Seasonality of primary production explains the richness of pioneering benthic communities.

A pattern of increasing species richness from the poles to the equator is frequently observed in many animal taxa. Ecological limits, determined by the abiotic conditions and biotic interactions within an environment, are one of the major factors influencing the geographical distribution of species diversity. Energy availability is often considered a crucial limiting factor, with temperature and productivity serving as empirical measures.

Paleozoic origins of cheilostome bryozoans and their parental care inferred by a new genome-skimmed phylogeny.

Phylogenetic relationships and the timing of evolutionary events are essential for understanding evolution on longer time scales. Cheilostome bryozoans are a group of ubiquitous, species-rich, marine colonial organisms with an excellent fossil record but lack phylogenetic relationships inferred from molecular data. We present genome-skimmed data for 395 cheilostomes and combine these with 315 published sequences to infer relationships and the timing of key events among c.

An open-source, citizen science and machine learning approach to analyse subsea movies.

Background: The increasing access to autonomously-operated technologies offer vast opportunities to sample large volumes of biological data. However, these technologies also impose novel demands on ecologists who need to apply tools for data management and processing that are efficient, publicly available and easy to use. Such tools are starting to be developed for a wider community and here we present an approach to combine essential analytical functions for analysing large volumes of image data in marine ecological research.

A molecular phylogeny of historical and contemporary specimens of an under-studied micro-invertebrate group.

Resolution of relationships at lower taxonomic levels is crucial for answering many evolutionary questions, and as such, sufficiently varied species representation is vital. This latter goal is not always achievable with relatively fresh samples. To alleviate the difficulties in procuring rarer taxa, we have seen increasing utilization of historical specimens in building molecular phylogenies using high throughput sequencing.

Building essential biodiversity variables (EBVs) of species distribution and abundance at a global scale.

Much biodiversity data is collected worldwide, but it remains challenging to assemble the scattered knowledge for assessing biodiversity status and trends. The concept of Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) was introduced to structure biodiversity monitoring globally, and to harmonize and standardize biodiversity data from disparate sources to capture a minimum set of critical variables required to study, report and manage biodiversity change. Here, we assess the challenges of a 'Big Data' approach to building global EBV data products across taxa and spatiotemporal scales, focusing on species distribution and abundance.

BioVeL: a virtual laboratory for data analysis and modelling in biodiversity science and ecology.

Background: Making forecasts about biodiversity and giving support to policy relies increasingly on large collections of data held electronically, and on substantial computational capability and capacity to analyse, model, simulate and predict using such data. However, the physically distributed nature of data resources and of expertise in advanced analytical tools creates many challenges for the modern scientist. Across the wider biological sciences, presenting such capabilities on the Internet (as "Web services") and using scientific workflow systems to compose them for particular tasks is a practical way to carry out robust "in silico" science.

Endozoicomonas Are Specific, Facultative Symbionts of Sea Squirts.

Ascidians are marine filter feeders and harbor diverse microbiota that can exhibit a high degree of host-specificity. Pharyngeal samples of Scandinavian and Mediterranean ascidians were screened for consistently associated bacteria by culture-dependent and -independent approaches. Representatives of the Endozoicomonas (Gammaproteobacteria, Hahellaceae) clade were detected in the ascidian species Ascidiella aspersa, Ascidiella scabra, Botryllus schlosseri, Ciona intestinalis, Styela clava, and multiple Ascidia/Ascidiella spp.

Description of Endozoicomonas ascidiicola sp. nov., isolated from Scandinavian ascidians.

Two gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, chemoorganoheterotrophic, motile and rod-shaped bacteria, strains AVMART05(T) and KASP37, were isolated from ascidians (Tunicata, Ascidiaceae) of the genus Ascidiella collected at Gullmarsfjord, Sweden. The strains are the first cultured representatives of an ascidian-specific lineage within the genus Endozoicomonas (Gammaproteobacteria, Oceanospirillales, Hahellaceae). Both strains feature three distinct 16S rRNA gene paralogs, with identities of 98.

Evaluating the potential of ecological niche modelling as a component in marine non-indigenous species risk assessments.

Marine biological invasions have increased with the development of global trading, causing the homogenization of communities and the decline of biodiversity. A main vector is ballast water exchange from shipping. This study evaluates the use of ecological niche modelling (ENM) to predict the spread of 18 non-indigenous species (NIS) along shipping routes and their potential habitat suitability (hot/cold spots) in the Baltic Sea and Northeast Atlantic.

A semi-automated workflow for biodiversity data retrieval, cleaning, and quality control.

The compilation and cleaning of data needed for analyses and prediction of species distributions is a time consuming process requiring a solid understanding of data formats and service APIs provided by biodiversity informatics infrastructures. We designed and implemented a Taverna-based Data Refinement Workflow which integrates taxonomic data retrieval, data cleaning, and data selection into a consistent, standards-based, and effective system hiding the complexity of underlying service infrastructures. The workflow can be freely used both locally and through a web-portal which does not require additional software installations by users.

The founding charter of the Genomic Observatories Network.

The co-authors of this paper hereby state their intention to work together to launch the Genomic Observatories Network (GOs Network) for which this document will serve as its Founding Charter. We define a Genomic Observatory as an ecosystem and/or site subject to long-term scientific research, including (but not limited to) the sustained study of genomic biodiversity from single-celled microbes to multicellular organisms.An international group of 64 scientists first published the call for a global network of Genomic Observatories in January 2012.

Genomics in marine monitoring: new opportunities for assessing marine health status.

This viewpoint paper explores the potential of genomics technology to provide accurate, rapid, and cost efficient observations of the marine environment. The use of such approaches in next generation marine monitoring programs will help achieve the goals of marine legislation implemented world-wide. Genomic methods can yield faster results from monitoring, easier and more reliable taxonomic identification, as well as quicker and better assessment of the environmental status of marine waters.

A decadal view of biodiversity informatics: challenges and priorities.

Biodiversity informatics plays a central enabling role in the research community's efforts to address scientific conservation and sustainability issues. Great strides have been made in the past decade establishing a framework for sharing data, where taxonomy and systematics has been perceived as the most prominent discipline involved. To some extent this is inevitable, given the use of species names as the pivot around which information is organised.

Xenoturbella bocki exhibits direct development with similarities to Acoelomorpha.

Xenoturbella bocki, a marine animal with a simple body plan, has recently been suggested to be sister group to the Acoelomorpha, together forming the new phylum Xenacoelomorpha. The phylogenetic position of the phylum is still under debate, either as an early branching bilaterian or as a sister group to the Ambulacraria (hemichordates and echinoderms) within the deuterostomes. Although development has been described for several species of Acoelomorpha, little is known about the life cycle of Xenoturbella.

The placental analogue and the pattern of sexual reproduction in the cheilostome bryozoan Bicellariella ciliata (Gymnolaemata).

Background: Matrotrophy or extraembryonic nutrition - transfer of nutrients from mother to embryo during gestation - is well known and thoroughly studied among vertebrates, but still poorly understood in invertebrates. The current paper focuses on the anatomy and ultrastructure of the oogenesis and placentotrophy as well as formation of the brood chamber (ovicell) in the cheilostome bryozoan Bicellariella ciliata (Linnaeus, 1758). Our research aimed to combine these aspects of the sexual reproduction into an integral picture, highlighting the role of the primitive placenta-like system in the evolution of bryozoan reproductive patterns.

Molecular phylogeny of extant horseshoe crabs (Xiphosura, Limulidae) indicates Paleogene diversification of Asian species.

Horseshoe crabs are marine invertebrates well known for their exceptionally low rates of diversification during their entire evolutionary history. Despite the low species diversity in the group, the phylogenetic relationships among the extant species, especially among the three Asian species are still unresolved. Here we apply a new set of molecular genetic data in combination with a wide geographic sampling of the intra-specific diversity to reinvestigate the evolutionary history among the four living limulid xiphosurans.

Potential for clonal animals in longevity and ageing studies.

Ageing is defined as a decline in reproductive and/or somatic performance over time, and as such is experienced by most organisms. Evolutionary theories explain ageing as a consequence of reduced selection pressure against mutations and reduced allocation to somatic maintenance in post-reproductive individuals. In addition, the fecundity of younger age-groups makes a more significant contribution than infinite maintenance of the parental body to the production of subsequent generations.

Population dynamics of American horseshoe crabs--historic climatic events and recent anthropogenic pressures.

Populations of the American horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, have declined, but neither the causes nor the magnitude are fully understood. In order to evaluate historic demography, variation at 12 microsatellite DNA loci surveyed in 1218 L. polyphemus sampled from 28 localities was analysed with Bayesian coalescent-based methods.

The first internal molecular phylogeny of the animal phylum Entoprocta (Kamptozoa).

This article provides the first molecular phylogenetic study of the enigmatic invertebrate phylum Entoprocta and was designed to resolve the internal phylogenetic relationships of the taxon. The study is based on partial and combined analyses of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), as well as the nuclear ribosomal genes 28S rDNA and 18S rDNA. A short morphological character matrix was constructed to trace character evolution along the combined molecular phylogenetic tree.

Two types of endosymbiotic bacteria in the enigmatic marine worm Xenoturbella bocki.

Two types of endosymbiotic bacteria were identified in the gastrodermis of the marine invertebrate Xenoturbella bocki (Xenoturbellida, Bilateria). While previously described Chlamydia-like endosymbionts were rare, Gammaproteobacteria distantly related to other endosymbionts and pathogens were abundant. The endosymbionts should be considered when interpreting the poorly understood ecology and evolution of Xenoturbella.

Assessing the root of bilaterian animals with scalable phylogenomic methods.

A clear picture of animal relationships is a prerequisite to understand how the morphological and ecological diversity of animals evolved over time. Among others, the placement of the acoelomorph flatworms, Acoela and Nemertodermatida, has fundamental implications for the origin and evolution of various animal organ systems. Their position, however, has been inconsistent in phylogenetic studies using one or several genes.

The first comprehensive molecular phylogeny of Bryozoa (Ectoprocta) based on combined analyses of nuclear and mitochondrial genes.

Bryozoa is one of the most puzzling phyla in the animal kingdom and little is known about their evolutionary history. Its phylogenetic position among the Metazoa remains unsettled, as well as its intra-phylum relationships. Here, we present the first comprehensive molecular phylogeny of Bryozoa based on the mitochondrial gene COI and two nuclear genes 18S rDNA and 28S rDNA including 32 species from 23 families.

Broad phylogenomic sampling improves resolution of the animal tree of life.

Long-held ideas regarding the evolutionary relationships among animals have recently been upended by sometimes controversial hypotheses based largely on insights from molecular data. These new hypotheses include a clade of moulting animals (Ecdysozoa) and the close relationship of the lophophorates to molluscs and annelids (Lophotrochozoa). Many relationships remain disputed, including those that are required to polarize key features of character evolution, and support for deep nodes is often low.

Feeding ecology of Xenoturbella bocki (phylum Xenoturbellida) revealed by genetic barcoding.

The benthic marine worm Xenoturbella is frequently contaminated with molluscan DNA, which had earlier caused confusion resulting in a suggested bivalve relationship. In order to find the source of the contaminant, we have used molluscan sequences derived from Xenoturbella and compared them to barcodes obtained from several individuals of the nonmicroscopic molluscs sharing the same environment as Xenoturbella. Using cytochrome oxidase 1, we found the contaminating sequences to be 98% similar to the bivalve Ennucula tenuis.

Hidden diversity and host specificity in cycliophorans: a phylogeographic analysis along the North Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea.

In order to elucidate the evolutionary history and the population structure of the members of the phylum Cycliophora, which live commensally on three species of lobsters, we studied sequence variation in the mitochondrial gene cyctochrome c oxidase subunit I. Overall 242 sequences from 16 locations on both coasts of the North Atlantic, including the North Sea and the Mediterranean, were analysed, revealing 28 haplotypes, with a maximum sequence divergence of 16.6%.