A5000145379- Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
- Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies
- Marine Ecology and Invasive Species
- Marine and coastal plant biology
- Marine Biology and Ecology Research
- Ichthyology and Marine Biology
- Coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics
- Echinoderm biology and ecology
- Fish biology, ecology, and behavior
- Marine Bivalve and Aquaculture Studies
- Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
- Marine Invertebrate Physiology and Ecology
- Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
- Genetic diversity and population structure
- Marine Sponges and Natural Products
- Marine and fisheries research
- Cephalopods and Marine Biology
- Protist diversity and phylogeny
- Evolution and Paleontology Studies
- Aquaculture disease management and microbiota
- Environmental DNA in Biodiversity Studies
- Algal biology and biofuel production
University of the Ryukyus
2019-2024
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
2024
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
2013-2021
University of Copenhagen
2021
Marche Polytechnic University
2012-2014
Recent ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) exploration and bottom sampling in the southern Adriatic Sea (Apulian Montenegrin margins) resulted discovery of cnidarian-rich deep-sea habitats depth range ca. 400-700 m. In particular, inspection canyons reveals existence megabenthic communities dominated by a variety cnidarians, including scleractinians (Madrepora oculata, Lophelia pertusa, Dendrophyllia cornigera), antipatharians (Leiopathes glaberrima) gorgonians (Callogorgia verticillata) as...
The abyssal plains are vast areas without large scale relief that occupy much of the ocean floor. Although long considered relatively featureless, they now known to display substantial biological heterogeneity across different spatial scales. Ecological research in these regions benefits increasingly from non-destructive visual sampling epifaunal organisms with imaging technology. We analysed images ultra-high-definition towed camera transects at depths around 3500 m three stations (100–130...
Little is known about density and structure of black coral populations the continental Pacific coasts Central South America. Species diversity ecology antipatharian fauna Machalilla National Park (Province Manabí, Ecuador) were surveyed using scuba, two species, Myriopathes panamensis Antipathes galapagensis, identified. New information on species their associated was obtained through both underwater observations laboratory analyses. Specific associations with stalked barnacles parasitic...
Introduction Maritime traffic and coastal urbanisation significantly contribute to the introduction proliferation of non-indigenous species (NIS). However, lack information might prevent effective monitoring in data-limited regions, particularly areas experiencing demographic growth, where biofouling communities could offer crucial insights into dynamics NIS invasions. This study represents a baseline characterization northern Saudi Arabian Red Sea (NEOM region) prior extensive urban,...
Despite the Central Indo-Pacific (CIP) and Indonesian Archipelago being a well-known region of coral reef biodiversity, particularly in 'Coral Triangle', little published information is available on its zoantharians (Cnidaria: Hexacorallia: Zoantharia). In order to provide basis for future research zoantharian fauna facilitate comparisons between more well-studied regions such as Japan Great Barrier Reef, this report deals with CIP specimens Naturalis collection Leiden, Netherlands; 106 were...
Sponge species are infamously difficult to identify for non-experts due their high morphological plasticity and the paucity of informative characters. The use molecular techniques certainly helps with identification, but unfortunately it requires prior reference sequences. Holotypes constitute best material however usage in systematics taxonomy is scarce frequently not even attempted, mostly antiquity preservation history. Here we provide case studies which demonstrate importance using...
Cnidarians are early-diverging metazoans, but evolutionary aspects of some taxa still poorly understood, as in the order Zoantharia (Anthozoa: Hexacorallia). Zoantharians have been divided into two suborders based on arrangement fifth septae complete (Macrocnemina) or incomplete (Brachycnemina). Previous molecular phylogenetic analyses indicated need for re-evaluation Macrocnemina has found to be paraphyletic. Despite many studies, recovery mitochondrial genomes (mt-genomes) systematic and...
Recently, sea cucumbers (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) have been over-exploited in many areas of the world, including Ryukyu Islands, southern Japan, due to increases their economic importance. Nevertheless, management and protection are insufficient worldwide. The black cucumber Holothuria ( Halodeima ) atra Jaeger, 1833, inhabits a large range across Indo-West Pacific Ocean is widely harvested species. Here we conducted population genetic analyses on H . using partial mitochondrial DNA...
Mitogenome diversity is staggering among early branching animals with respect to size, gene density, content and order, number of tRNA genes, especially in cnidarians. This last point special interest as cleavage drives the maturation mitochondrial mRNAs a primary mechanism for mt-RNA processing animals. Mitochondrial RNA non-bilaterian metazoans, some which possess single their mitogenomes, essentially unstudied despite its importance understanding evolution transcription animals.We...
Across eukaryotes, large variations of genome sizes have been observed even between closely related species. Transposable elements as part the repeated DNA proposed and confirmed one most important contributors to size variation. However, evolutionary implications variation transposable element dynamics are not well understood. Together with phenotypic traits, they commonly referred “C-value enigma”. The order Zoantharia benthic cnidarians found from intertidal zones deep sea, some species...
Abstract Background Marine benthic prokaryotic communities play crucial roles in material recycling within coastal environments, including coral reefs. Coastal sedimentary microbiomes are particularly important as potential reservoirs of symbiotic, beneficial, and pathogenic bacteria reef therefore presumably a core role local ecosystem functioning. However, there is lack studies comparing different environments with multiple sites on the island scale, focusing communities, previous...
This study represents a preliminary systematic reorganization of the critical whip black coral genus Stichopathes from Indonesia, and validation test its principal morphological features as suitable taxonomic characters. A phylogenetic analysis based on rDNA internal transcribed spacer sequences ITS1 ITS2 was performed several specimens coming different areas Indonesian Archipelago. Within family Antipathidae, these analyses confirmed separation three traditional genera corals (Stichopathes,...
Telestula humilis (Thomson, 1927) is a rare deep-sea stoloniferan octocoral distributed in the eastern Atlantic. Here we compared seven putative colonies of this species collected off Spain with lectotype from Oceanographic Museum Monaco and found them to be identical morphologically. Phylogenetic analyses on both full mitogenomes concatenated alignment containing two mtDNA genes (mtMutS Cox1) nuclear 28S rRNA gene recovered sister Incrustatus Inconstantia rather than other Telestula. This...
The genus Paramuricea is present in the Mediterranean Sea with two species, P. clavata and macrospina. These species have similar bathymetric distributions can live sympatry. macrospina shows morphological plasticity leading sometimes to an erroneous classification as clavata. Studying four ambiguous morphotypes of collected different localities Sea, we provide new insights on both taxonomy distribution this species. Our analyses reveal high within sampled colonies, which cases were...
We present the complete genome sequences of 13 species zoantharian suborder Brachycnemina (Haddon, and Shackleton, 1891; Poliseno et al., 2020). Genome sequencing was performed on genetic material from single wild-collected individuals. For each sequence reads were assembled using a de novo method followed by finishing step. The raw data are publicly available via GenBank.
We report on digitate and capitate Octocorallia within the genera Parasphaerasclera McFadden & Ofwegen, 2013, Eleutherobia Pütter, 1900, Sphaerasclera Paraminabea Williams Alderslade, 1999 from tropical Western Australian waters. Three new species (Parasphaerasclera kimberleyensis, australiensis, imaharai) are described, with a discussion of their taxonomic placement in light recent treatment genus related taxa by Ofwegen (2013). In addition, range extensions for three reported, grayi...
Sea cucumbers are important ecological engineers in marine ecosystems. However, the fishery demand of some species, especially large-epifaunal and commercially used (LEC) sea cucumbers, has risen drastically, resulting serious depletion local populations for many species. Despite this problem, basic data on such as population densities preferred habitats, often still insufficient. Here, we report multiple LEC cucumber their ambient benthic communities at eight sites around Okinawa Islands....
Dorometra Clark, 1917 A. H. (1917). A revision of the crinoid family Antedonidae, with diagnoses nine new genera. Journal Washington Academy Sciences, 7, 127–131. [Google Scholar] (Comatulida: Antedonidae) is an Indo-Pacific genus small-sized cryptic feather stars currently comprising species. The monophyly this has been widely questioned, although only few studies have investigated phylogeny Antedonidae in depth. In study we used integrated approach combining molecular phylogenetic,...
Abstract We sequenced the complete mitogenomes of two eastern tropical Pacific gorgonians, Muricea crassa and purpurea, using NGS technologies. The assembled M. purpurea were 19,586 bp 19,358 in length, with a GC-content ranging from 36.0% to 36.1%, respectively. had same gene arrangement consisting 14 protein-coding genes, rRNAs one tRNA. Mitogenome identity was 98.5%. intergenic regions between COB NAD6 NAD5 NAD4 polymorphic length high level nucleotide diversity. Based on concatenated...
INTRODUCTION – In 2012 and 2013 the Western Australian Museum (WAM) undertook a comprehensive biodiversity survey in Sahul Shelf Bioregion, which encompassed intertidal shallow subtidal reef communities of outer shelf atolls Ashmore Hibernia Reefs, several submerged midshelf shoals.