Cruz-Ramos, Mariel A.

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Population structure of the fireworm Hermodice carunculata in the wider Caribbean, Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea
(2017) Cruz-Ramos, Mariel A.; Schizas, Nikolaos V.; College of Arts and Sciences - Sciences; Weil, Ernesto; Alfaro, Monica; Department of Marine Sciences; Seijo Vidal, Roberto L.
The bearded fireworm Hermodice carunculata is an important predator invertebrate in tropical and subtropical Atlantic, including the Mediterranean. There is limited data on the genetic population structure of H. carunculata because of taxonomic uncertainties regarding the status of allopatric populations as the same or as distinct species. We revisited this issue with 200 new polychaete specimens from over 20 locations around the wider Caribbean, Eastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. The mitochondrial markers Cytochrome C Oxidase subunit I (COI) and Cytochrome b (Cytb) from individual polychaetes were sequenced to examine the standing diversity. Results indicate significant genetic structure amongst the Caribbean H. carunculata, including those from Gulf of Mexico and Florida (Wider Caribbean), compared to those from the eastern Atlantic (Canary Islands) and eastern Mediterranean (Greece and Malta). Also, significant genetic structure was observed between Brazil and the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. The analyses of these two mitochondrial markers corroborate the hypothesis of one Atlantic species of Hermodice carunculata.