Organellar genomic characterization of Anunuuluaehu liula representing a new genus and species of Phyllophoraceae (Gigartinales, Rhodophyta) from the mesophotic zone of Hawai'i.

Over the last 2 decades, routine collections in the Hawaiian Archipelago have expanded to mesophotic reefs, leading to the discovery of a new red algal genus and species, here described as Anunuuluaehu liula gen. et sp. nov.

Inventory of the Seaweeds and Seagrasses of the Hawaiian Islands.

This updated list is composed of a total of 661 records, which includes 71 brown algae, 450 red algae, 137 green algae, and three seagrasses, with an overall rate of endemism of 13.2%. Almost half (46.

Complete chloroplast genome of (Ceramiales, Rhodophyta), a recently described cryptogenic species with invasive traits from Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, Hawai'i.

The complete chloroplast genome of , a red alga from Manawai (Pearl and Hermes Atoll), Hawai'i, was determined and analyzed using next-generation sequencing and assembly approaches. The chloroplast genome sequence of was 172,617 bp and contained 231 genes, consisting of 197 protein-coding genes, 29 transfer RNA genes, three ribosomal RNA genes, one transfer-messenger RNA gene, one non-coding RNA gene, and one intron inserted into the gene. The number of genes and genome structure was largely similar to other members of the family Rhodomelaceae.

Taxonomic determination of the cryptogenic red alga, Chondria tumulosa sp. nov., (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta) from Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, Hawai'i, USA: A new species displaying invasive characteristics.

Survey cruises by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 2016 and 2019 yielded specimens of an undetermined red alga that rapidly attained alarming levels of benthic coverage at Pearl and Hermes Atoll, Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, Hawai'i. By 2019 the seaweed had covered large expanses on the northeast side of the atoll with mat-like, extensive growth of entangled thalli. Specimens were analyzed using light microscopy and molecular analysis, and were compared to morphological descriptions in the literature for closely related taxa.

Finding the Sweet Spot: Sub-Ambient Light Increases Fitness and Kleptoplast Survival in the Sea Slug cf. Gould, 1852.

Sacoglossans, or "sap-sucking" sea slugs, are primarily algivorous, with many taxa exhibiting kleptoplasty, the feeding and retaining of photosynthetically active chloroplasts from algae. The species complex exhibits some of the longest kleptoplast retention and survival times under starvation conditions, but the contributions of these kleptoplasts to their survival and overall fitness have been widely debated. In this study we assessed the effects of starvation and light on the fitness of cf.

A new record of Avrainvillea cf. erecta (Berkeley) A. Gepp & E. S. Gepp (Bryopsidales, Chlorophyta) from urbanized estuaries in the Hawaiian Islands.

Background: A second species in the siphonous green algal genus was recently discovered off the island of O'ahu in the Main Hawaiian Islands. Specimens were collected from Honolulu Harbor, including its entrance channel, and near Ke'ehi Harbor. These locations are both in Mālama Bay on O'ahu's south shore in or adjacent to urbanized estuaries, respectively.

Updating Plakobranchus cf. ianthobapsus (Gastropoda, Sacoglossa) host use: Diverse algal-animal interactions revealed by NGS with implications for invasive species management.

Sacoglossa, the "sap sucking" sea slugs, are highly specialized herbivores and the only metazoans that exhibit kleptoplasty, the sequestration and retention of chloroplasts from algae. Plakobranchus is one of the most generalistic herbivores within this order, with as many as 12 reported "algal host" (i.e.

Assessing global range expansion in a cryptic species complex: insights from the red seaweed genus Asparagopsis (Florideophyceae).

The mitochondrial genetic diversity, distribution and invasive potential of multiple cryptic operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of the red invasive seaweed Asparagopsis were assessed by studying introduced Mediterranean and Hawaiian populations. Invasive behavior of each Asparagopsis OTU was inferred from phylogeographic reconstructions, past historical demographic dynamics, recent range expansion assessments and future distributional predictions obtained from demographic models. Genealogical networks resolved Asparagopsis gametophytes and tetrasporophytes into four A.

Fungi associated with mesophotic macroalgae from the 'Au'au Channel, west Maui are differentiated by host and overlap terrestrial communities.

Mesophotic coral ecosystems are an almost entirely unexplored and undocumented environment that likely contains vast reservoirs of undescribed biodiversity. Twenty-four macroalgae samples, representing four genera, were collected from a Hawaiian mesophotic reef at water depths between 65 and 86 m in the 'Au'au Channel, Maui, Hawai'i. Algal tissues were surveyed for the presence and diversity of fungi by sequencing the ITS1 gene using Illumina technology.

Molecular determination of kleptoplast origins from the sea slug Plakobranchus ocellatus (Sacoglossa, Gastropoda) reveals cryptic bryopsidalean (Chlorophyta) diversity in the Hawaiian Islands.

The sacoglossan sea slug species complex Plakobranchus ocellatus is a common algivore throughout the tropical Pacific, including the Hawaiian Islands. Plakobranchus ocellatus is kleptoplastic-it sequesters and retains algal chloroplasts-a characteristic that can be exploited to molecularly characterize diminutive bryopsidalean algae that are typically difficult to locate, collect, and identify. Previous DNA barcode analyses of both P.

A metabarcoding comparison of windward and leeward airborne algal diversity across the Ko'olau mountain range on the island of O'ahu, Hawai'i.

Airborne algae from sites on the windward (n = 3) and leeward (n = 3) sides of the Ko'olau Mountain range of O'ahu, Hawai'i, were sampled for a 16 d period during January and February 2015 using passive collection devices and were characterized using Illumina MiSeq sequencing of the universal plastid amplicon marker. Amplicons were assigned to 3,023 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), which included 1,189 cyanobacteria, 1,009 heterotrophic bacteria, and 304 Eukaryota (of which 284 were algae and land plants). Analyses demonstrated substantially more OTUs at windward than leeward O'ahu sites during the sampling period.

New Ulvaceae (Ulvophyceae, Chlorophyta) from mesophotic ecosystems across the Hawaiian Archipelago.

Ulvalean algae (Chlorophyta) are most commonly described from intertidal and shallow subtidal marine environments worldwide, but are less well known from mesophotic environments. Their morphological simplicity and phenotypic plasticity make accurate species determinations difficult, even at the generic level. Here, we describe the mesophotic Ulvales species composition from 13 locations across 2,300 km of the Hawaiian Archipelago.

The Hawaiian freshwater algae biodiversity survey (2009-2014): systematic and biogeographic trends with an emphasis on the macroalgae.

Background: A remarkable range of environmental conditions is present in the Hawaiian Islands due to their gradients of elevation, rainfall and island age. Despite being well known as a location for the study of evolutionary processes and island biogeography, little is known about the composition of the non-marine algal flora of the archipelago, its degree of endemism, or affinities with other floras. We conducted a biodiversity survey of the non-marine macroalgae of the six largest main Hawaiian Islands using molecular and microscopic assessment techniques.

THE GREEN ALGAL GENUS CLONIOPHORA REPRESENTS A NOVEL LINEAGE IN THE ULVALES: A PROPOSAL FOR CLONIOPHORACEAE FAM. NOV.(1).

The green algal genus Cloniophora has been classified in the Chaetophorales (Chlorophyceae) based on morphological characters. This study uses DNA sequence data from the nucleus (SSU) and the chloroplast (tufA) from collections in the Hawaiian Islands and a culture originating from Portugal to test this classification. Taxonomic identities of contemporary collections were confirmed by sequencing small fragments of DNA (rbcL and SSU) from type specimens, including the generitype, Cloniophora willei L.

The Hawaiian Rhodophyta Biodiversity Survey (2006-2010): a summary of principal findings.

Background: The Hawaiian red algal flora is diverse, isolated, and well studied from a morphological and anatomical perspective, making it an excellent candidate for assessment using a combination of traditional taxonomic and molecular approaches. Acquiring and making these biodiversity data freely available in a timely manner ensures that other researchers can incorporate these baseline findings into phylogeographic studies of Hawaiian red algae or red algae found in other locations.

Results: A total of 1,946 accessions are represented in the collections from 305 different geographical locations in the Hawaiian archipelago.

The Hawaiian Algal Database: a laboratory LIMS and online resource for biodiversity data.

Background: Organization and presentation of biodiversity data is greatly facilitated by databases that are specially designed to allow easy data entry and organized data display. Such databases also have the capacity to serve as Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS). The Hawaiian Algal Database was designed to showcase specimens collected from the Hawaiian Archipelago, enabling users around the world to compare their specimens with our photographs and DNA sequence data, and to provide lab personnel with an organizational tool for storing various biodiversity data types.

PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF PSEUDOCHLORODESMIS STRAINS REVEALS CRYPTIC DIVERSITY ABOVE THE FAMILY LEVEL IN THE SIPHONOUS GREEN ALGAE (BRYOPSIDALES, CHLOROPHYTA)(1).

The genus Pseudochlorodesmis (Bryopsidales) is composed of diminutive siphons of extreme morphological simplicity. The discovery of Pseudochlorodesmis-like juveniles in more complex Bryopsidales (e.g.

SYSTEMATICS OF THE BATRACHOSPERMALES (RHODOPHYTA)-A SYNTHESIS(1).

Recent molecular and morphological data necessitate a major taxonomic revision of the Batrachospermales, an order of red algae, distributed in freshwater habitats throughout the world. This article is a synthesis of available information with some targeted additional sequence data, resulting in a few relatively conservative taxonomic changes to begin the process of creating a natural taxonomy for the Batrachospermales. To increase the information content of our taxonomic categories, and in particular to reduce paraphyly, we describe one new genus (Kumanoa) and a new section in Batrachospermum (section Macrospora), and we amend the circumscriptions of the family Batrachospermaceae (to include Lemaneaceae and Psilosiphonaceae), the genus Batrachospermum (to exclude the sections Contorta and Hybrida, raised to genus level as Kumanoa), and the sections Aristata, Helminthoidea, and Batrachospermum of Batrachospermum.

Application of universally amplifying plastid primers to environmental sampling of a stream periphyton community.

To demonstrate the utility of universal plastid primers for probing of environmental samples, we extracted DNA from a tropical stream periphyton community and created two environmental clone libraries. We demonstrate the recovery of DNA sequences corresponding to the major groups of algae observed microscopically in the sample, illustrating the utility of these primers for analysis of environmental samples. Using a touchdown polymerase chain reaction technique, almost 99% of recovered sequences correspond to plastid-containing or cyanobacterial taxa, which allows algae to be targeted to the almost complete exclusion of noncyanobacterial prokaryotes and nonplastid-containing eukaryotes.

Morphology and phylogenetic position of Spongiochrysis hawaiiensis gen. et sp. nov., the first known terrestrial member of the order Cladophorales (Ulvophyceae, Chlorophyta).

Spongiochrysis hawaiiensis gen. et sp. nov.