Nebalia kocatasi Moreira, Koçak and Katagan, 2007

Nebalia kocatasi Moreira, Koçak and Katagan, 2007 View in CoL

Material examined. Ireland. 40♀, 16♂, 52juveniles, Finavarra, Co. Clare, 53°9.270’N 009°7.059’W, intertidal, semi-exposed shingle, stone and sand beach, 18.ix.2009 ( NMINH: 2016.1.1, 3♂, 5♀) GoogleMaps . 5♀, 1♂, Corranroo, Co. Clare, 53°9.033’N 009°0.509’W, intertidal sheltered rocky shore with a muddy substrate, 10.x.2009 GoogleMaps . 3♀♀, 22♀, 10♂, 19 juveniles, Carna, Co. Galway, 53°18.712’N 009°51.535’W, intertidal, exposed rocky shore with a sandy substrate, 21.ix.2009 GoogleMaps . 1♀, Aran Island, Co. Donegal, 54°58.2359’N 008°31.0488’W, 5.7 m, sandy gravel, 1.ix.2010 GoogleMaps . 7♀, 3♂, 17 juveniles, Kilkieran Bay, Co. Galway, 53°17.508’N 009°36.3858’W, 4 m, gravelly muddy sand, 17.x.2010 GoogleMaps . 22♂, 132♀, 43 juveniles, Kingstown Bay, Co. Galway, 53°30.905’N 10°7.6979’W, 10 m, gravelly muddy sand, 16.x.2010 GoogleMaps . 6♂, 2♀, 30 juveniles, Kingstown Bay, Co. Galway, 53°30.93’N 10°7.8359’W, 6 m, muddy sandy gravel, 16.x.2010 GoogleMaps . 4♀, Valentia Island, Co. Kerry, 51°53.418’N 10°21.5879’W, 5 m, muddy sandy gravel, 16.ix.2010 GoogleMaps . 1♀, Valentia Island, Co. Kerry, 51°53.2439’N 10°21.948’W, 6 m, maërl, 16.ix.2010 GoogleMaps . 3♂, 18♀, 28 juveniles, Deenish, Kenmare Bay, Co. Cork, at the edge of a stocked salmon farm located at 51°44.364’N 10°12.8189’W, 23.2 m, medium sand with mussel shell, signs of low oxygen/organic enrichment ( Beggiatoa spp. patches), 13.ix.2012 ( NMINH: 2016.1.2, 3♂, 1♀, 4 juveniles; JM:2014, 2♂, 5♀, 4 juveniles) GoogleMaps . 1 ♂, 3♀, 2 juveniles, Inishfanard, Kenmare Bay, Co. Cork, at the edge of a stocked salmon farm at 51°42.702’N 10°0.4408’W, 20– 23 m, muddy sand with shell debris, signs of signs of low oxygen/organic enrichment ( Beggiatoa spp. patches), 13.ix.2012 ( JM:2014, 1♂, 1♀, 2 juveniles) GoogleMaps . 16♂, 39♀, 59 juveniles, Ahabeg , Bantry Bay Co. Cork, at edge of stocked salmon farm cage located at 51°39.7302’N 009°45.1727’W, 20–23.4 m, mud with shell fragments, 4.ix.2012 ( JM:2014, 11♂, 3♀, 3 juveniles) GoogleMaps . 46♂, 31♀, 34 juveniles, Inishdoonver, Clew Bay, Co. Mayo, at edge of a stocked salmon farm, 53°52.7711’N 009°39.052’W, 21.7 m, cobbles with shell and stone gravel and patches of sand, 20.vii.2012 ( JM:2014, 45♂, 30♀, 31 juveniles) GoogleMaps . 6♂, 10♀, 16 juveniles, Glinsk, Mulroy Bay, Co. Donegal, at edge of a stocked salmon farm located at 55°12.0912’N 007°46.9314’W, 8–13.1 m, medium sand with shell gravel, signs of signs of low oxygen/organic enrichment (small patches of Beggiatoa spp. ), 14.viii.2013 ( JM:2014, 2♂, 4♀, 3 juveniles) GoogleMaps . 1♀, Glinsk, Mulroy Bay, Co. Donegal, 150 m from edge of stocked salmon farm, 55°12.1368’N 007°47.06819’W, 8–13.1 m, medium sand with live and dead maërl and shell debris, 14.viii.2013 ( JM:2014, 1♀) GoogleMaps . 10♀, 6 juveniles, Millstone, Mulroy Bay, Co. Donegal, at the edge of a stocked salmon farm, 55°11.446’N 007°45.4068’W, 5–12.9 m, medium sand with a shell gravel fraction and maërl debris, 15.viii.2012 ( JM:2014, 1♀) GoogleMaps . 4♂, 7♀, Cranford, Mulroy Bay, Co. Donegal, near edge of a stocked salmon farm, 55°10.4491’N 007°42.1786’W, 5–12.9 m, fine/medium sand with silt and shell debris, sparse patches of bacterial mats ( Beggiatoa spp. )and feed from salmon farm, 14.viii.2012 ( JM:2014, 2♂, 2♀) GoogleMaps . Northern Ireland. 2 specimens, Strangford Lough , 54°27.000’N 005°36.000’ W, 19.7 m, mud with shell, 30.v.2012 GoogleMaps . 1 specimen, Strangford Lough , 54°25.000’N 005°37.480’W, 17.1 m, shelly mud, 30.v.2012 ( OUMNH. ZC.2016-01- 008, 1 specimen) GoogleMaps . 2 specimens, Strangford Lough , 54°24.500’N 005°35.400’W, 60.1 m, muddy sand with shell, 31.v.2012 GoogleMaps . 1 specimen, Strangford Lough , 54°27.730’N 005°36.640’W, 18.8 m, mud with shell, 18.vi.2013 GoogleMaps . England. 1 specimen, Falmouth , Cornwall, 50°93.770’N 005°39.100’W, 4.4m,clean broken shells/ maërl, 01.v.2013 . Scotland. 9 specimens, Sian Bay, Loch Eriboll, Highlands , 58°31.325’N 004°40.011’W, 20.1 m, sand with shell, 05.xi.2010 ( OUMNH. ZC.2016-01- 007, 9 specimens) GoogleMaps . 2 specimens, Sian Bay, Loch Eriboll, Highlands , 58°31.325’N 004°40.011’W, 20.1 m, sand with shell, 05.xi.2010 GoogleMaps . 1 specimen, south-west Scotland , 55°15.901’N 004°51.197’W, 1.9 m, poorly sorted very coarse sand, 11.vii.2015 GoogleMaps . 5 specimens, south-west Scotland , 55°16.139’N 004°51.483’W, 11.6 m, poorly sorted very fine gravel, 11.vii.2015 GoogleMaps . 5 specimens, North Sandwick, Yell , Shetland, 60°39.122’N 000°59.450’W, 15 m, 2003 GoogleMaps .

British and Irish Distribution. North, west and south-west of Ireland (Co. Donegal, Co. Mayo, Co. Galway, Co. Kerry, Co. Cork), Cornwall, western and northern Scotland, Shetland ( Fig. 1B View Figure 1 ).

Distribution beyond the study area. Izmir Bay, Turkey (type locality). Cyprus and the Aegean Sea to the western Iberian Peninsula and the Canary Islands (Moreira et al., 2007; Koçak et al., 2011). Based on the previously known distribution and the present records it seems likely that this species is also present along the west coast of France and southern North Sea coasts but this requires confirmation.

Ecology. Gravel to fine sand with mats of Zostera marina , at depths of 4.5–13.8 m, % TOM 1.2–4.9 ( Moreira et al., 2009a). Cobbles and gravel to mud, at depths of 4–23.2 m, % TOM 0.69–18.93 (present study). Intertidal on semi-exposed and sheltered rocky shores. The study of their distribution relative to aquaculture cages indicates that this species is most abundant at the edges of the cages as distinct from directly beneath them or further out.

Remarks. The specimens examined agree closely with the description and figures given by Moreira et al. (2007). A comparison of diagnostic characters of Mediterranean species of Nebalia by Koçak and Moreira (2015) highlights useful differences between N. kocatasi and other species, in particular the lateral armature of the 3rd article of the antenna ( N. kocatasi has 3 thin setae and 3 spine-like setae with the proximal spine-like seta smallest ( Fig. 5A View Figure 5 ). Nebalia kocatasi is the only species that has been recorded in this study from the intertidal zone. This likely reflects the sampling methodology rather than true habitat preferences. Numerous specimens of N. kocatasi from Kenmare, Co. Kerry, and Finavarra, Co. Clare as well as two specimens from Shetland, had epibionts on the pleonites and on the carapace ( Fig. 6 View Figure 6 ). These had a total length of 306~392 µm, capsule length of 219~274 µm and stalk length of 86~141 µm (n=15). A study of these by Gregorio Fernandez-Leborans (Universidad Complutense, Madrid) could not determine their identity but concluded they were most likely protozoans. Over 40 species of chonotrich ciliates are known from Nebaliaceans ( Fernandez-Leborans, 2001).