Browsing by Author "Mirimin, Luca"
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- Historical gene flow constraints in a northeastern atlantic fish: Phylogeography of the ballan wrasse labrus bergylta across its distribution rangePublication . Almada, Frederico José Oliveira de; Francisco, Sara Martins; Lima, Cristina Silva; Fitzgerald, Richard; Mirimin, Luca; Villegas-Ríos, David; Saborido-Rey, Fran; Afonso, Pedro; Morato, Telmo; Bexiga, Sérgio; Robalo, Joana IsabelThe distribution and demographic patterns of marine organisms in the north Atlantic were largely shaped by climatic changes during the Pleistocene, when recurrent glacial maxima forced them to move south or to survive in northern peri-glacial refugia. These patterns were also influenced by biological and ecological factors intrinsic to each species, namely their dispersion ability. The ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta), the largest labrid fish along Europe's continental margins, is a target for fisheries and aquaculture industry. The phylogeographic pattern, population structure, potential glacial refugia and recolonization routes for this species were assessed across its full distribution range, using mitochondrial and nuclear markers. The existence of a marked population structure can reflect both recolonization from three distinct glacial refugia and current and past oceanographic circulation patterns. Although isolated in present times, shared haplotypes between continental and Azores populations and historical exchange of migrants in both directions point to a common origin of L. bergylta. This situation is likely to be maintained and/or accentuated by current circulation patterns in the north Atlantic, and may lead to incipient speciation in the already distinct Azorean population. Future monitoring of this species is crucial to evaluate how this species is coping with current environmental changes.
- Molecular and morphological validation of the species of the genus Actinia (Actiniaria: Actiniidae) along the Atlantic Iberian PeninsulaPublication . Pereira, Ana; Cadeireiro, Emília; Ocaña, Oscar; Vukic, Jasna; Šanda, Radek; Mirimin, Luca; Robalo, Joana IsabelThe discrimination between the several species of the genus Actinia occurring in the Northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean has been made analyzing morphological characters, with emphasis on external coloration patterns and morphology of cnidom structures. In Iberia, the occurrence of more than two species of Actinia has been suggested, but its validity is yet to be confirmed. In this paper, the identity of the species of the genus Actinia occurring along the Atlantic Iberian coast is investigated, analyzing morphological and molecular procedures. For this purpose, genetic data was collected from 140 individuals and two genetic markers were amplified and sequenced (the nuclear 28S and the mitochondrial 16S ribosomal genes). The genetic identification was corroborated by morphological analysis of individuals representing each of the genetic groups found. This procedure led to the identification of three species occurring in the studied area – Actinia equina (L.), A. fragacea Tugwell and A. schmidti Monteiro, Sole-Cava & Thorpe.