Body traits variation of a reef building polychaete across a latitudinal gradient.

Body size is considered the most important trait in ecology, and as such, helps to understand the species-environment interactions. We explored the relationship between body traits and environmental variables along a gradient range using the polychaete Phragmatopoma caudata, with well-defined and diversified morphological structures. Measurements of five traits (body length, opercular crown, branchiae, tentacles and building organ sizes) were taken at nine sites along the Southwestern Atlantic coast and their relationships to temperature, salinity, tidal range, waves height, and dissolved oxygen were assessed. Our results demonstrate that traits were influenced by the environmental gradient and temperature was the main factor that drives this variation in body traits, while the other variables showed a minor influence on this. The approach showed patterns of variation of body traits in a macroscale context, increasing the understanding of its relationships with environmental variables and eventual shifts in the distribution in the future climate scenarios.

From ecological functions to ecosystem services: linking coastal lagoons biodiversity with human well-being.

In this review we highlight the relevance of biodiversity that inhabit coastal lagoons, emphasizing how species functions foster processes and services associated with this ecosystem. We identified 26 ecosystem services underpinned by ecological functions performed by bacteria and other microbial organisms, zooplankton, polychaetae worms, mollusks, macro-crustaceans, fishes, birds, and aquatic mammals. These groups present high functional redundancy but perform complementary functions that result in distinct ecosystem processes. Because coastal lagoons are located in the interface between freshwater, marine and terrestrial ecosystems, the ecosystem services provided by the biodiversity surpass the lagoon itself and benefit society in a wider spatial and historical context. The species loss in coastal lagoons due to multiple human-driven impacts affects the ecosystem functioning, influencing negatively the provision of all categories of services (i.e., supporting, regulating, provisioning and cultural). Because animals' assemblages have unequal spatial and temporal distribution in coastal lagoons, it is necessary to adopt ecosystem-level management plans to protect habitat heterogeneity and its biodiversity, ensuring the provision of services for human well-being to multi-actors in the coastal zone.

Molecular diversity within the genus Laeonereis (Annelida, Nereididae) along the west Atlantic coast: paving the way for integrative taxonomy.

The polychaete genus Laeonereis (Annelida, Nereididae) occurs over a broad geographic range and extends nearly across the entire Atlantic coast of America, from the USA to Uruguay. Despite the research efforts to clarify its diversity and systematics, mostly by morphological and ecological evidence, there is still uncertainty, mainly concerning the species Laeonereis culveri, which constitutes an old and notorious case of taxonomic ambiguity. Here, we revised the molecular diversity and distribution of Laeonereis species based on a multi-locus approach, including DNA sequence analyses of partial segments of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), 16S rRNA, and 28S rRNA genes. We examined Laeonereis specimens collected from 26 sites along the American Atlantic coast from Massachusetts (USA) to Mar del Plata (Argentina). Although no comprehensive morphological examination was performed between different populations, the COI barcodes revealed seven highly divergent MOTUs, with a mean K2P genetic distance of 16.9% (from 6.8% to 21.9%), which was confirmed through four clustering algorithms. All MOTUs were geographically segregated, except for MOTUs 6 and 7 from southeastern Brazil, which presented partially overlapping ranges between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo coast. Sequence data obtained from 16S rRNA and 28S rRNA markers supported the same MOTU delimitation and geographic segregation as those of COI, providing further evidence for the existence of seven deeply divergent lineages within the genus. The extent of genetic divergence between MOTUs observed in our study fits comfortably within the range reported for species of polychaetes, including Nereididae, thus providing a strong indication that they might constitute separate species. These results may therefore pave the way for integrative taxonomic studies, aiming to clarify the taxonomic status of the Laeonereis MOTUs herein reported.

NONATObase: a database for Polychaeta (Annelida) from the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean.

Networks can greatly advance data sharing attitudes by providing organized and useful data sets on marine biodiversity in a friendly and shared scientific environment. NONATObase, the interactive database on polychaetes presented herein, will provide new macroecological and taxonomic insights of the Southwestern Atlantic region. The database was developed by the NONATO network, a team of South American researchers, who integrated available information on polychaetes from between 5°N and 80°S in the Atlantic Ocean and near the Antarctic. The guiding principle of the database is to keep free and open access to data based on partnerships. Its architecture consists of a relational database integrated in the MySQL and PHP framework. Its web application allows access to the data from three different directions: species (qualitative data), abundance (quantitative data) and data set (reference data). The database has built-in functionality, such as the filter of data on user-defined taxonomic levels, characteristics of site, sample, sampler, and mesh size used. Considering that there are still many taxonomic issues related to poorly known regional fauna, a scientific committee was created to work out consistent solutions to current misidentifications and equivocal taxonomy status of some species. Expertise from this committee will be incorporated by NONATObase continually. The use of quantitative data was possible by standardization of a sample unit. All data, maps of distribution and references from a data set or a specified query can be visualized and exported to a commonly used data format in statistical analysis or reference manager software. The NONATO network has initialized with NONATObase, a valuable resource for marine ecologists and taxonomists. The database is expected to grow in functionality as it comes in useful, particularly regarding the challenges of dealing with molecular genetic data and tools to assess the effects of global environment change. Database URL: http://nonatobase.ufsc.br/.

The impact of coastal urbanization on the structure of phytobenthic communities in southern Brazil.

The anthropogenic pressures on coastal areas represent important factors affecting local, regional, and even global patterns of distribution and abundance of benthic organisms. This report undertakes a comparative analysis of the community structure of rocky shore intertidal phytobenthos in both pristine like environments (PLE) and urbanized environments (UBE) in southern Brazil, characterizing variations on different spatial scales. Multivariate analysis of variance indicated that the PLE is characterized by a larger number of taxa and an increased occurrence of Rhodophyta species in relation to UBE. In contrast, UBE were dominated by opportunistic algae, such as Cladophora and Ulva spp. Significance tests further indicated higher species richness and Shannon-Wiener diversity on the PLE in relation to UBE. Here we provide data showing the magnitude of seaweed biodiversity loss and discuss direct and indirect consequences of unplanned urbanization on these communities.