DNA-barcoding Decapoda and Stomatopoda from West-Africa

Codificación del AND de Decápodos y Estomatópodos capturados en Costa Oeste de Áfric

Crustáceos decápodos de aguas profundas de Mauritania (África Noroccidental)

CRUSTÁCEOS DECÁPODOS DE AGUAS PROFUNDAS DE MAURITANIA (ÁFRICA NOROCCIDENTAL) Susana Soto de Matos-Pita Departamento de Ecología y Biología Animal, Universidad de Vigo, 2015 Directores: Drs. Fran Ramil (Universidad de Vigo) y Ana Ramos (Instituto Español de Oceanografía) Esta tesis constituye el primer estudio integral de los crustáceos decápodos de Mauritania, que incluye tanto especies que presentan interés comercial (p. ej. gambas, langostinos y langostas) como aquellas que no lo tienen (cangrejos ermitaños entre otros). Los decápodos, a pesar de ser uno de los grupos bentónicos más estudiados en la costa occidental africana, su conocimiento en las costas de Mauritania es fragmentario y escaso. El único inventario de este grupo para la zona se publica en 1933 e incluye 72 especies de decápodos entre 0 y los 1000 m de profundidad. Citas posteriores se pueden extraer de los resultados de la fauna recolectada por las grandes expediciones científicas y proyectos internacionales, y también de estudios a nivel local en la época colonial o de diferentes trabajos monográficos que fueron publicados principalmente a mediados del siglo XX. Entre los años 2007 y 2010 el Instituto Español de Oceanografía, en colaboración con el Departamento de Ecología y Biología Animal de la Facultad de Ciencias del Mar de la Universidad de Vigo y en cooperación con el Institut Mauritanien de Recherches Océanographiques et des Pêches (IMROP), llevó a cabo cuatro campañas científicas multidisciplinares (campañas Maurit) a bordo del buque Oceanográfico español 'Vizconde de Eza' en aguas de la plataforma profunda y talud continental de Mauritania (80-2000 m de profundidad). El objetivo fundamental de las campañas fue la evaluación de los recursos pesqueros de aguas profundas de Mauritania, pero debido al enfoque multidisciplinar de nuestra investigación, se plantearon otros objetivos adicionales. Uno de estos objetivos fue el etudio de los invertebrados recogidos como fauna acompañante en las pescas de arrastre. Esta fauna junto con la recolectada en las mismas campañas, con el empleo de aparejos específicos para la captura de los invertebrados que viven en los fondos marinos, está siendo actualmente estudiada en el laboratorio de Zoología Marina de la Universidad de Vigo, dentro del proyecto EcoAfrik. En esta tesis se muestran los resultados más relevantes obtenidos para el estudio de los crustáceos decápodos recolectados durante las campañas Maurit e incluye: - una relación de todas las especies identificadas - el estudio detallado de talasinídeos, cangrejos ermitaños, galateidos y braquiuros - la descripción de especies nuevas para la ciencia - la redescripción de especies poco o mal conocidas - datos acerca de la biología y ecología de las especies estudiadas, así como de su distribución, tanto geográfica como batimétrica Además del estudio taxonómico, también se tipifica la estructura y composición de las comunidades de los decápodos de fondos blandos de la plataforma profunda y el talud de Mauritania y se analizan los posibles factores ambientales que condicionan la estructura de dichas comunidades. Finalmente, se analizan las distribuciones geográficas de todas las especies identificadas para establecer los contingentes biogeográficos en el área de estudio En cuanto a los principales resultados incluidos en la memoria de tesis, destacar que entre las 132 especies de crustáceos decápodos identificadas, se describen un género y una especie de talasinídeos nuevos para la ciencia, para los que se propuso el nombre de Ezaxius ferachevali. El nombre genérico, Ezaxius, fue elegido como homenaje al barco oceanográfico de Vigo ‘Vizconde de Eza’ en el que se realizaron las campañas oceanográficas, mientras que el epíteto específico ‘ferachevali’ hace referencia a una cresta en forma de herradura que está presente en el caparazón y que es una de las características más llamativas de la especie. Además se describen otras 3 nuevas especies: - El galateido Munidopsis anaramosae, especie que hemos dedicado a la Dra. Ana Ramos (IEO), que desde hace más de 20 años promueve el estudio del bentos en África - El cangrejo ermitaño Paguristes candelae, que la ahora ya doctora dedicó a su hija Candela - El cangrejo Neopilumnoplax corallicola, cuyo nombre en este caso hace referencia al hábitat de la especie, el arrecife de corales de aguas frías de Mauritania, que a lo largo de más de 500 km correparalelo a la costa a una profundidad de 450 m.. La descripción de esta especie supuso además la primera cita de la familia Mathildellidae en el Atlántico NE, ya que hasta el momento y en este océano, solo se conocía de las costas americanas (Golfo de Mexico, S Brasil y N Argentina) y de S Africa (Sudáfrica). La colección de decápodos obtenida durante las campañas Maurit nos ha permitido aportar nuevos datos morfológicos y de distribución para 27 especies y también incluir datos sobre la biología (biometrías, sexo, presencia de hembras ovígeras y fauna epibionte cuando procede) y ecología (tipo de fondo, profundidad) de todas las especies estudiadas. D entre estos resultados destacar: - La descripción por primera vez las hembras de un cangrejo ermitaño (Pseudopaguristes marocanus) y un talasinídeo (Trypaea oblonga - La descripción de la variabilidad morfológica del galateido Munidopsis chunii, que hasta el momento solo se conocía en base a la descripción de un macho y una hembra - La cita de dos especies de galateidos (Galathea wolffi y Munidopsis vaillanti), un braquiuro (Monodaeus cristulatus) y un talasinídeo (Trypaea oblonga) por primera vez desde su descripción original (Golfo de Guinea, Portugal, Namibia y Costa de Marfil respectivamente). - La reasignación a otros géneros de un talasinídeo y de 2 especies de cangrejos ermitaños. En este sentido, Callianassa oblonga se reasigna al género Trypaea y las especies Paguristes mauritanicus y Paguristes marocanus se reasignan a los géneros Areopaguristes y Pseudopaguristes respectivamente. La tipificación de la estructura y composición de las comunidades de decápodos de fondos blandos define cinco comunidades de decápodos en Mauritania, definidas fundamentalmente por la profundidad a la que se localizan: plataforma (<100 m), plataforma profunda y talud superior (100– 400 m), arrecife (400– 550 m), talud medio (550– 1400 m) y talud profundo (1400– 1800 m). Variables dependientes de la profundidad, como la temperatura en el fondo y el contenido en materia orgánica, junto con la latitud, parecen ser los principales factores que estructuran estas asociaciones. Finalmente, el resultado del análisis de los contingentes biogeográficos de los decápodos en el área de estudio, nos muestra que la mayoría de las especies de decápodos solamente son conocidas del oeste africano, con una distibución que se extiende desde Sudáfrica hasta Mauritania. Las especies presentes en Mauritania que también están presentes en las costas Atlánticas europeas y Mar Mediterráneo (especies de distribución lusitánica) son el componente minoritario, en contraposición a lo que ocurre con otros grupos faunísticos (hidrozoos, esponjas, equinodermos….) en los que éste componente es mayoritario

Deep water marine lobsters and lithodids (Crustacea: Decapoda) from Mauritania (NW Africa) collected by the Spanish Maurit surveys

The Spanish Maurit surveys were carried out annually from 2007 to 2010, in waters off Mauritania at depths from Bo to 2000 m. A total of 329 stations were sampled, covering the different habitats represented in the Mauritanian slope. Samples were collected using a commercial trawl and a beam trawl in soft bottoms, and a rock dredge for sampling on hard bottoms, namely the giant coral carbonate mounds barrier, the canyon systems in northern Mauritania and seamount. Decapods identification has thrown up a total of 132 different species of which shrimps and prawns and the true crabs were the most diverse with 57 and 34 species; anomurans were represented by 29 species and thalassinideans by four. The taxonomic results obtained for the squat lobsters, hermit crabs, braquiurans and thalassinideans, including the description of four new species have already been published (S. de Matos-Pita and Ramil, 2014, 2015a, 2015b, 2016) or it is still in press (S. de Matos-Pita et al, in press). The structure of the decapod assemblages were also analyzed in Garcia-lsarch et al (in edition). This contribution deals with the main results obtained during the study of the marine lobsters within the infraorders Astacidea, Achelata and Polychelida, and we also included some comments about the anomuran family Lithodidae. The marine lobsters are represented by eight species: Nephropsis atlantica Norman, 1882, Palinurus mauritanicus Grovel, 1911, Scyllarus caparti Holthuis, 1952, Scyllarus subarctus Crosnier, 1970, Polycheles typhlops Heller, 1862, Stereomastis nana (Smith, 1884), Stereomastis sculpta (Smith, 1880) and Stereomastis talismani (Bouvier, 1917). The true lobster N. atlantica and the blind lobster S. nana are reported for the first time in Mauritanian waters despite their wide distribution in the eastern Atlantic. At the same time, the presence of the slipper lobster S. subarctus in Mauritanian waters is confirmed. Lithodidae collected on Mauritanian continental shelf and slope soft bottoms during the Spanish surveys account for five species and a part of this collection was included by Munoz and Garcia-Isarch (2013) in their study of African Lithodidae. The identification of additional material adds the first record of Paralomis cristulata Macpherson, 1988 in Mauritanian waters, slightly increasing its distribution northwards. In addition, this record represents the deepest one ever reported.MAVA (Contract 12/87 AO C4/2012

Decapod assemblages in deep Mauritanian waters

Crustacean decapods are amongst the dominant groups of megabenthic invertebrates in the Atlantic continental shelf and slope. Although studies on West African decapod fauna are numerous, knowledge on their communities is scarce and focussed in Namibian (Macpherson, 1991), South African (Kensley, 2006) and Guinea-Bissauan (Muñoz et al. 2012) waters. However, nothing is currently known on the structure and composition of the crustacean decapod assemblages off Mauritania. Between 2007 and 2010 the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) carried out four annual multidisciplinary surveys of one month’s duration in Mauritanian waters, from Cape Blanc to the Senegal River. Conducted in collaboration with the Mauritanian Institute for Oceanographic Research and Fisheries (IMROP) and the University of Vigo (Spain), these surveys were part of a larger programme (ECOAFRIK) focussing on the study of the biodiversity of African benthic ecosystems. Maurit- 0911 and Maurit- 1011 surveys sampled five transects perpendicular to the coast at five bathymetric strata using an Agassiz trawl. We identified a total of 77 decapod species belonging to 36 families. Brachyura was the richest group, with 28 species, followed by Caridea (21 spp.), Anomura (14 spp.), Dendrobranchyata (10 spp.) and Reptantia (6 spp.). The most diverse families were Paguridae, Pandalidae, Inachidae and Pasiphaeidae (with 6-5 spp. each). We defined four bathymetric main assemblages: continental shelf (<150 m), break shelf and upper slope (150–300 m), middle slope (500 m) and deep slope (1000–1500 m). Mean species richness decreased with depth from deep shelf to slope (16 to 4 species), while the highest abundance and biomass were found in the break shelf and upper slope. Although the Pielou’s evenness index peaked in the deepest strata (>500 m), no clear pattern was observed for the Shannon- Wiener diversity index. The maximum similarity value (47.6%) corresponded to the shelf assemblage due to the abundance of three brachyuran species: Calappa pelii, Inachus angolensis and Solenolambrus noordendei. As expected, absolute dissimilarity (100%) was found between the shelf and deep slope assemblages. Identifying the main features (distribution, structure and composition) of the decapods’communities is a key issue to assess the effects of the trawling pressure on them in Mauritanian fishing grounds. References Kensley B (2006) Pelagic shrimp (Crustacea: Decapoda) from the shelf and oceanic waters in the southeastern Atlantic Ocean off South Africa. Proceed Biol Soc Washington 119: 384–394. Macpherson E (1991) Biogeography and community structure of the decapod crustacean fauna off Namibia (Southeast Atlantic). Journ Crust Biol 11, 401–415. Muñoz I, García-Isarch E, Sobrino I, Burgos C, Funny R and González-Porto M (2012) Distribution, abundance and assemblages of decapod crustaceans in waters off Guinea-Bissau (north-west Africa). Journ Mar Biol Ass UK 92(3): 475-494.MAVA (contract 12/87 AO C4/2012

The genus Callumbonella (Gastropoda, Trochacea), with description of a new species from Namibia

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Contribution to the knowledge of the deep brachyuran fauna (Crustacea: Decapoda) in waters off Mauritania (NW Africa)

Four multidisciplinary oceanographic surveys were conducted in November and December from 2007 to 2010, along the Mauritanian coast (NW Africa). A total of 10,514 brachyuran crabs belonging to 33 species were captured in 316 hauls at depths between 79 and 1867 m. The most specious family was Inachidae represented by nine species; the remaining 24 species belonged to 16 other brachyuran families. Monodaeus cristulatus is reported for the first time since its original description. Seven other species, Ethusa rugulosa, Pseudomyra mbizi, Inachus grallator, Macropodia gilsoni, Macropodia hesperiae, Solenolambrus noordendei and Spinolambrus notialis extend their range of distribution northwards and, together with Goneplax barnardi, are reported here for the first time in Mauritanian waters. New data about depth ranges are reported for Acanthocarpus brevispinis, Ethusa rugulosa, Inachus aguiarii, Inachus grallator, Inachus nanus, Macropodia macrocheles, Solenolambrus noordendei, Spinolambrus notialis, Liocarcinus corrugatus and Monodaeus cristulatus. New data relating to the spawning period for most of the species are also included, as are some biogeographic and bathymetric considerations about brachyurans studied in the area

Marine lobsters and lithodids (Crustacea: Decapoda) from Mauritanian deep-waters (NW Africa)

This paper deals with species of the deep-water marine lobsters and lithodids collected on soft and rocky bottoms during the four Spanish Maurit surveys from 2007 to 2010 in Mauritanian waters, at depths between 80 and 2000 m. The collection is represented by eight species included in the infraorders Astacidea, Achelata, and Polychelida, and by five species of the family Lithodidae. The true lobster Nephropsis atlantica, the blind lobster Stereomastis nana, and the king crab Paralomis cristulata are reported for the first time in Mauritanian waters, while the presence of the slipper lobster Scyllarus subarctus is confirmed in the area. New data on the bathymetric distribution of P. cristulata and Lithodes ferox are also include

Contribution to the knowledge of the decapods from Cape Verde Islands

Crustacean decapods constitute one of the dominant groups in megabenthic communities of the Atlantic continental shelf and slopes and, due to its commercial importance, have historically been one of most studied benthic taxa in Northwest African coasts. Nevertheless, despite that biodiversity and composition of decapods from the continental region have been quite well studied, the fauna from CaboVerde Islands is currently unknown (Muñoz et al., 2012; García-Isarch and Muñoz, 2015; García-Isarch et al., in edition) In June 2011, 25 bottom-trawling stations were deployed between 30 and 900 m depth in Cabo Verde waters on board the Norwegian R/V Dr. Fridjof Nansen during the oceanographic ecosystemic survey carried out in the framework of the CCLME-FAO project (Krakstad et al., 2011). ECOAFRIK Spanish team participated in this survey, being responsible of the benthic sampling and posterior study. In this communication we show the results for the taxonomic study of the decapod colletion gathered in Cabo Verde waters, offering a first insight into its biodiversity and assemblages. We have identified a total of 39 decapod species belonging to 22 families. Brachyura was the richest group, with 13 species, followed by Caridea (11 species), Dendrobranchiata and Anomura (both with 6 species), and Polychelida (3 species). The most diverse families were Pandalidae (4 species), canthephyridae (4 species), Polychelidae and Calappidae (3 species). Among these 39 species eight, Acanthephyra acanthitelsonis Bate, 1888, Acanthephyra eximia Smith, 1884, Acanthephyra kingsleyi Bate, 1888, Aristaeopsis edwarsiana (Johnson, 1867), Pagurus mbizi (Forest 1955), Plesionika antigai Zariquiey Álvarez, 1955, Benthonectes filipes Smith, 1885 and Pilumnus hirsutus De Haan, 1935, are reported for the first time in Cabo Verde Islands. For the last 2 species, their presence in Cabo Verde waters also increases their geographical distribution. We wish also remark that, despite the limited stations number as consequence of the difficulties for trawling over the islands seabed, the multivariate analysis show a separation of stations in 5 groups related to depth. The good fits of the MDS (2D stress = 0.02) and ANOSIM test (Global R = 0.724, ρ < 0.01) prove the existence of significant differences in the structure and composition of shallowest and deepest assemblages.EAF-NANSEN Mentoring Program (FAO); MAVA (Contract 12/87 AO C4/2012

Biodiversity of Decapoda in Guinea-Bissau waters

Two multidisciplinary surveys aimed to evaluate demersal and pelagic resources were conducted in the framework of the CCLME-FAO project in Northwest African region between October to December 2011 and from May to July 2012 on-board Norwegian R/V Dr. Fridtjof Nansen. A total of 580 stations were sampled with commercial trawl gear in the area spreading between the Gibraltar Strait and the Sierra Leone border. Fifty of these hauls were carried out in Guinea-Bissau waters between 48 and 983 meters depth. In both surveys, the research team of EcoAfrik project, belonging to the Spanish Institute of Oceanography and the University of Vigo, was responsible for the benthos sampling. At all stations the megabentic species, including decapod crustaceans, were sorted at morphospecies level and data of numerical abundance and biomass (wet weight) were collected. When the large volume of material did not allow the sampling of total catch, a subsample was worked, being after estimated the abundances and total biomass by a weighting factor. At every station living specimens of each species were protographed and a representative collection was preserved in 70% ethanol for further taxonomic study. The decapods collection taken in Guinea Bissau, composed by about 400 specimens, has been identified at the University of Vigo, and quantitative data have been analysed to stablish the distribution, composition and structure of the decapod communities. Abundance data (number of individuals) and weight (in kg) per station were standardized to a swept area of 0.1 km2 and matrices of numerical abundance and biomass by species and station were constructed to serve as basis for statistical analysis. Ecological descriptors, such as occurrence (O, presence of the species in the hauls), abundance (N), biomass (B), species richness (S), Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H') and Pielou equitability index (J') were estimated for each station. For the characterization of the assemblages, multivariate analysis (cluster and MDS) were applied to similarity matrix after to transform abundance data by double square root and Bray-Curtis index. Species with low frequency (<10% of the stations) and low abundance (<50 individuals), as well as stations with a single species, were removed to reduce the proportion of zeros in the matrix. The uni- and multivariate analyses were performed using DIVERSE, CLUSTER, MDS, ANOSIM and SIMPER routines of the PRIMER software package v 6 (Plymouth Routines in Multivariate Ecological Research) (Clarke and Gorley 2006). A total of 195,635 individuals with a biomass of 676 kg, belonging to 107 species and 40 families, were collected. Brachyura was the most diverse taxa (37 species), followed by Caridea and Anomura (25 and 21 species). The richest families were Pandalidae (10 spp.), Diogenidae and Paguridae (7 spp.). At specific level, Macropipus rugosus and Dardanus arrosor have been the most frequent species, appearing in 42% and 38% of the stations, respectively. The African spider shrimp, Nematocarcinus africanus, showed the highest abundance (64% of the total) and biomass (37%), followed in both cases by M. rugosus and Munida speciosa. Both plots, dendrogram and MDS (stress value = 0.09), joined the 50 stations in five communities, which distribution seems strongly influenced by the depth: 1) coastal shelf north (<50 m, only 2 stations); 2) shelf (<100 m, 15 st.); 3) deep shelf (100-200 m, 10 st.); 4) upper slope (200-400 m, 7 st. ), 5) middle slope (400-1000 m, 8 st.). In addition to depth, the factor that appear to have greater influence on the assemblages’ segregation was the sediment grain size, especially the high mud proportion and organic matter content (OM). The overall (R = 0.744) and the pairwise value of the ANOSIM test, which oscillated from 0.46 (among the deep shelf and upper slope assemblages) and 1.00 (among the coastal shelf north and the two deepest groups) proved that these five assemblages are statistically different. The SIMPER analysis showed that the five assemblages are quite homogeneous with average similarity inner each group higher than 29%, while dissimilarity between them ranged from 77% to 100%. Holthuispenaeopsis atlantica was the discriminating species of the coastal shelf assemblage (>58.8%), while three species, Macropipus rugosus, Scyllarus caparti and Sternodromia spinirostris were responsible together of the 62% of the similarity inner the shelf group; in the deep shelf assemblage, only two decapods, Pagurus cuanensis and Dardanus arrosor account for the 73% of the similarity. Parapenaeus longirostris typified the upper slope group (53%) and Nematocarcinus africanus, Stereomastis talismani, Aristeus varidens and Sergia robusta contributed to 69% of the similarity in the deepest assemblage. Our results are according to previous studies on decapods biodiversity carried out by Muñoz et al. (2012) in Guinea-Bissau.MAVA (Contract 12/87 AO C4/2012