Abstract
Cystoseira sensu lato (Ochrophyta) forests are important habitat formers in the Mediterranean Sea, but they have mostly been studied in the western basin where many species are under decline. In the eastern basin, where fewer species occur, Cystoseira rayssiae Ramon was described in the year 2000 as an endemic species based on morphological characteristics from herbaria samples collected on the Israeli coast. No further investigations have been conducted on this peculiar species since, but recently it has been recorded in contiguous Lebanon and outside the Mediterranean. Our work was aimed at confirming the taxonomic validity and endemic nature of this species, including its position among the recently split Cystoseira sensu stricto, Carpodesmia Greville and Treptacantha Kützing genera, by sequencing the mitochondrial COI gene and by examining morphological characteristics in samples from three different sites in northern Israel. Notwithstanding considerable morphological plasticity, molecular analyses revealed a single unique COI sequence. Phylogenetic analyses show that Cystoseira rayssiae belongs to the resurrected genus Treptacantha and hence, the new combination Treptacantha rayssiae (Ramon) M.Mulas, J.Neiva & Á.Israel, comb. nov., is proposed. Unique sequences and a restricted range support its Levantine-endemic status. Intriguing extra-Mediterranean reports from the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf are probably misidentifications rather than reflecting a disjunct distribution or recent invasion.
Translated title of the contribution | Genetic affinities and biogeography of putative Levantine-endemic seaweed Treptacantha rayssiae (Ramon) M.Mulas, J.Neiva & Á.Israel, comb. nov. (Phaeophyceae) |
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Original language | French |
Pages (from-to) | 91-103 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Cryptogamie, Algologie |
Volume | 41 |
Issue number | 10 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 16 Sep 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:SFRH/BPD/88935/2012 (DL 57/2016/CP1361/CT0010), SFRH/BSAB/150485/2019, and a Pew Marine Fellowship. AI and SS thank The National Herbarium of The Hebrew University (HUJ) for access to preserved seaweed specimens. AI also thanks the Ministry of Science & Technology, Israel; Ministry of Health, Israel and Ministry of Energy Infrastructure and Water Resources, Israel, for support. All the authors thank Pr Michael Guiry for the validation of the new taxonomical combination. A final thanks to the associate editor, Stacy Krueger-Hadfield, and the two anonymous reviewers who improve the quality of our paper.
Funding Information:
We thank Dar Golomb and Maura Schonwald from IOLR for field assistance, Guy Paz and Ximena Velasquez for helping with the artwork and Laura Ballatore with the French translation. MM PhD project is supported by ISF grant No 1982/16 to GR. JN has received funding from H2020 (EU) under grant agreement No 730984, Assemble Plus, and work at CCMAR was funded by FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology (Portugal) UID/Multi/04326/2019, Biodiversa/0004/2015, SFRH/BPD/88935/2012 (DL 57/2016/CP1361/CT0010), SFRH/BSAB/150485/2019, and a Pew Marine Fellowship. AI and SS thank The National Herbarium of The Hebrew University (HUJ) for access to preserved seaweed specimens. AI also thanks the Ministry of Science & Technology, Israel; Ministry of Health, Israel and Ministry of Energy Infrastructure and Water Resources, Israel, for support. All the authors thank Pr Michael Guiry for the validation of the new taxonomical combination. A final thanks to the associate editor, Stacy Krueger-Hadfield, and the two anonymous reviewers who improve the quality of our paper.
Funding Information:
We thank Dar Golomb and Maura Schonwald from IOLR for field assistance, Guy Paz and Ximena Velasquez for helping with the artwork and Laura Ballatore with the French translation. MM PhD project is supported by ISF grant No 1982/16 to GR. JN has received funding from H2020 (EU) under grant agreement No 730984, Assemble Plus, and work at CCMAR was funded by FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology (Portugal) UID/Multi/04326/2019, Biodiversa/0004/2015,
Publisher Copyright:
© Publications scientifiques du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris.
Keywords
- Brown algae
- COI
- Cystoseira rayssiae
- Israel
- Mediterranean Sea
- New combination
- Rocky-shore assemblages
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Aquatic Science
- Plant Science