as natatory pleopods. This represents the first record of larval development with no megalopal stage for Sesarmidae. A closely related species from mangroves in the Caribbean and northeastern South America, Sesarma curacaoense, shows a reduction in larval development, but with different morphological characteristics. We here discuss whether this could be a shared ontogenetic character or the consequence of convergent evolution.

The harpacticoid copepod Tisbe biminiensis has been tested as live prey in marine crustacean and fish larviculture. The aim of the present study was to characterize the proteinases in the crude extract of T. biminiensis. Trypsin activity was assayed in the crude extract prepared by the homogenization of specimens reared under controlled laboratory conditions and fed on diatoms and commercial fish food. The physical-chemical and kinectics parameters were determined using BApNA as substrate. Optimal pH and temperature were 9.0 and 55°C, respectively. This enzyme was thermostable until 50°C. Using BApNA as substrate, the Km was 0.59 mM and the proteolytic activity was strongly inhibited by specific trypsin inhibitors. However, the presence of other proteases was observed using substrate-SDS-PAGE. Eight caseinolytic bands were observed in the zymogram, four of them were not inhibited by classical mammalian trypsin inhibitors. Trypsin from T. biminiensis showed similar properties to those described for species used in commercial aquaculture. These results demonstrate that T. biminiensis may be a source of proteases, including trypsin-like enzymes.

Specimens of the deep-water macrourid Nezumia liolepis were caught during a survey of the effects of the oxygen minimum layer on the vertical distribution of crustaceans, polychaetes, and fishes in the Gulf of California. Two specimens were each carrying one parasitic copepod each, initially judged to be identical to Lophoura tetraloba in almost all respects. An additional specimen of N. liolepis carrying one copepod was collected in the San Pedro Channel between San Pedro and Santa Catalina Island (southern California), and another specimen of N. liolepis carrying another copepod, collected between Cabo Corrientes (Jalisco) and Manzanillo (Colima), Mexico, was found in the collection of the California Academy of Sciences. Detailed inspection revealed several important differences between L. tetraloba from the South China Sea and Tosa Bay (Japan), and the new material, which along with the different depth and distribution, support the hypothesis of a new sphyriid species, described here as L. brevicollum. Lophoura tetraloba and L. brevicollum can be separated by the length of the neck, the number of dorsal and ventral depressions of the genito-abdomen, the length of the egg sacs, and by the general shape of the posterior processes. Finally, a new record and a new host for L. unilobulata, as well as some comments on the systematic position of Driocephalus are given.

A new genus and two new species of protosquillid mantis shrimp are described from the western Pacific. The new genus, Rayellus, is the sixth to be recognized in Protosquillidae and is unique in having the telson margins fully lined with soft, spine-like papillae.

Individuals of the non-native titan acorn barnacle, Megabalanus coccopoma, have been documented at several locations in the southeastern United States in the past eight years, but little work has been done on the basic biology of M. coccopoma in U.S. waters, nor has anyone documented active settlement in local areas. We collected recently-settled M. coccopoma spat at sites within the main channel and some of the adjacent feeder creeks of the Intracoastal Waterway of northeastern Florida to compare spat abundance over time, between channel and creek environments, and among sites. Spat were present almost exclusively between April and July with most settlement occurring relatively close to either St. Augustine Inlet or Matanzas Inlet. No spat were observed at any of the feeder creek collection sites; the lower salinity there may be intolerable to M. coccopoma larvae.