Rostrum

Abstract: The present study, based on a faunistic and ecological survey of caridean shrimps from Dong’ao Island, Guangdong Province, expands the knowledge of morphology, colouration, and distribution of three species, two of which belong to genus Caridina and one belong to genus Marcrobrachium. Caridina zhujiangensis , new species is distinguished from the closely related species C . typus H. Miline Edwars,1837 by shorter rostrum and with only one ventral margin teeth, the shape of the endopod of the first male pleopod and the appendix interna arising from distal 1/3 of endopod. Macrobrachium dongaoensis , new species, can be distinguished from its congeners M . inflatum Liang & Yan, 1985 by a combination of characters which includes short rostrum, the subequal male second pereiopods, the non–inflated palm, and the longer merus. A diagnosis of three speciesmore and full description of two new species are presented.

Abstract: Vertical aerial photographs were collected of gray whales migrating along the California Coast between 1994 and 1998 to readdre ss some published findings on the biology and life history of this population based on examination of specimens. For each whale, an att empt was made to measure standard total length, the width of the whale at its widest point, the distance from the tip of the rostrum to the widest point, and the width of the flukes. For southbound gray whales, early migrants were longer on average and more likely to be parturient than those migrating later. Near-term pregnant females were wider relative to their length than other southbound gray whales. This differe nce was easily detected by visual inspection of the images and through statistical evaluation of length and width data. There was 100% agreement between identification of parturient females based on linear regression analysis of length and width and discriminate analysis of all measurements. Based on the proportion of parturient females to those with calves during sampling of southbound whales, the medi an calving date was estimated to be 13 January. Southbound calves averaged 4.6m in length; those photographed northbound in late A pril, at an age of about three months, averaged 7.1m. Average length for yearlings, based on combined southbound and northbound data, wa s 8.5m. Residuals from a regression of width on length were compared, and significant changes in the relationship were detected which w ere consistent with changes in nutritive condition or fatness described from examination of whales taken along the California Coast between 1959 and 1969 (Rice and Wolman, 1971). Parturient females were the widest relative to their length and northbound cows with cal ves were the narrowest in the sample. The relationship between length and width for migrating gray whales that were not parturient or as sociated with a calf, showed that southbound gray whales were significantly wider than northbound whales photographed approximately 60 d ays later. These results indicate that the predictable but relatively small changes in condition or fatness of gray whales associat ed with fasting during their winter migration can be reliably detected in measurements from vertical aerial photographs.