Combining bathymetry, latitude, and phylogeny to understand the distribution of deep Atlantic hydroids (Cnidaria)
Fernandez, M.O.; Marques, A.C. (2018). Combining bathymetry, latitude, and phylogeny to understand the distribution of deep Atlantic hydroids (Cnidaria). Deep-Sea Res., Part 1, Oceanogr. Res. Pap. 133: 39-48. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2018.01.008
In: Deep-Sea Research, Part I. Oceanographic Research Papers. Elsevier: Oxford. ISSN 0967-0637; e-ISSN 1879-0119, more
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| Keywords |
Hydrozoa [WoRMS]
Marine/Coastal |
| Author keywords |
Depth range; Deep-sea benthos; Eurybathy; Latitude; Hydrozoa; Atlantic Ocean |
| Authors | | Top |
- Fernandez, M.O.
- Marques, A.C.
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| Abstract |
Water depth is associated with significant environmental changes and gradients that, together with biotic, geological, and evolutionary processes, define bathymetric ranges of individuals, populations, species, and even communities. However, inferences on bathymetric ranges of marine invertebrates are usually based on a few taxa or on restricted regional scales. In this study, we present a comprehensive literature survey of hydroids for the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent Arctic and Antarctic seas for records deeper than 50 m. We used these records in bathymetrical analyses along latitude and compared major patterns under an evolutionary framework. Our results show that hydroids are frequent inhabitants of the deep sea with mainly eurybathic species that extend their distributions from shallower to deeper waters, being rarely exclusively bathyal or abyssal. We also found increasing bathymetric ranges with mean depths of occurrence of the species for both families and regions. Moreover, vertical distribution proved to be taxonomically and regionally dependent, with reduced eurybathy in “Antarctic” species but increased eurybathy in “Tropical” and “Subtropical North” regions. Data also support early colonization of the deep sea in the evolution of the group. Finally, the unequal number of records across latitudes, scant at Equatorial and southern Tropical latitudes, provides evidence to the historically uneven sampling effort in the different regions of the Atlantic. |
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