Genetic and morphological evidence support the specific status of the endemic (Ericales, Ericaceae).

Assessing the taxonomic status of closely related taxa is crucial in plant systematics and can have important implications for conservation and human plant use. Cabezudo & Rivera is a metallophyte endemic species from highly metal-polluted soils of SW Iberian Peninsula, an area with a mining history going back more than 5,000 years. is closely related to Bab.

Resolving the taxonomy of the Polysiphonia scopulorum complex and the Bryocladia lineage (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta).

Cryptic diversity is common among marine macroalgae, with molecular tools leading to the discovery of many new species. To assign names to these morphologically similar species, the type and synonyms have to be examined, and if appropriate, new species must be described. The turf-forming red alga Polysiphonia scopulorum was originally described from Rottnest Island, Australia, and subsequently widely reported in tropical and temperate coasts based on morphological identifications.

Kelp forests collapse reduces understorey seaweed β-diversity.

Background And Aims: Kelps are the primary foundation species in temperate subtidal rocky shores worldwide. However, global change is causing their decline with consequences for the organisms that rely on them. An accurate assessment of these consequences may depend on which attributes of the associated community are considered.

Gene-rich plastid genomes of two parasitic red algal species, Laurencia australis and L. verruciformis (Rhodomelaceae, Ceramiales), and a taxonomic revision of Janczewskia.

Parasitic red algae are an interesting system for investigating the genetic changes that occur in parasites. These parasites have evolved independently multiple times within the red algae. The functional loss of plastid genomes can be investigated in these multiple independent examples, and fine-scale patterns may be discerned.

Molecular analyses of turf algae reveal a new species and an undetected introduction in the Pterosiphonieae (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta).

Introduced seaweeds and undescribed species often remain undetected because marine regional floras are as yet poorly understood. DNA sequencing facilitates their detection, but databases are incomplete, so their improvement will continue to lead the discovery of these species. Here we aim to clarify the taxonomy of two turf-forming red algal Australian species that morphologically resemble the European Aphanocladia stichidiosa.

Phylogenomic analysis of pseudocryptic diversity reveals the new genus Deltalsia (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta).

Molecular analyses, in combination with morphological studies, provide invaluable tools for delineating red algal taxa. However, molecular datasets are incomplete and taxonomic revisions are often required once additional species or populations are sequenced. The small red alga Conferva parasitica was described from the British Isles in 1762 and then reported from other parts of Europe.

A multidisciplinary approach to identify priority areas for the monitoring of a vulnerable family of fishes in Spanish Marine National Parks.

Background: Syngnathid fishes (Actinopterygii, Syngnathidae) are flagship species strongly associated with seaweed and seagrass habitats. Seahorses and pipefishes are highly vulnerable to anthropogenic and environmental disturbances, but most species are currently Data Deficient according to the IUCN (2019), requiring more biological and ecological research. This study provides the first insights into syngnathid populations in the two marine Spanish National Parks (PNIA-Atlantic- and PNAC-Mediterranean).

Meridionella gen. nov., a New Genus of Cystocloniaceae (Gigartinales, Rhodophyta) from the Southern Hemisphere, Including M. obtusangula comb. nov. and M. antarctica sp. nov.

The classification of Cystoclonium obtusangulum has been questioned since the species was first described by Hooker and Harvey as Gracilaria? obtusangula. The objective of this study was to provide the first comprehensive taxonomic analysis of Cystoclonium obtusangulum, based on DNA sequences coupled with morphological observations made on syntype specimens and new collections. Sequence divergences of rbcL, UPA, and COI-5P, and maximum-likelihood phylogenies for rbcL and 18S demonstrated that specimens identified as Cystoclonium obtusangulum represent a clade of two distinct species that are distantly related to the generitype Cystoclonium purpureum.

Extensive cryptic diversity in the widely distributed Polysiphonia scopulorum (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta): Molecular species delimitation and morphometric analyses.

Our knowledge of seaweed diversity and biogeography still largely relies on information derived from morphological identifications, but the use of molecular tools is revealing that cryptic diversity is common among algae. Polysiphonia scopulorum is a turf-forming red alga widely reported in tropical and temperate coasts worldwide. The only study based on material collected from its Australian type locality and the Iberian Peninsula indicates that it is a species complex, but the extent of cryptic diversity across its geographical range is not known.

Morphological evolution and classification of the red algal order Ceramiales inferred using plastid phylogenomics.

The order Ceramiales contains about one third of red algal diversity and it was classically classified into four families according to morphology. The first phylogenies based on one or two molecular markers were poorly supported and failed to resolve these families as monophyletic. Nine families are currently recognized, but relationships within and among them are poorly understood.

Widely distributed red algae often represent hidden introductions, complexes of cryptic species or species with strong phylogeographic structure.

Despite studies suggesting that most seaweeds are poor dispersers, many red algal species are reported to have circumglobal distributions. Such distributions have mostly been based on morphological identifications, but molecular data have revealed a range of issues with morphologically defined species boundaries. Consequently, the real distribution of such reportedly circumglobal species must be questioned.

Analysis of chloroplast genomes and a supermatrix inform reclassification of the Rhodomelaceae (Rhodophyta).

With over a thousand species, the Rhodomelaceae is the most species-rich family of red algae. While its genera have been assigned to 14 tribes, the high-level classification of the family has never been evaluated with a molecular phylogeny. Here, we reassess its classification by integrating genome-scale phylogenetic analysis with observations of the morphological characters of clades.