Description of the First Zoea of the Cavernicolous Crab Karstama boholano (Ng, 2002) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Sesarmidae) from Taiwan, with Notes on Ecology.

This study presents a rare sesarmid cavernicolous crab, Karstama boholano (Ng, 2002), from Taiwan. This genus and species are both new to Taiwan. We describe the diagnostic characteristics of the Taiwanese specimen and provide illustrations of the adult and first zoea, as well as photographs of an adult in its natural habitat. The identity was confirmed by the COI gene sequence and morphological data. In addition, the zoeal morphology and breeding ecology of the genus Karstama Davie and Ng, 2007 are reported for the first time.

On Three Species of Reef-dwelling Pilumnid Crabs from Taiwan, with Notes on Heteropilumnus De Man, 1895 (Crustacea: Brachyura).

Peter K.L. Ng, Chia-Wei Lin, and Ping-Ho Ho (2018) Three species of reef-dwelling pilumnid crabs are recorded for the first time from Taiwan: Heteropilumnus decharmoyi (Bouvier, 1915), Heteropilumnus satriai Yeo, Rahayu and Ng, 2004, and Viaderiana sentus Ng, Dai and Yang, 1997. Heteropilumnus decharmoyi was previously assigned to Pseudolitochira Ward, 1942, but its carapace and epistomal characters indicate that the species should be referred to as Heteropilumnus De Man, 1895, instead. Heteropilumnus satriai and Viaderiana sentus were described from the South China Sea and both are now recorded from Taiwan. Heteropilumnus satriai is redescribed and refigured because the type specimen was a male that had been parasitised by a rhizocephalan and had anomalous features.

The impact of two oil spill events on the water quality along coastal area of Kenting National Park, southern Taiwan.

In 2009, the container ship Colombo Queen and the oil tanker W-O BUDMO grounded off Jialeshui and Houwan, respectively, in southern Taiwan. Water quality was monitored at each site to evaluate the environmental impact caused by the resulting oil spills. The results show that the PAHs, turbidity, and other nutrients increased shortly after oil spill, however levels of these parameters eventually returned to baseline levels. On the other hand, DO saturation, pH and chl. a decreased initially, reached maxima after 10days, and returned to the baseline levels after 14days. The chl. a concentration, pH and DO saturation fluctuated in a similar pattern at both sites during the oil spills, likely driven by algal blooms. In this study, we documented a full environmental recovery at coastal areas before, during and after the oil spills.

DNA barcoding reveals that the common cupped oyster in Taiwan is the Portuguese oyster Crassostrea angulata (Ostreoida; Ostreidae), not C. gigas.

The Pacific cupped oyster, Crassostrea gigas, is one of the major aquacultural shellfish species that has been introduced to Europe and America from its native source in the West Pacific. In Taiwan, the cultivated cupped oysters along the west coast have been identified as C. gigas for over centuries; however, several molecular phylogenetic studies have cast doubt upon the existence of this species in Taiwan and adjacent waters. Indeed, our analyses of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) sequences from 313 Crassostrea collected from 12 locations along Taiwanese and southern Chinese coastlines confirm that all samples were the Portuguese oyster, C. angulata, rather than C. gigas. Multiple lines of evidence, including haplotypic and nucleotide diversity of the COI gene, demographic history, and population genetics, suggest that Taiwanese C. angulata is unique, probably experienced a sudden population expansion after the Last Glacial Maxima around 20,000 years ago, and has a significantly limited genetic connectivity across the Taiwan Strait. Our study applies an extended sampling and DNA barcoding to confirm the absence of C. gigas in natural and cultivated populations in Taiwan and southern China, where we only found C. angulata. We highlight the importance of conserving the gene pool of the C. angulata population in Taiwan, particularly considering the current threats by large-scale environmental disturbances such as marine pollution, habitat destruction, and climate change.

Species diversity of fiddler crabs, genus Uca Leach, 1814 (Crustacea: Ocypodidae), from Taiwan and adjacent islands, with notes on the Japanese species.

The fiddler crabs, genus Uca Leach, 1814 (Decapoda, Ocypodidae) of Taiwan, including the offshore islands of Penghu (Pescadores), Kinmen (Quemoy), Matsu (Matzu), and Dongsha (Pratas), are revised, with the recognition of five subgenera and 15 species, viz. Uca (Austruca) Bott, 1973: U. lactea (De Haan, 1835), U. perplexa (H. Milne Edwards, 1837), U. triangularis (A. Milne-Edwards, 1873); U. (Gelasimus) Latreille, 1817: U. borealis Crane, 1975, U. jocelynae Shih, Naruse & Ng, 2010, U. tetragonon (Herbst, 1790), U. vocans (Linnaeus, 1758); U. (Paraleptuca) Bott, 1973: U. crassipes (White, 1847), U. splendida (Stimpson, 1858); U. (Tubuca) Bott, 1973: U. acuta (Stimpson 1858), U. arcuata (De Haan, 1835), U. coarctata (H. Milne Edwards, 1852), U. dussumieri (H. Milne Edwards, 1852), U. paradussumieri (Bott, 1973); and U. (Xeruca) Shih, 2015: U. formosensis Rathbun, 1921. Among them, U. acuta, U. paradussumieri, and U. vocans are confirmed to be distributed in Taiwan. Uca formosensis is endemic to Taiwan. The Uca species of the main islands of Japan are also listed. Four species (U. arcuata, U. lactea, U. crassipes and U. borealis) are known, but the recent additional records of U. perplexa and U. vocans need further confirmation. Except U. acuta, U. borealis, U. formosensis, U. lactea, and U. paradussumieri, other 10 Taiwanese species can be found from the Ryukyus too. Only one endemic species, U. boninensis, is reported from the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands. A key to the 18 species of Uca found in East Asia is also provided in this study.

Leucosiid crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura) from Taiwan, with three new records.

Four leucosiid species from Taiwan are presented. Ebalia nudipes Sakai, 1963, with its male first gonopod figured for the first time. Galilia petricola Komai & Tsuchida, 2014, is recorded on the basis of a larger specimen, and distinguishing features with its only congener, G. narusei Ng & Richer de Forges, 2007, reappraised. Nursia rhomboidalis (Miers, 1879), previously known only from Japan, Korea, and mainland China, is also recorded from Taiwan. Myra fugax (Fabricius, 1798) is now formally recorded from Taiwan, and female characters identified to help separate the three known Taiwanese species of Myra.

Recurrent disturbances and the degradation of hard coral communities in Taiwan.

Recurrent disturbances can have a critical effect on the structure and function of coral reef communities. In this study, long-term changes were examined in the hard coral community at Wanlitung, in southern Taiwan, between 1985 and 2010. In this 26 year interval, the reef has experienced repeated disturbances that include six typhoons and two coral-bleaching events. The frequency of disturbance has meant that species susceptible to disturbance, such as those in the genus Acropora and Montipora have almost disappeared from the reef. Indeed, almost all hard coral species have declined in abundance, with the result that total hard coral cover in 2010 (17.7%) was less than half what it was in 1985 (47.5%). In addition, macro-algal cover has increased from 11.3% in 2003 to 28.5% in 2010. The frequency of disturbance combined with possible chronic influence of a growing human population mean that a diverse reef assemblage is unlikely to persist on this reef into the future.

Identification of tetrodotoxin in a marine gastropod (Nassarius glans) responsible for human morbidity and mortality in Taiwan.

The toxicity of the gastropod Nassarius glans was investigated. This gastropod was implicated in an incident of food paralytic poisoning on Tungsa Island, Taiwan, in April 2004. Six victims consumed both digestive glands and muscle. These tissues contained high concentrations of toxin; their highest toxicity scores were 2,048 and 2,992 MU/g, respectively, based on the tetrodotoxin (TTX) bioassay. The toxin was purified from these gastropods and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography, which revealed TTX and related compounds 4-epi TTX and anhydro-TTX; paralytic shellfish poisons were not found. The urine and blood samples from patients were cleansed using a C18 Sep-Pak cartridge column and 3,000 molecular weight cutoff Ultrafree microcentrifuge filters, and the eluate was filtered and analyzed by liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. The detection limit for TTX was 1 ng/ml. The standard curves were linear in the range 30 to 600 ng/ml for urine and 1 to 30 ng/ml for blood. TTX was detected in all urine samples but in only three of four blood samples tested. Thus, the causative agent of gastropod food poisoning was identified as TTX.