Description: We used carbon and nitrogen stable isotope (δ13C and δ15N) analyses to investigate the trophic network of the CWC reef habitat off Angola (SE Atlantic Ocean). Samples were collected in January 2016 during the M122 (“ANNA”) expedition on board R/V Meteor. In total, 18 reef sites, including seven CWC mound settings over a bathymetric range of 250 to 530 m water depth, were sampled for stable isotope analyses. Samples of organisms belonging to the taxa Porifera, Cnidaria, Arthropoda, Annelida, Echinodermata and Chordata were collected by means of a box corer, a Van-Veen grab sampler and the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) SQUID (MARUM, Bremen, Germany). To investigate potential food sources of the benthic megafauna, three types of Particulate Organic Matter (POM) were collected: Suspended Particulate Organic Matter (SPOM) was collected with a McLane phytoplankton pump; settling SPOM was collected with a sediment trap (SPOM trap) and sediment samples were collected with a box corer and a grab sampler. Analyses of benthic megafauna were performed using a Elementar IsoPrime 100 isotope ratio–mass spectrometry (IR–MS) (IsoPrime Ltd.) coupled to a CNS elemental analyzer (Elementar Vario Pyro Cube EA CNS; Elementar Analysensysteme GmbH), while POM samples were analyzed by a Delta V Advantage IR–MS coupled online to an elemental analyzer (Flash 2000 EA-IRMS) by a ConFlo IV (Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.). Vienna Pee Dee belemnite (V.P.D.B.) for carbon, and atmospheric N2 (Air) for nitrogen, were used as reference materials, and stable isotope values are reported in respect to that.

Description: Gelatinous zooplankton outbreaks have increased globally owing to a number of human-mediated factors, including food web alterations and species introductions. The invasive ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi entered the Black Sea in the early 1980s. The invasion was followed by the Azov, Caspian, Baltic and North Seas, and, most recently, the Mediterranean Sea. Previous studies identified two distinct invasion pathways of M. leidyi from its native range in the western Atlantic Ocean to Eurasia. However, the source of newly established populations in the Mediterranean Sea remains unclear. Here we build upon our previous study and investigate sequence variation in both mitochondrial (Cytochrome c Oxidase subunit I) and nuclear (Internal Transcribed Spacer) markers in M. leidyi, encompassing five native and 11 introduced populations, including four from the Mediterranean Sea. Extant genetic diversity in Mediterranean populations (n = 8, Na = 10) preclude the occurrence of a severe genetic bottleneck or founder effects in the initial colonizing population. Our mitochondrial and nuclear marker surveys revealed two possible pathways of introduction into Mediterranean Sea. In total, 17 haplotypes and 18 alleles were recovered from all surveyed populations. Haplotype and allelic diversity of Mediterranean populations were comparable to populations from which they were likely drawn. The distribution of genetic diversity and pattern of genetic differentiation suggest initial colonization of the Mediterranean from the Black-Azov Seas (pairwise FST = 0.001–0.028). However, some haplotypes and alleles from the Mediterranean Sea were not detected from the well-sampled Black Sea, although they were found in Gulf of Mexico populations that were also genetically similar to those in the Mediterranean Sea (pairwise FST = 0.010–0.032), raising the possibility of multiple invasion sources. Multiple introductions from a combination of Black Sea and native region sources could be facilitated by intense local and transcontinental shipping activity, respectively.

Description: Genetic drift and non-random mating seldom influence species with large breeding populations and high dispersal potential, characterized by unstructured gene pool and panmixia at a scale lower than the minimum dispersal range of individuals. In the present study, a set of nine microsatellite markers was developed and used to investigate the spatio-temporal genetic patterns of the holoplanktonic jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca (Scyphozoa) in the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea. Homozygote excess was detected at eight loci, and individuals exhibited intra-population relatedness higher than expected by chance in at least three samples. This result was supported by the presence of siblings in at least 5 out 8 samples, 4 of which contained full-sib in addition to half-sib dyads. Having tested and ruled out alternative explanations as null alleles, our results suggest the influence of reproductive and behavioural features in shaping the genetic structure of P. noctiluca, as outcomes of population genetics analyses pointed out. Indeed, the genetic differentiation among populations was globally small but highlighted: a) a spatial genetic patchiness uncorrelated with distance between sampling locations, and b) a significant genetic heterogeneity between samples collected in the same locations in different years. Therefore, despite its extreme dispersal potential, P. noctiluca does not maintain a single homogenous population, but rather these jellyfish appear to have intra-bloom localized recruitment and/or individual cohesiveness, whereby siblings more likely swarm together as a single group and remain close after spawning events. These findings provide the first evidence of family structures and consequent genetic patchiness in a species with highly dispersive potential throughout its whole life cycle, contributing to understanding the patterns of dispersal and connectivity in marine environments.

Description: Capitate hydrozoans are a morphologically and ecologically diverse hydrozoan suborder, currently including about 200 species.Being grouped in two clades, Corynida and Zancleida, these hydrozoans still show a number of taxonomic uncertainties at the species,genus and family levels. Many Capitata species established symbiotic relationships with other benthic organisms, including bryozoans,other cnidarians, molluscs and poriferans, as well as with planktonic dinoflagellates for mixotrophic relationships and with bacteria forthiotrophic ectosymbioses. Our study aimed at providing an updated and comprehensive phylogeny reconstruction of the suborder, atmodelling the evolution of selected morphological and ecological characters, and at testing evolutionary relationships between the sym-biotic lifestyle and the other characters, by integrating taxonomic, ecological and evolutionary data. The phylogenetic hypotheses herepresented shed light on the evolutionary relationships within Capitata, with most families and genera being recovered as monophyletic.The genusZancleaand family Zancleidae, however, were divided into four divergent clades, requiring the establishment of the newgenusApatizancleaand the new combinations for species inZancleaandHalocorynegenera. The ancestral state reconstructionsrevealed that symbiosis arose multiple times in the evolutionary history of the Capitata, and that homoplasy is a common phenomenonin the group. Correlations were found between the evolution of symbiosis and morphological characters, such as the perisarc. Overall,our results highlighted that the use of genetic data and a complete knowledge of the life cycles are strongly needed to disentangle taxo-nomic and systematic issues in capitate hydrozoans. Finally, the colonization of tropical habitat appears to have influenced the evolu-tion of a symbiotic lifestyle, playing important roles in the evolution of the group.