No abstract

Understanding dispersal patterns, population structure and connectivity among populations is helpful in the management and conservation of threatened species. Molecular markers are useful tools as indirect estimators of these characteristics. In this study, we assess the population genetic structure of the orange coral Astroides calycularis in the Alboran Sea at local and regional scale, and at three localities outside of this basin. Bayesian clustering methods, traditional F-statistics and D(est) statistics were used to determine the patterns of genetic structure. Likelihood and coalescence approaches were used to infer migration patterns and effective population sizes. The results obtained reveal a high level of connectivity among localities separated by as much as 1 km and moderate levels of genetic differentiation among more distant localities, somewhat corresponding with a stepping-stone model of gene flow and connectivity. These data suggest that connectivity among populations of this coral is mainly driven by the biology of the species, with low dispersal abilities; in addition, hydrodynamic processes, oceanographic fronts and the distribution of rocky substrate along the coastline may influence larval dispersal.

This article documents the addition of 238 microsatellite marker loci and 72 pairs of Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) sequencing primers to the Molecular Ecology Resources Database. Loci were developed for the following species: Adelges tsugae, Artemisia tridentata, Astroides calycularis, Azorella selago, Botryllus schlosseri, Botrylloides violaceus, Cardiocrinum cordatum var. glehnii, Campylopterus curvipennis, Colocasia esculenta, Cynomys ludovicianus, Cynomys leucurus, Cynomys gunnisoni, Epinephelus coioides, Eunicella singularis, Gammarus pulex, Homoeosoma nebulella, Hyla squirella, Lateolabrax japonicus, Mastomys erythroleucus, Pararge aegeria, Pardosa sierra, Phoenicopterus ruber ruber and Silene latifolia. These loci were cross-tested on the following species: Adelges abietis, Adelges cooleyi, Adelges piceae, Pineus pini, Pineus strobi, Tubastrea micrantha, three other Tubastrea species, Botrylloides fuscus, Botrylloides simodensis, Campylopterus hemileucurus, Campylopterus rufus, Campylopterus largipennis, Campylopterus villaviscensio, Phaethornis longuemareus, Florisuga mellivora, Lampornis amethystinus, Amazilia cyanocephala, Archilochus colubris, Epinephelus lanceolatus, Epinephelus fuscoguttatus, Symbiodinium temperate-A clade, Gammarus fossarum, Gammarus roeselii, Dikerogammarus villosus and Limnomysis benedeni. This article also documents the addition of 72 sequencing primer pairs and 52 allele specific primers for Neophocaena phocaenoides.

The dinoflagellate family Symbiodiniaceae comprises numerous genera and species with large differences in diversity, ecology, and geographic distribution. An evolutionarily divergent lineage common in temperate symbiotic cnidarians and designated in the literature by several informal names including "temperate-A", AI, Phylotype A´ (A-prime), and "Mediterranean A", is here assigned to the genus Philozoon. This genus was proposed by Geddes (1882) in one of the earliest papers that recognized "yellow cells" as distinct biological entities separate from their animal and protist hosts. Using phylogenetic data from nuclear (rDNA), chloroplast (cp23S) and mitochondrial genes (cob and cox1), as well as morphology (cell size), ecological traits (host affinity) and geographic distributions, we emend the genus Philozoon Geddes and two of its species, P. medusarum and P. actiniarum, and describe six new species. Each symbiont species exhibits high host fidelity for particular species of sea anemone, soft coral, stony coral, and a rhizostome jellyfish. Philozoon is most closely related to Symbiodinium (formerly Clade A), but, unlike its tropical counterpart, occurs in hosts in shallow temperate marine habitats from Northern and Southern Hemispheres including the Mediterranean Sea, northeastern Atlantic Ocean, eastern Australia, New Zealand and Chile. The existence of a species-diverse lineage adapted to cnidarian hosts living in high latitude habitats with inherently wide fluctuations in temperature calls further attention to the ecological and biogeographic reach of the Symbiodiniaceae.

Cladocora caespitosa is the only Mediterranean scleractinian nearly equivalent to a tropical reef builder coral. While this species is part of the recent fossil history of the Mediterranean Sea, it is currently considered endangered due to its decline during the past decades. Environmental factors affecting the distribution and persistence of extensive bank reefs of this endemic species across its whole geographic range are poorly understood. In the present study, we examined the relationship between environmental parameters and the occurrence of C. caespitosa and that of its main types of assemblages using Ecological Niche Modelling (ENM) and ordination analysis. We predicted other suitable areas for the occurrence of the species, and assessed the coverage of the Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) for this coral. We found that the concentration of phosphate and wave height could be relevant factors affecting both the occurrence of this versatile species and the distribution of its extensive bioconstructions in the Mediterranean Sea. A set of factors (diffuse attenuation coefficient, calcite and nitrate concentrations, mean wave height, sea surface temperature, and shape of the coast) are likely acting as environmental barriers preventing the species to expand its distribution to the Atlantic Ocean and the Black Sea. Departures and uncertainties of our large-scale statistical results from previous physiological and ecological studies are also discussed under an integrative perspective. This study reveals that Mediterranean MPAs encompass 8 out of the 10 banks and 16 out of the 21 beds. Preservation of water clarity by avoiding phosphate discharges could improve the protection of this emblematic species.