Abstract
Corals are some of the conspicuous taxa in deep-sea ecosystems. Yet, characterizing coral diversity is difficult and requires a combination of both morphological and genetic data. Many leading coral taxonomy experts are close-to retirement or have already retired. It is now imperative that the hands-on expertise that these taxonomists have – much of which is not captured in manuscripts or books – is transferred to the next generation. The Deep-Sea Coral Taxonomy Workshop, funded by a Lounsbery award from the Deep-Sea Biology Society, aimed to provide a training opportunities and build taxonomic capacity in Colombia and Latin America. Workshop participants examined the deep-sea coral diversity of the southern western Caribbean, a poorly explored region. The three-day workshop was based mainly on hands-on activities focused on octocorals and black corals, and included introductory talks to the taxonomy of these groups and identification activities using specimens. Thanks to the workshop, it was possible to review and update the classification database of the Makuriwa Marine Natural History Museum collection. Additionally, four new species from the families Clavulariidae, Plexauridae and Gorgoniidae were identified and will be described in the near future.
Highlights
Corals are some of the most iconic taxa in marine ecosystems, with over 70% of all coral species found in the deep-sea
Coral taxonomy is difficult and has rapidly changed as molecular data is combined with morphological observations
As their shallow-water counterparts, deep-sea corals suffer from taxonomic issues due to hybridization, character lability, recent speciation, and phenotypic plasticity, among others (Forsman et al 2015, Dueñas and Sánchez 2009)
Summary
Corals are some of the most iconic taxa in marine ecosystems, with over 70% of all coral species found in the deep-sea. Coral taxonomy is difficult and has rapidly changed as molecular data is combined with morphological observations. As their shallow-water counterparts, deep-sea corals suffer from taxonomic issues due to hybridization, character lability, recent speciation, and phenotypic plasticity, among others (Forsman et al 2015, Dueñas and Sánchez 2009). The Makuriwa Museum holds the largest deep-sea coral collection in Colombia, with 2631 lots from the southern Caribbean and the Pacific, product of two decades of sampling. For this reason, it was crucial to have emerging taxonomists, students, and local scientists gain taxonomic expertise by working alongside leading coral taxonomy experts to shed some light on taxonomic identification, but in deep-sea coral biodiversity
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