Biodiversity and distribution of corals in Chile

The present review investigates our current knowledge of the richness and distribution of coral species inhabiting diverse habitats in Chilean coastal and marine waters, including the oceanic islands. Information, such as the spatial-temporal coverage, taxonomic resolution, and bathymetry of species, was extracted from published articles, geodatabases, and unpublished data. Our analyses of these data highlight major gaps in knowledge on corals in Chile, indicating this region remains poorly studied. The results show that the previous studies focused mostly on coastal and shallow-water habitats, with the continental slope, oceanic islands, and seamounts remaining mainly unexplored. Furthermore, high coral species richness was observed in the Magellanic Province compared with the northern Intermediate Area and Peruvian Province, and the temporal distribution of occurrence records was discontinuous, with peaks observed for the years 1876–1877, 1960–1967, and 2001–2016. We also report a new location and an extension of the known geographic distribution for Bathycyathus chilensis. Despite the progress in scientific knowledge achieved in the last decades, coral research still suffers from significant knowledge gaps, especially of the deep-sea benthic biodiversity in Chile. Further exploration of Chilean coastal and marine waters is therefore necessary to increase the knowledge of the coral biodiversity of this vast region.This study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Project number CGL2011-23306), Fondecyt (Project numbers 1131039, 1150843, and 1201717), a PEW fellowship, and the Fundación San Ignacio del Huinay—Endesa—CSIC Projects 2011 and 2013. Funding to JS was provided by CONA (grant number C22 16-09), Fondecyt (Project number 1181153), and the Chilean Millennium Initiative ESMOI.Peer reviewe

The shrunk genetic diversity of coral populations in North-Central Patagonia calls for management and conservation plans for marine resources

The Chilean Patagonia is a complex puzzle of numerous fords, channels, bays, estuaries, and islands. The largest part of it is very remote, hampering the generation of scientifc knowledge and efective management planning that could balance conservation of the marine resources with the increasing development of aquaculture activities. The present study focuses on the deep-water emergent cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus, dwelling in Chilean Patagonia, with the aim to illustrate its population genetic structure, demography and adaptation of the species along this coast. Microsatellite loci analysis included D. dianthus individuals from twelve sampling localities along bathymetric and oceanographic gradients from the latitude 40°S to 48°S. The results showed a lack of genetic structure with an asymmetric dispersion of individuals, and relevant heterozygosity defciency in some populations. This study also analyses the natural and human impacts afecting the region (e.g., climate change, increasing salmon farming activities), and stresses the importance of including genetic information in the process of management and conservation of marine resources. In particular, the relevance of using interdisciplinary approaches to fll the gaps in scientifc knowledge especially in remote and pristine areas of western Patagonia. Therefore, information on genetic spatial distribution of marine fauna could become pivotal to develop a holistic ecosystem-based approach for marine spatial planning.Tis work was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (CGL2011-23306), Fondecyt (Projects 1150843 and 1201717), and the Fundación San Ignacio del Huinay and CSIC Projects 2011 and 2013.Peer reviewe