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Diversity
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Molecular Biodiversity of Marine Invertebrates
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Molecular Biodiversity of Marine Invertebrates

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Diversity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 April 2021) | Viewed by 18141

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Gert Wörheide

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
Interests: marine biodiversity; (phylo)genomics; molecular systematics; coral reefs; biomineralization

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Marine invertebrate species are numerous in the marine environment. They form hyperdiverse habitats, such as coral reefs, perform a multitude of interconnected ecological roles, and provide ecosystems services and livelihood to humans. Contrary to previous conceptions that the ocean has no “boundaries”, it has become clear in recent decades that the genetic and species diversity of marine invertebrates is often highly structured geographically. Understanding how this diversity is distributed in time and space and what the causes are for (often cryptic) speciation in the marine environment are necessary prerequisites for biodiversity conservation and management in times of rapidly changing marine ecosystems. The purpose of this Special Issue is to showcase recent advances in exploring the biodiversity of marine invertebrates from any habitat, longitude or latitude, using molecular tools such as DNA sequencing and/or genomics/transcriptomics, to further our understanding of the spatiotemporal dynamics of invertebrate species diversity in the world’s largest three-dimensional habitat, the ocean.

Prof. Dr. Gert Wörheide
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Molecular biodiversity
  • Invertebrates
  • Marine
  • Species
  • Intra-specific genetic variation
  • Phylogeography
  • Population genetics & genomics
  • Seascape genomics
  • Environmental DNA
  • Environmental genomics

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 1339 KiB  
Article
DNA Barcoding of Marine Mollusks Associated with Corallina officinalis Turfs in Southern Istria (Adriatic Sea)
by Moira Buršić, Ljiljana Iveša, Andrej Jaklin, Milvana Arko Pijevac, Mladen Kučinić, Mauro Štifanić, Lucija Neal and Branka Bruvo Mađarić
Diversity 2021, 13(5), 196; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13050196 - 30 Apr 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3974
Abstract
Presence of mollusk assemblages was studied within red coralligenous algae Corallina officinalis L. along the southern Istrian coast. C. officinalis turfs can be considered a biodiversity reservoir, as they shelter numerous invertebrate species. The aim of this study was to identify mollusk species [...] Read more.
Presence of mollusk assemblages was studied within red coralligenous algae Corallina officinalis L. along the southern Istrian coast. C. officinalis turfs can be considered a biodiversity reservoir, as they shelter numerous invertebrate species. The aim of this study was to identify mollusk species within these settlements using DNA barcoding as a method for detailed identification of mollusks. Nine locations and 18 localities with algal coverage range above 90% were chosen at four research areas. From 54 collected samples of C. officinalis turfs, a total of 46 mollusk species were identified. Molecular methods helped identify 16 gastropod, 14 bivalve and one polyplacophoran species. COI sequences for two bivalve species (Musculus cf. costulatus (Risso, 1826) and Gregariella semigranata (Reeve, 1858)) and seven gastropod species (Megastomia winfriedi Peñas & Rolán, 1999, Eatonina sp. Thiele, 1912, Eatonina cossurae (Calcara, 1841), Crisilla cf. maculata (Monterosato, 1869), Alvania cf. carinata (da Costa, 1778), Vitreolina antiflexa (Monterosato, 1884) and Odostomia plicata (Montagu, 1803)) represent new BINs in BOLD database. This study contributes to new findings related to the high biodiversity of mollusks associated with widespread C. officinalis settlements along the southern coastal area of Istria. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Biodiversity of Marine Invertebrates)
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14 pages, 2846 KiB  
Article
Genetic Divergence and Polyphyly in the Octocoral Genus Swiftia [Cnidaria: Octocorallia], Including a Species Impacted by the DWH Oil Spill
by Janessy Frometa, Peter J. Etnoyer, Andrea M. Quattrini, Santiago Herrera and Thomas W. Greig
Diversity 2021, 13(4), 172; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13040172 - 17 Apr 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3996
Abstract
Mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) are recognized around the world as diverse and ecologically important habitats. In the northern Gulf of Mexico (GoMx), MCEs are rocky reefs with abundant black corals and octocorals, including the species Swiftia exserta. Surveys following the Deepwater Horizon [...] Read more.
Mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) are recognized around the world as diverse and ecologically important habitats. In the northern Gulf of Mexico (GoMx), MCEs are rocky reefs with abundant black corals and octocorals, including the species Swiftia exserta. Surveys following the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in 2010 revealed significant injury to these and other species, the restoration of which requires an in-depth understanding of the biology, ecology, and genetic diversity of each species. To support a larger population connectivity study of impacted octocorals in the GoMx, this study combined sequences of mtMutS and nuclear 28S rDNA to confirm the identity of Swiftia sea fans in the GoMx, compare these markers for different polyp colors in the GoMx and Atlantic, and examine the phylogeny of the genus. Two mtMutS haplotypes were identified, one seemingly endemic to the northern GoMx. Compared to other North Atlantic Swiftia, S. exserta, the type of the genus was found to be extremely divergent and distinct from the two other Swiftia at both loci, with strong evidence of polyphyly in the genus. This information refines our understanding of the geographical distribution of injured coral and highlights how little is known about MCEs. Substantial taxonomic revisions may be needed for several taxa injured by the DWH oil spill. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Biodiversity of Marine Invertebrates)
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18 pages, 2000 KiB  
Article
Reproduction in Urbanised Coastal Waters: Shallow-Water Sea Anemones (Entacmaea quadricolor and Stichodactyla haddoni) Maintain High Genetic Diversity and Panmixia
by Wan Wen Rochelle Chan, Ywee Chieh Tay, Hui Ping Ang, Karenne Tun, Loke Ming Chou, Danwei Huang and Rudolf Meier
Diversity 2020, 12(12), 467; https://doi.org/10.3390/d12120467 - 8 Dec 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4059
Abstract
Sea anemones are sedentary marine animals that tend to disperse via planktonic larvae and are predicted to have high population connectivity in undisturbed habitats. We test whether two sea anemone species living in two different tidal zones of a highly disturbed marine environment [...] Read more.
Sea anemones are sedentary marine animals that tend to disperse via planktonic larvae and are predicted to have high population connectivity in undisturbed habitats. We test whether two sea anemone species living in two different tidal zones of a highly disturbed marine environment can maintain high genetic connectivity. More than 1000 loci with single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were obtained with double-digest RADseq for 81 Stichodactyla haddoni and 99 Entacmaea quadricolor individuals to test for population genetic structure. We find evidence that both species predominantly propagate via sexual reproduction, and asexual reproduction is limited. We observe panmixia that indicates the absence of effective dispersal barriers for these species living in a highly anthropogenically disturbed environment. This is positive news for both species that are also found in the aquarium trade. More fundamentally, our results suggest that inhabiting different parts of a shallow reef may not affect a species’ population connectivity nor favour asexual reproduction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Biodiversity of Marine Invertebrates)
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13 pages, 1617 KiB  
Article
Indo-Pacific Phylogeography of the Lemon Sponge Leucetta chagosensis
by Olivier Pasnin, Oliver Voigt, Gert Wörheide, Andrea P. Murillo Rincón and Sophie von der Heyden
Diversity 2020, 12(12), 466; https://doi.org/10.3390/d12120466 - 7 Dec 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5023
Abstract
The sponge Leucetta chagosensis Dendy (1913) has a wide distribution throughout the Indo-Pacific (IP) region, with previous studies focussing primarily on the western Pacific Ocean. To increase our knowledge of the spatial variation of genetic diversity throughout the IP, we constructed a phylogeny [...] Read more.
The sponge Leucetta chagosensis Dendy (1913) has a wide distribution throughout the Indo-Pacific (IP) region, with previous studies focussing primarily on the western Pacific Ocean. To increase our knowledge of the spatial variation of genetic diversity throughout the IP, we constructed a phylogeny for L. chagosensis for the IP to assess the evolutionary patterns for this species. We generated 188 sequences of L. chagosensis and constructed maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference trees, using concatenated mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 3 gene (cox3) and nuclear ribosomal RNA gene (28S) markers for the first time. The spatial variation of genetic diversity of L. chagosensis was assessed using a phylogeographic approach. Leucetta chagosensis is composed of five cryptic lineages confined to different biogeographic regions with the specimens found in the Indian Ocean differing significantly from those found in the rest of the IP region. Genetic divergence was particularly high for the cox3 marker, with a low nucleotide diversity but high haplotype diversity for most lineages. This study highlights the need for a sustained effort in studying sponge diversity, boosted by the ongoing discovery of hidden biodiversity among this ecologically important taxon. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Biodiversity of Marine Invertebrates)
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