While mobbing, individuals utter distinctive calls and perform visual threatening displays. Like any other antipredatory strategies, it involves some costs (time, energy, injuries, and even death). Therefore, mobbing would be expected to vary depending on the perceived magnitude of the predation risk. Moreover, harassment behavior can also serve as a demonstration of social status and to teach juveniles to recognize predators and related behaviors. Therefore, mobbing could also persist even when predation risk is particularly low. To test our hypotheses, we used tawny owl playbacks and a taxidermy mount to elicit the mobbing response in azure-winged magpies throughout the daylight period. To classify mobbing intensity, we created five categories depending on the proximity to the owl model at which the mobbing was performed. The results revealed that mobbing behavior in azure-winged magpies was more intense where predation risk was higher: in the most suitable habitat for the tawny owl, the forest, although considerable levels of mobbing were found in the dehesa and the ecotone, which indicate that mobbing has different purposes. However, we did not find statistically significant differences in mobbing intensity depending on the time of the day. We could not show a daily adjustment of antipredator response, but magpies modulated mobbing depending on the perceived risk linked to the habitat.

Macrophthalmus banzai is an intertidal crab species of Macrophthalmidae inhabiting muddy tidal flats in the northwestern Pacific. A previous study on the population genetic structure of Japanese M. banzai based on the mitochondrial COI gene sequences revealed the presence of two genetically distinguished groups, i.e., the northern group (Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu Islands) and the southern group (the Ryukyu Islands). In the present study, we newly determined the COI gene sequences of M. banzai collected from Taiwan and conducted population genetic analyses of these sequences together with Japanese sequences obtained from GenBank to reveal the genetic relationship of this species between Japan and Taiwan. The SAMOVA and pairwise ΦST analysis showed that the Taiwan population is more closely related to the northern group than the southern group. This indicates that the populations of M. banzai are not genetically differentiated by latitude but probably by the pathway of the Kuroshio Current, resulting in the isolation of the population in the Ryukyu Islands. Such a pattern is consistent with the population genetic structure of the fiddler crab Tubuca arcuata shown by a previous study, whereas the pattern differs from those of other intertidal invertebrates. The difference in the larval durations may have influenced the difference in population genetic structures among species. The present study provides a further case of the genetic structure of intertidal species that are not simply regulated by geographic distances.

Captive propagation and reintroduction are the major steps in the ex-situ conservation of locally extirpated endangered species in a historical region. In a species restoration project conducted in South Korea, we examined temporal changes in demographics and genetic diversity of oriental storks (Ciconia boyciana). Demographic and genetic data from 1996–2018 were analyzed for 80% of all captive and recently reintroduced individuals. Founder establishment and pair formation induced increases in population size and genetic diversity during the early stage of captive propagation. The degree of genetic diversity was found to become saturated and stable with long-term captive propagation. However, this might be a concern for future genetic diversity of both captive and reintroduced populations simultaneously due to the extraction of captive populations at the early stage of reintroduction. Our findings suggest that periodic evaluation of genetic diversity and selection for releasing individuals, using effective genetic markers, would assist in balancing the genetic diversity of the captive and reintroduced oriental storks at the early stage of reintroduction.

The fecal pellets of Marphysa sp. E sensu Abe et al. (2019) (Annelida, Eunicidae) living in the Yoro tidal flat (Ichihara, Chiba, Japan) contain high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and the concentrations rapidly decrease over time. To investigate the origin of the high-concentration PAHs in the fecal pellets and food sources of the worms, the PAH concentrations, carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N), total organic carbon, and total nitrogen for two types of sediment (sands and reduced muds), fecal pellets, and the body of the worms were determined. The PAH concentrations and chemical properties of the fecal pellets were similar to those of the reduced muds (20–30 cm sediment depth). The δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, and C/N values of reduced muds were the same as the typical values of terrestrial C3 plants, suggesting that reduced muds were derived from terrestrial plants. These data indicated that the worms selectively take up reduced muds containing high levels of PAHs. The δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values of the worm bodies indicated that the worms did not use the organic carbon derived from terrestrial C3 plants as primary nutrition. Taking into consideration their selective uptake of reduced muds, excretion, and subsequent rapid decrease of PAHs in the fecal pellets, the worms could contribute to the remediation of chemical pollutants in the tidal flat sediments.

The circadian system of many multicellular organisms consists of a hierarchical structure of multiple clocks, including central and peripheral clocks. The temporal structure has been analyzed in terms of central-to-peripheral regulation but rarely from the opposite perspective. In this study, the potential control of the central clock in the optic lobe by the peripheral clock in the compound eye was investigated in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus. The locomotor activity rhythm of crickets in which one of the two bilateral optic lobe clocks was surgically removed was tested in constant darkness at three environmental temperatures (20°C, 25°C, and 30°C) and compared with that of crickets in which the optic nerve connecting between the compound eye and optic lobe of the intact side was also severed. When the optic nerve was severed at 30°C, the free-running period and its stability were significantly increased and decreased, respectively, compared to those of intact and sham-operated crickets, whereas at 20°C, only the free-running period was significantly lengthened, and at 25°C, no significant changes were observed in these parameters. At 30°C, the changes in these two parameters were reproduced when the anterior half of the compound eye was removed, while the removal of the posterior half induced period lengthening only. Together with previous data, these results suggest that the free-running period and stability of the locomotor rhythm are regulated through reciprocal coupling between the clocks in the compound eye and the optic lobe.

A new fish leech, Branchellion brevicaudatae sp. n., is described based on specimens parasitizing the gills of the short-tail stingray, Bathytoshia brevicaudata (Hutton, 1875), collected from Japanese waters. The new species can be distinguished from other congeners by having: i) pulsating vesicles emerging from posterior base of branchiae, one pair per somite; ii) dorsal white spots, not arranged in longitudinal row; and iii) blackish body. A phylogenetic tree based on partial sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene from the new species and other piscicolid worms showed that the new species is sister to Branchellion torpedinis Savigny, 1822. This is the first record of Branchellion Savigny, 1822 from Japanese waters.

Eunice aphroditois (Pallas, 1788) is a large polychaete worm (up to 3 m in length) and the type species of the genus. In Japan, a similar but potentially different species, Eunice cf. aphroditois, is distributed mainly in the rocky shores of the temperate and warm Pacific coasts. Juveniles and adults were suggested to be distinguished by their body color. The juvenile form was previously regarded as distinct species, Eunice flavopicta Izuka, 1912 and Eunice ovalifera Fauvel, 1936, although they are now considered synonymous with E. aphroditois. In this study, we revisited the validity of the present taxonomy based on morphological observations including SEM and microCT, and three molecular markers (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I [COI], 16S rRNA, and histone H3 genes) and investigated the phylogenetic position of E. cf. aphroditois in the family Eunicidae using the combined dataset of three genes (COI + 16S rRNA + 18S rRNA). The adult and juvenile forms were different in body size, color, the distribution of the branchiae and subacicular hooks, and maxillae shape, but not in other characteristics. One individual showed an intermediate body color between the two forms. The adult and juvenile forms shared major haplotypes and the maximum K2P genetic distance of COI was 1.7%, which can be considered within intraspecific variation. In the phylogenetic tree based on the combined gene dataset, E. cf. aphroditois was closely related to Eunice roussaei Quatrefages, 1866 and Eunice cf. violaceomaculata Ehlers, 1887, which are large species from the Mediterranean Sea and the Caribbean Sea, respectively.

The scleractinian coral genus Cyphastrea is widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific region and is common from the subtropical to the warm-temperate regions in Japan. Three new species in this genus have recently been reported from south-eastern Australia or the Red Sea. However, taxonomic and species diversity have been little studied so far in Japan. In this study, we analyzed 112 specimens of Cyphastrea collected from the subtropical to the warm-temperate regions in Japan to clarify the species diversity in the country. This analysis was based on skeletal morphological and molecular analyses using three genetic markers of the nuclear 28S rDNA, histone H3 gene, and the mitochondrial noncoding intergenic region between COI and tRNAmet. The molecular phylogenetic trees showed that our specimens are separated mainly into four clades. Considering the morphological data with the molecular phylogenetic relationships, we confirmed a total of nine species, including two species, C. magna and C. salae, recorded for the first time in Japan. Although eight out of nine species were genetically included within Cyphastrea, one species, C. agassizi, was genetically distant from all other species and was closely related to the genus Leptastrea, suggesting the return of this species to the genus to which it was originally ascribed. Two newly recorded species were reciprocally monophyletic, while the other six species (excluding C. agassizi) clustered in two clades without forming species-specific lineages, including three polyphyletic species. Thus, the species boundary between species in Cyphastrea remains unclear in most species using these three sequenced loci.