11th ICRS Abstract book - Nova Southeastern University
11th ICRS Abstract book - Nova Southeastern University
11th ICRS Abstract book - Nova Southeastern University
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Poster Mini-Symposium 26: Biodiversity and Diversification of Reef Organisms<br />
26.1174<br />
Coral Assemblages Of Cabo Verde Islands (North Atlantic): Preliminary<br />
Assessment And Description.<br />
João MONTEIRO* 1,2 , Corrine ALMEIDA 3 , Rui FREITAS 3 , Aricson DELGADO 3 ,<br />
Filipe PORTEIRO 1,2 , Ricardo S. SANTOS 1,2<br />
1 Departamento de Oceanografia e Pescas, Universidade dos Açores, Horta, Portugal,<br />
2 Centro do IMAR da Universidade do Açores, Horta, Portugal, 3 Departamento de Pescas<br />
e Tecnologia de Recursos Aquáticos, Instituto Superior de Engenharia e Ciências do Mar,<br />
Mindelo, Cape Verde<br />
The islands of Cabo Verde, North Atlantic, are an important hotspot of tropical reef<br />
biodiversity, and one of the top ten priority locations worldwide for the conservation of<br />
reef habitats. Despite the absence of major coral reef structures, and of the relative poor<br />
diversity of coral species, these islands’ coral communities constitute unique habitats and<br />
thought to play a key role in local coastal ecosystems. The objective of this work was to<br />
conduct a preliminary ecological assessment of coral communities in Cabo Verde. Two<br />
fieldtrips were conducted using underwater transects with DAFOR semi-quantitative<br />
scale to estimate relative abundance of coral species. This effort, together with a review<br />
of historical records, allowed a preliminary identification and description of three major<br />
coral biotopes: i) antipatharians facies in vertical walls; ii) Siderastrea radians pavements<br />
over shallow bedrock; and iii) diverse coral coverage over rocky reef with sand patches.<br />
Coral species’ diversity in these biotopes is comparatively lower than those from other<br />
tropical reef ecosystems (e.g. West Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions). Observations from<br />
the fieldtrip to Sal Island, where a more extensive survey was possible, revealed greater<br />
living coverage and biodiversity on the leeward side when compared with the windward<br />
side of the island. Depth and hard substrate orientation (vertical/horizontal) appear to act<br />
as major environmental factors structuring these biotopes. The importance of other<br />
abiotic factors affecting their distribution, structure and diversity, such as water<br />
temperature, West African upwelling influence and dust deposition from Sahara desert,<br />
by prevailing and harmatan winds, are briefly discussed. An experimental design,<br />
including a quantitative approach and the use of data loggers for temperature and<br />
photosynthetic irradiance monitoring, is proposed for future research and accurate<br />
ecological characterisation of these biotopes and associated coral communities.<br />
26.1175<br />
Recent Sightings Of Longsnout Seahorse, Hippocampus Reidi in The Marine<br />
Environment Of St. Kitts, Lesser Antilles<br />
Vajai LATCHMAN* 1 , Maureen SULLIVAN 2 , Raphaela STIMMELMAYR 3<br />
1 Kenneth Dive CEnter St.Kitts, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis, 2 St.Kitts Reef Ecology<br />
Watch Group, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis, 3 Ross <strong>University</strong> Veterinary School,<br />
Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis<br />
Only two species of Seahorses occur in the Caribbean, the Longsnout, Hippocampus reidi<br />
and Lined Seahorse, Hippocampus erectus. General information on the abundance of<br />
Longsnout Seahorse is lacking and the species has been categorized as data deficient<br />
indicating a need for further studies. The Lined Seahorse is currently listed by the IUCN<br />
as a vulnerable species. In 2007, three single individuals, H. reidi have been repeatedly<br />
sighted at three different shallow reef dive sites. Although seahorses nearly always occur<br />
in pairs and the home ranges for the species is rather small, as of yet no pairs have been<br />
sighted. The reefs are mixed habitat with corals, sea grass beds, and sponges present.<br />
Later habitats are often associated with seahorses. Previous longsnout seahorse sightings<br />
dating back to 1993 have over the years been inconsistent and restricted to only one of<br />
the sites. The recent frequent sightings and identification of a new reef site could indicate<br />
an increase in the local seahorse population size. Further studies are needed to estimate<br />
the local seahorse population size and habitat characteristics.<br />
26.1176<br />
Comparison of Bacterial Diversity within the Coral Reef Sponge, Axinella corrugata, the<br />
Encrusting Coral Erythopodium Caribaeorum and Adjacent Environmental Samples<br />
Jose LOPEZ* 1 , Peter MCCARTHY 2 , Angela LEDGER 2 , Llanie RANZER 3 , Russell KERR 4 ,<br />
Alan DUCKWORTH 5<br />
1 Oceanographic Center, <strong>Nova</strong> <strong>Southeastern</strong> <strong>University</strong>, Dania Beach, FL, 2 Harbor Branch<br />
Oceanographic Inst at FAU, Ft Pierce, FL, 3 Florida Atlantic <strong>University</strong>, Boca Raton, FL,<br />
4 Department of Chemistry, <strong>University</strong> of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE, Canada,<br />
5 Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Australia<br />
In recent years, the Caribbean reef sponge, Axinella corrugata, has been developed as a model<br />
marine invertebrate for the study of molecular genetics and secondary metabolism. To continue<br />
this characterization, we performed a cursory survey of bacterial diversity of A. corrugata using<br />
16S rRNA gene sequences. > 100 culture-independent sequences were generated from 16S<br />
rRNA libraries of 6 different Axinella corrugata specimens, and compared with 55 cultured<br />
isolates derived from the same species. This comparison indicated a fairly narrow taxonomic<br />
distribution for Axinella microbial communities. The diversity of cultured isolates was<br />
comprised mostly of Actinobacteria, such as Brachybacterium paraconglomeratum, and Alpha-<br />
and Gamma-Proteobacteria. The culture-independent 16S rDNA clones encompassed more<br />
diverse Proteobacteria based on the higher number of “uncultured” or “unknown”<br />
representatives, with lower % similiarity values, including the Delta-Proteobacteria.<br />
Flavobacterium, and Cyanobacteria sequences.<br />
Further, this study also showed that Axinella sponges appear to host specific microbial<br />
symbionts, similar to previously identified clones termed ““OSO” environmental samples. In<br />
contrast to the sponge microbial communities, two different 16S libraries from seawater<br />
samples near one Axinella source sample were dominated by Pseudoaltermonas. Adjacent<br />
sediment samples yielded several clones of sulfate-reducing Desulfovibrio, Planctomycetes and<br />
other Delta-Proteobacteria. A Clostridium-like 16S rRNA sequence was also detected after the<br />
oxygen supply to one Axinella specimen was deliberately curtailed to assess temporal changes<br />
in the microbial community. In a final comparison, the Caribbean reef coral, Erythopodium<br />
caribaeorum yielded a higher number of Beta-Proteobacteria 16S sequences relative to Axinella<br />
cultured and culture independent 16S rRNA sequences. Overall this study indicates that<br />
marine microbial community diversity can be linked to specific source host and habitats. These<br />
data fit into current programs to census total marine diversity, such as ICoMM, the International<br />
Census of Marine Microbes (http: //icomm.mbl.edu/).<br />
26.1177<br />
What Are The Genetic Relationships Among Morphospecies Within The Coral Genus<br />
Madracis?<br />
Maria Catalina REYES-NIVIA* 1,2 , Rolf PM BAK 1,2 , Pedro R FRADE 1,2<br />
1 Marine Ecology and Evolution, Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Den Burg, Netherlands,<br />
2 Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, <strong>University</strong> of Amsterdam, Amsterdam,<br />
Netherlands<br />
Species morphological boundaries in scleractinian corals do not necessarily correspond to<br />
genetically distinct units. In this study, phylogenetic relationships among six closely related<br />
species in the genus Madracis were examined using two nuclear intron markers (ATPSα and<br />
SRP54). Bayesian probabilities, maximum-likelihood and parsimony analyses consistently<br />
recovered monophylies of Madracis senaria and M. carmabi using the ATPSα marker. High<br />
support values and congruent topologies suggest that morphological boundaries are consistent<br />
with these two genetically discrete units. Recurrent polyphyletic groups, shared nuclear<br />
sequences and high polymorphism at the intra- and inter-specific level between M. decactis and<br />
M. pharensis, suggest retained ancestral polymorphisms or introgressive hybridization between<br />
these taxa. Phylogenies derived from the SRP54 show continued lack of resolution or<br />
consistency, making these topologies not reliable. FST pairwise comparison based on ATPSα<br />
suggests that gene exchange is quite low among most of Madracis taxa. AMOVA analysis<br />
reveals that 59% of the genetic differentiation is attributable to variation among putative species<br />
(p < 0.001). Heterozygosity levels predicted under conditions of random mating rarely fulfilled<br />
expectations for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. M. formosa and M. pharensis exhibited<br />
significant heterozygote deficits, while, in contrast, M. mirabilis showed heterozygous excess,<br />
consequent with its common asexual dispersal mode. The overall results suggest that<br />
introgression events can occasionally occur but that inbreeding between closely related species<br />
is limited, keeping morphospecies boundaries recognizable.<br />
558