Integrated assessment of the spatial distribution and structural dynamics of deep benthic marine communities.

Characterizing the spatial distribution and variation of species communities and validating these characteristics with data from the field are key elements for an ecosystem-based approach to management. However, models of species distributions that yield community structure are usually not linked to models of community dynamics, constraining understanding and management of the ecosystem, particularly in data-poor regions. Here we use a qualitative network model to predict changes in Antarctic benthic community structure between major marine habitats characterized largely by seafloor depth and slope, and use multivariate mixture models of species distributions to validate the community dynamics.

New gSSR and EST-SSR markers reveal high genetic diversity in the invasive plant Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. and can be transferred to other invasive Ambrosia species.

Ambrosia artemisiifolia L., (common ragweed), is an annual invasive and highly troublesome plant species originating from North America that has become widespread across Europe. New sets of genomic and expressed sequence tag (EST) based simple sequence repeats (SSRs) markers were developed in this species using three approaches.

Lost in the North: The first record of Diretmichthys parini (Post and Quéro, 1981) in the northern North Sea.

In June 2015, an individual of Diretmichthys parini (Post and Quero, 1981) was trawled at 530m depth, in the North Sea off Norway and donated to research. This capture, the first for this species in the North Sea was the northernmost recorded so far, and provided an opportunity to document some aspects of the biology and ecology of this data-poor species. This individual was a female, 331mm total length of 33years old, with low mercury content in muscle and liver (~0.

Redescription of the Indo-Pacific scorpionfish Scorpaenodes guamensis (Quoy & Gaimard 1824) (Scorpaenidae), a senior synonym of seven nominal species.

The Indo-Pacific scorpionfish, Scorpaenodes guamensis (Quoy & Gaimard 1824), is redescribed on the basis of 137 specimens, including types, from a wide geographic range in the Indo-Pacific. Seven nominal species, Scorpaena rubropunctata Cuvier in Cuvier & Valenciennes 1829, Sebastes minutus Cuvier in Cuvier & Valenciennes 1829, Scorpaena chilioprista Rüppell 1838, Scorpaena polylepis Bleeker 1851, Centropogon echinatus Macleay 1881, Scorpaena erinacea Garman 1903, and Scorpaenopsis quiescens Seale 1906, are regarded here as junior synonyms of S. guamensis.

Redescription of the Indo-West Pacific scorpionfish (Scorpaenidae), Neomerinthe erostris (Alcock 1896), a senior synonym of Scorpaena gibbifrons Fowler 1938, N. rotunda Chen 1981, and N. bathyperimensis Zajonz & Klausewitz 2002.

The Indo-West Pacific species, Neomerinthe erostris (Alcock 1896), originally described as Scorpaena erostris, is redescribed as a senior synonym of Scorpaena gibbifrons Fowler 1938, N. rotunda Chen 1981, and N. bathyperimensis Zajonz & Klausewitz 2002.

Genetic basis, evolutionary origin and spread of resistance to herbicides inhibiting acetolactate synthase in common groundsel (Senecio vulgaris).

Background: Following control failure by herbicides inhibiting acetolactate synthase (ALS) in French wheat fields and vineyards, we aimed to confirm resistance evolution and investigate the evolutionary origin and spread of resistance in the tetraploid species Senecio vulgaris (common groundsel), a widespread, highly mobile weed.

Results: Sequencing of two ALS homeologues in S. vulgaris enabled the first identification and characterisation of ALS-based resistance in this species.

Using next-generation sequencing to detect mutations endowing resistance to pesticides: application to acetolactate-synthase (ALS)-based resistance in barnyard grass, a polyploid grass weed.

Background: Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies offer tremendous possibilities for accurate detection of mutations endowing pesticide resistance, yet their use for this purpose has not emerged in crop protection. This study aims at promoting NGS use for pesticide resistance diagnosis. It describes a simple procedure accessible to virtually any scientist and implementing freely accessible programs for the analysis of NGS data.

A new deep-water goatfish of the genus Upeneus (Mullidae) from Vanuatu, South Pacific.

A new goatfish, Upeneus vanuatu (Mullidae), is described based on five specimens collected off two islands of Vanuatu (South Pacific), at depths of 191-321 m, and compared with five closely related species: Upeneus davidaroni (Red Sea), U. mascareinsis (Western Indian Ocean), U. stenopsis (northern Australia, Philippines, 127-275 m), and the more shallow-occurring Indo-West Pacific species U.

Cryptic diversity in Indo-Pacific coral-reef fishes revealed by DNA-barcoding provides new support to the centre-of-overlap hypothesis.

Diversity in coral reef fishes is not evenly distributed and tends to accumulate in the Indo-Malay-Philippines Archipelago (IMPA). The comprehension of the mechanisms that initiated this pattern is in its infancy despite its importance for the conservation of coral reefs. Considering the IMPA either as an area of overlap or a cradle of marine biodiversity, the hypotheses proposed to account for this pattern rely on extant knowledge about taxonomy and species range distribution.