Previous analyses of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) and γ‐proteobacterial endosymbiont diversity have suggested that the marine bryozoan Bugula neritina is a complex of three cryptic species, namely Types S, D and N. Types D and N were previously reported to have restricted distributions along California (western USA) and Delaware and Connecticut (eastern USA), respectively, whereas Type S is considered widespread in tropical, subtropical and temperate regions due to anthropogenic transport. Here, Bayesian species delimitation analysis of a data set composed of two mitochondrial (COI and large ribosomal RNA subunit [16S]) and two nuclear genes (dynein light chain roadblock type‐2 protein [DYN] and voltage‐dependent anion‐selective channel protein [VDAC]) demonstrated that Types S, D and N correspond to three biological species. This finding was significantly supported, in spite of the combinations of priors applied for ancestral population size and root age. Furthermore, COI sequences were used to assess the introduction patterns of the cosmopolitan Type S species. Two COI haplotypes of Type S (S1a and S1d) were found occurring at a global scale. Mantel tests showed correlation between these haplotypes and local sea surface temperature tolerance. Accordingly, the distributions of Type S haplotypes may reflect intraspecific temperature tolerance variation, in addition to the role of introduction vectors. Finally, we show that the Type N may also have been introduced widely, as this species was found for the first time in Central California and north‐eastern Australia.

Background Bugula is a speciose genus of marine bryozoans, represented by both endemic and cosmopolitan species distributed in tropical and temperate waters and important to marine biologists because of the occurrence of many species in harbor and fouling communities, therefore as potential invaders. The southeastern Brazilian coast in the southern Atlantic hosts the highest known diversity of the genus, a status intimately associated with the intensity of collecting efforts.MethodologyMorphological data based on the examination of living specimens, scanning electron and light microscopic images, and morphometric analyses were used to assess the diversity of Bugula along the coastal areas of southern, northeastern, and southeastern Brazil. In this study, morphological species boundaries were based mainly on avicularian characters. For two morphologically very similar species, boundaries are partially supported by 16 S rDNA molecular data.ResultsNine species are newly described from Brazil, as follows: Bugula bowiei n. sp. ( = Bugula turrita sensu Marcus, 1937) from the southern, northeastern, and southeastern coasts; Bugula foliolata n. sp. ( = Bugula flabellata sensu Marcus, 1938), Bugula guara n. sp., Bugula biota n. sp. and Bugula ingens n. sp from the southeastern coast; Bugula gnoma n. sp. and Bugula alba n. sp. from the northeastern coast; Bugula rochae n. sp. ( = Bugula uniserialis sensu Marcus, 1937) from the southern coast; and Bugula migottoi n. sp., from the southeastern and southern coasts.ConclusionThe results contribute to the morphological characterization and the knowledge of the species richness of the genus in the southwestern Atlantic (i.e., Brazil), through the description of new species in poorly sampled areas and also on the southeastern coast of that country. Additionally, the taxonomic status of the Brazilian specimens attributed to B. flabellata, B. turrita and B. uniserialis are clarified by detailed studies on zooidal and avicularia morphology.

Morphological and molecular analyses have proven to be complementary tools of taxonomic information for the redescription of the ctenostome bryozoans Amathia brasiliensis Busk, 1886 and Amathia distans Busk, 1886. The two species, originally described from material collected by the ‘Challenger’ expedition but synonymized by later authors, now have their status fixed by means of the selection of lectotypes, morphological observations and analyses of DNA sequences described here. The morphological characters allowing the identification of living and/or preserved specimens are (1) A. brasiliensis: whitish-pale pigment spots in the frontal surface of stolons and zooids, and a wide stolon with biserial zooid clusters growing in clockwise and anti-clockwise spirals along it, the spirality direction being maintained from maternal to daughter stolons; and (2) A. distans: bright yellow pigment spots in stolonal and zooidal surfaces including lophophores, and a slender stolon, thickly cuticularized, with biserial zooid clusters growing in clockwise and anti-clockwise spirals along it and the spirality direction not maintained from maternal to daughter stolons. Pairwise comparisons of DNA sequences of the mitochondrial genes cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and large ribosomal RNA subunit revealed deep genetic divergence between A. brasiliensis and A. distans. Finally, analyses of those sequences within a Bayesian phylogenetic context recovered their genealogical species status.

Most species of bryozoans have short-lived larvae with limited dispersal potential, yet many of these species possess global distributions. In this study, we report the first occurrence from the western Atlantic Ocean of the widely distributed arborescent bryozoan Tricellaria inopinata d 'Hondt and Occhipinti-Ambrogi, 1985. This species was collected in Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, in September 2010. At that time, T. inopinata colonies had already formed dense conspecific aggregations at some collection sites, despite the presence of several other arborescent bryozoans. Sites were monitored throughout 2011 to track the success of this introduction, and to assess the reproductive timing of T. inopinata in Eel Pond. To determine the likelihood of T. inopinata persisting in Eel Pond and competing with previously established bryozoans, rates of metamorphic initiation, metamorphic completion, and overall offspring survivability were compared to one of the other dominant arborescent species. Finally, we provide taxonomic details to aid in identifying these animals, consider the potential mode of transport, and discuss the potential ecological implications resulting from this introduction.

Fehlauer-Ale, K.H. (2015). A phylogeny of Vesiculariidae (Bryozoa, Ctenostomata) supports synonymization of three genera and reveals possible cryptic diversity. -Zoologica Scripta, 44, 667-683. Compared to their calcified sister group, order Cheilostomata, uncalcified ctenostome bryozoans exhibit relatively simple and often inconsistent morphologies, making them particularly suitable candidates for the use of molecular tools to delimit species and examine their interrelationships. The family Vesiculariidae is composed of six genera, three of which, Zoobotryon, Avenella and Watersiana are monotypic, and one, Vesicularia, encompasses four species. The majority of vesiculariid diversity, however, is found in Amathia (39 species) and Bowerbankia (21 species). The respective monophyletic status for Amathia and Bowerbankia has recently been put into question by molecular evidence and is being further examined in this study. Multigene (ssrDNA, rrnL, cox1) phylogenetic analysis revealed that Bowerbankia is paraphyletic to the inclusion of Zoobotryon and Amathia, where the latter was resolved as non-monophyletic. Although Vesicularia also nested within this paraphyletic assemblage in some of the analyses, Bayesian topology testing did not support this result. Our results are discussed within the context of published morphological evidence and lead to the conclusion that Bowerbankia and Zoobotryon should be classified as junior subjective synonyms of Amathia. A revised nomenclature is provided. Furthermore, we examined genetic divergences between widely distributed supposed conspecific species and discovered possible cryptic diversity in the outgroup taxon Anguinella palmata and in Bowerbankia citrina, Amathia vidovici and Amathia crispa.