The Indo-Pacific Amalda (Neogastropoda, Olivoidea, Ancillariidae) revisited with molecular data, with special emphasis on New Caledonia

In the ancillariid genus Amalda, the shell is character rich and 96 described species are currently treated as valid. Based on shell morphology, several subspecies have been recognized within Amalda hilgendorfi, with a combined range extending at depths of 150–750 m from Japan to the South-West Pacific. A molecular analysis of 78 specimens from throughout this range shows both a weak geographical structuring and evidence of gene flow at the regional scale. We conclude that recognition of subspecies (richeri Kilburn & Bouchet, 1988, herlaari van Pel, 1989, and vezzaroi Cossignani, 2015) within A. hilgendorfi is not justified. By contrast, hilgendorfi-like specimens from the Mozambique Channel and New Caledonia are molecularly segregated, and so are here described as new, as Amalda miriky sp. nov. and A. cacao sp. nov., respectively. The New Caledonia Amalda montrouzieri complex is shown to include at least three molecularly separable species, including A. allaryi and A. alabaster sp. nov. Molecular data also confirm the validity of the New Caledonia endemics Amalda aureomarginata, A. fuscolingua, A. bellonarum, and A. coriolis. The existence of narrow range endemics suggests that the species limits of Amalda with broad distributions, extending, e.g., from Japan to Taiwan (A. hinomotoensis) or even Indonesia, the Strait of Malacca, Vietnam and the China Sea (A. mamillata) should be taken with caution.

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Revision of generic concepts in Schoeneae subtribe Tricostulariinae (Cyperaceae) with a new genus Ammothryon and new species of Tricostularia

Telopea ◽

10.7751/telopea14844 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 24 ◽

pp. 61-169

Author(s):

Russell Barrett ◽

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Western Australia ◽

New Genus ◽

New Caledonia ◽

French Polynesia ◽

Morphological Characters ◽

Molecular Data ◽

Disjunct Distribution ◽

South West ◽

Nuclear Its

The Tricostularia Nees ex Lehm. group of genera is reviewed and formally recognised as Cyperaceae tribe Schoeneae subtribe Tricostulariinae R.L.Barrett, K.L.Wilson & J.J.Bruhl. Molecular data from plastid rbcL and trnL–F and nuclear ITS and ETS regions are combined with a novel assessment of morphological characters to support our new classification. Six genera are included: a new genus, Ammothryon R.L.Barrett, K.L.Wilson & J.J.Bruhl, and the named genera Chaetospora R.Br., Morelotia Gaudich., Tetraria P.Beauv., Tricostularia, and Xyroschoenus Larridon. Ammothryon, Chaetospora and Tricostularia are all endemic to southern Australia. Morelotia has one species each in Hawaii, French Polynesia and New Zealand, and three species in southwest Western Australia. Tetraria has a disjunct distribution in Southern Africa, Borneo, New Guinea and New Caledonia. Xyroschoenus is endemic to the Seychelles. Tetrariopsis C.B.Clarke (based on Tetrariopsis octandra (Nees) C.B.Clarke) is included under an expanded concept of Morelotia, which also includes Tetraria australiensis C.B.Clarke and Tetraria microcarpa S.T.Blake from south-west Western Australia. Tricostularia bennettiana R.L.Barrett & K.L.Wilson, Tricostularia davisii R.L.Barrett & K.L.Wilson, Tricostularia lepschii R.L.Barrett & K.L.Wilson, Tricostularia newbeyi R.L.Barrett & K.L.Wilson, and Tricostularia sandifordiana R.L.Barrett & K.L.Wilson are described as new species from south-west Western Australia. The following new combinations are made: Ammothryon grandiflorum (Nees ex Lehm.) R.L.Barrett, K.L.Wilson & J.J.Bruhl, Morelotia australiensis (C.B.Clarke) R.L.Barrett & K.L.Wilson, Morelotia microcarpa (S.T.Blake) R.L.Barrett & K.L.Wilson, Morelotia octandra (Nees) R.L.Barrett & J.J.Bruhl and Tricostularia drummondii (Steud.) R.L.Barrett & K.L.Wilson. Tricostularia drummondii is reinstated from synonymy (formerly Discopodium drummondii Steud.), having previously been confused with T. exsul (C.B.Clarke) K.L.Wilson & R.L.Barrett. Lectotypes are selected for Chaetospora flexuosa var. gracilis Boeckeler, Discopodium drummondii Steud., Elynanthus grandiflorus Nees ex Lehm., Lampocarya affinis Brongn., Lepidosperma exsul C.B.Clarke, Morelotia gahniiformis Gaudich. var. minor A.Rich., Tetraria australiensis C.B.Clarke, Tetraria capillacea var. intercedens Kük., Tricostularia compressa Nees ex Lehm. and Tricostularia neesii Lehm.

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Molecular analysis confirms Laurenciella marilzae (Rhodophyta, Rhodomelaceae) in the Mediterranean Sea, a species often misidentified as Laurencia dendroidea

Botanica Marina ◽

10.1515/bot-2020-0030 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 63 (6) ◽

pp. 527-535

Author(s):

Donatella Serio ◽

Giovanni Furnari ◽

Yola Metti

Keyword(s):

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Molecular Analysis ◽

Molecular Data ◽

Integrative Approach ◽

Molecular Analyses ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

Laurencia Majuscula

AbstractIt was noted that Mediterranean specimens collected at different stations from around Sicily, Italy and referred to as Laurencia dendroidea (as Laurencia majuscula) were similar to the recently described species Laurenciella marilzae. Presented in this study are the results of an integrative approach using both morphology and molecular data (COI-5P + rbcL) to establish which taxon these specimens should be referred to. Molecular analyses show these specimens belong to Laurenciella, and strongly suggest they are within the species L. marilzae. Morphological examinations of these Mediterranean specimens were also detailed and found to support the conclusion that they belong to L. marilzae.

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Performance of a points-based scoring system for assessing species limits in birds

The Auk ◽

10.1093/ornithology/ukab016 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Joseph A Tobias ◽

Paul F Donald ◽

Rob W Martin ◽

Stuart H M Butchart ◽

Nigel J Collar

Keyword(s):

Strong Support ◽

Molecular Data ◽

Sympatric Species ◽

Global Scale ◽

Training Set ◽

Species Limits ◽

Phenotypic Data ◽

Fast Tracking ◽

Extinction Rates ◽

Phenotypic Divergence

AbstractSpecies are fundamental to biology, conservation, and environmental legislation; yet, there is often disagreement on how and where species limits should be drawn. Even sophisticated molecular methods have limitations, particularly in the context of geographically isolated lineages or inadequate sampling of loci. With extinction rates rising, methods are needed to assess species limits rapidly but robustly. Tobias et al. devised a points-based system to compare phenotypic divergence between taxa against the level of divergence in sympatric species, establishing a threshold to guide taxonomic assessments at a global scale. The method has received a mixed reception. To evaluate its performance, we identified 397 novel taxonomic splits from 328 parent taxa made by application of the criteria (in 2014‒2016) and searched for subsequent publications investigating the same taxa with molecular and/or phenotypic data. Only 71 (18%) novel splits from 60 parent taxa have since been investigated by independent studies, suggesting that publication of splits underpinned by the criteria in 2014–2016 accelerated taxonomic decisions by at least 33 years. In the evaluated cases, independent analyses explicitly or implicitly supported species status in 62 (87.3%) of 71 splits, with the level of support increasing to 97.2% when excluding subsequent studies limited only to molecular data, and reaching 100% when the points-based criteria were applied using recommended sample sizes. Despite the fact that the training set used to calibrate the criteria was heavily weighted toward passerines, splits of passerines and non-passerines received equally strong support from independent research. We conclude that the method provides a useful tool for quantifying phenotypic divergence and fast-tracking robust taxonomic decisions at a global scale.

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Larval trypanorhynch cestodes in teleost fish from Moreton Bay, Queensland

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf17010 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 68 (11) ◽

pp. 2123 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

I. Beveridge ◽

T. H. Cribb ◽

S. C. Cutmore

Keyword(s):

Host Species ◽

Teleost Fish ◽

New Caledonia ◽

The South ◽

West Pacific ◽

Moreton Bay ◽

South West ◽

Lizard Island ◽

The World

During a helminthological examination of teleost fish of Moreton Bay (Qld, Australia), 976 fish from 13 orders, 57 families and 133 species were examined and nine species of trypanorhynch metacestodes were identified. Callitetrarhynchus gracilis (Rudolphi, 1819) was the most frequently encountered species, found in 16 species of fish, with Callitetrarhynchus speciosus (Linton, 1897), Pterobothrium pearsoni (Southwell, 1929), Otobothrium alexanderi Palm, 2004, Otobothrium mugilis Hiscock, 1954, Otobothrium parvum Beveridge & Justine, 2007, Proemotobothrium southwelli Beveridge & Campbell, 2001, Pseudotobothrium dipsacum (Linton, 1897) and Heteronybelinia cf. heteromorphi Palm, 1999 occurring in fewer host species and at lower prevalences. Comparisons are made with studies elsewhere in the world and specifically within the South-west Pacific. Of the best studied regions in the South-west Pacific (Heron Island, Lizard Island, New Caledonia and now Moreton Bay), the fauna from Moreton Bay was found to be the most distinctive, with fauna from the three reef locations sharing 35–48% of species between sites and just 12–24% with Moreton Bay. The fauna of trypanorhynch cestodes from Lizard Island and New Caledonia was found to be the most similar.

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Molecular phylogeny of Australasian anopsobiine centipedes (Chilopoda : Lithobiomorpha)

Invertebrate Systematics ◽

10.1071/is03033 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 18 (3) ◽

pp. 235 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Gregory D. Edgecombe ◽

Gonzalo Giribet

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

New Species ◽

New Zealand ◽

New Caledonia ◽

Sequence Data ◽

Mitochondrial Protein ◽

Molecular Data ◽

12S Rrna ◽

28S Rrna ◽

16S Rna

Species assigned to the anopsobiine centipede genera Anopsobius Silvestri, 1899, and Dichelobius Attems, 1911, are widely distributed on fragments of the Gondwanan supercontinent, including temperate and tropical Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, the Cape region of South Africa, and southern South America. Phylogenetic relationships between Australasian and other Gondwanan Anopsobiinae are inferred based on parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses (via direct optimisation) of sequence data for five markers: nuclear ribosomal 18S rRNA and 28S rRNA, mitochondrial ribosomal 12S rRNA and 16S RNA, and the mitochondrial protein-coding cytochrome c oxidase subunit I. New molecular data are added for Anopsobius from South Africa and New Zealand, Dichelobius from New Caledonia, and a new species from Queensland, Australia, Dichelobius etnaensis, sp. nov. The new species is based on distinctive morphological and molecular data. The molecular phylogenies indicate that antennal segmentation in the Anopsobiinae is a more reliable taxonomic character than is spiracle distribution. The former character divides the Gondwanan clade into a 17-segmented group (Dichelobius) and a 15-segmented group (Anopsobius). Confinement of the spiracles to segments 3, 10 and 12 has at least two origins in the Gondwanan clade. The area cladogram for Dichelobius (Queensland (Western Australia + New Caledonia)) suggests a relictual distribution pruned by extinction.

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Wind-induced variability in larval retention in a coral reef system: A biophysical modelling study in the South-West Lagoon of New Caledonia

Progress In Oceanography ◽

10.1016/j.pocean.2013.12.006 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 122 ◽

pp. 105-115 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Marion Cuif ◽

David Michael Kaplan ◽

Jérôme Lefèvre ◽

Vincent Martin Faure ◽

Matthieu Caillaud ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Coral Reef ◽

New Caledonia ◽

The South ◽

Larval Retention ◽

Reef System ◽

System A ◽

South West ◽

Coral Reef System ◽

Modelling Study ◽

Biophysical Modelling

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Remote sensing of <i>Trichodesmium</i> spp. mats in the western tropical South Pacific

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-15-5203-2018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 15 (16) ◽

pp. 5203-5219 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Guillaume Rousset ◽

Florian De Boissieu ◽

Christophe E. Menkes ◽

Jérôme Lefèvre ◽

Robert Frouin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Large Scale ◽

New Caledonia ◽

Hot Spot ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Atmospheric Correction ◽

South Pacific ◽

Aggregation Processes ◽

Modis Imagery ◽

Generate Surface

Abstract. Trichodesmium is the major nitrogen-fixing species in the western tropical South Pacific (WTSP) region, a hot spot of diazotrophy. Due to the paucity of in situ observations, remote-sensing methods for detecting Trichodesmium presence on a large scale have been investigated to assess the regional-to-global impact of this organism on primary production and carbon cycling. A number of algorithms have been developed to identify Trichodesmium surface blooms from space, but determining with confidence their accuracy has been difficult, chiefly because of the scarcity of sea-truth information at the time of satellite overpass. Here, we use a series of new cruises as well as airborne surveys over the WTSP to evaluate their ability to detect Trichodesmium surface blooms in the satellite imagery. The evaluation, performed on MODIS data at 250 m and 1 km resolution acquired over the region, shows limitations due to spatial resolution, clouds, and atmospheric correction. A new satellite-based algorithm is designed to alleviate some of these limitations, by exploiting optimally spectral features in the atmospherically corrected reflectance at 531, 645, 678, 748, and 869 nm. This algorithm outperforms former ones near clouds, limiting false positive detection and allowing regional-scale automation. Compared with observations, 80 % of the detected mats are within a 2 km range, demonstrating the good statistical skill of the new algorithm. Application to MODIS imagery acquired during the February-March 2015 OUTPACE campaign reveals the presence of surface blooms northwest and east of New Caledonia and near 20∘ S–172∘ W in qualitative agreement with measured nitrogen fixation rates. Improving Trichodesmium detection requires measuring ocean color at higher spectral and spatial (<250 m) resolution than MODIS, taking into account environment properties (e.g., wind, sea surface temperature), fluorescence, and spatial structure of filaments, and a better understanding of Trichodesmium dynamics, including aggregation processes to generate surface mats. Such sub-mesoscale aggregation processes for Trichodesmium are yet to be understood.

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Biogeochemical and biological impacts of diazotroph blooms in a Low Nutrient Low Chlorophyll ecosystem: synthesis from the VAHINE mesocosm experiment (New Caledonia)

10.5194/bg-2015-668 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sophie Bonnet ◽

Melika Baklouti ◽

Audrey Gimenez ◽

Hugo Berthelot ◽

Ilana Berman-Frank

Keyword(s):

Food Web ◽

N2 Fixation ◽

New Caledonia ◽

External Source ◽

Marine Ecosystems ◽

Inorganic Phosphorus ◽

Food Web Structure ◽

West Pacific ◽

Planktonic Food ◽

South West

Abstract. In marine ecosystems, N2 fixation provides the predominant external source of nitrogen (N) (140 ± 50 Tg N yr−1), contributing more than atmospheric and riverine inputs to the N supply. Yet the fate and magnitude of the newly-fixed N, or diazotroph-derived N (hereafter named DDN) in marine ecosystems is poorly understood. Moreover, it remains unclear whether the DDN is preferentially directly exported out of the photic zone, recycled by the microbial loop, and/or transferred into larger organisms, subsequently enhancing indirect particle export. These questions were investigated in the framework of the VAHINE (VAriability of vertical and tropHIc transfer of diazotroph derived N in the south wEst Pacific) project. Triplicate large volume (~50 m3) mesocosms were deployed in the tropical South West Pacific coastal ocean (New Caledonia) to maintain a stable water-mass without disturbing ambient light and temperature conditions. The mesocosms were intentionally fertilized with ~0.8 μM dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) at the start of the experiment to stimulate diazotrophy. A total of 47 stocks, fluxes, enzymatic activities and diversity parameters were measured daily inside and outside the mesocosms by the 40 scientists involved in the project. The experiment lasted for 23 days and was characterized by two distinct and successive diazotroph blooms: a dominance of diatom-diazotroph associations (DDAs) during the first half of the experiment (days 2–14) followed by a bloom of UCYN-C during the second half of the experiment (days 15–23). These conditions provided a unique opportunity to compare the DDN transfer and export efficiency associated with different diazotrophs. Here we summarize the major experimental and modelling results obtained during the project and described in the VAHINE Special issue, in particular those regarding the evolution of the main standing stocks, fluxes and biological characteristics over the 23-days experiment, the contribution of N2 fixation to export fluxes, the DDN released to dissolved pool and its transfer to the planktonic food web (bacteria, phytoplankton, zooplankton). We then apply our Eco3M modelling platform further to infer the fate of DDN in the ecosystem and role of N2 fixation on productivity, food web structure and carbon export. Recommendations for future work are finally provided in the conclusion section.

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