Employing molecular taxonomy for understanding ichthyoplankton diversity in the upper water layers of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Employing molecular taxonomy for understanding ichthyoplankton diversity in the upper water layers of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea Nir Stern1* 1 Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, Israel The marine ichthyoplankton are mainly found throughout the photic layer of the water column, albeit constitutes a crucial component in the ecological cycle of the entire marine ecosystem. In the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, our general knowledge on the ichthyoplankton community and biodiversity is remarkably scarce, especially considering the ongoing influx of understudied thermophilic invasive species. This study aims to identify and characterize the species diversity of fish eggs and larvae in the neuston layer of the eastern Mediterranean Sea, in a search for new insights of temporal and spatial dispersal patterns in multi-species communities. Ichthyoplankton samplings have been conducted above and beyond the continental shelf of the Israeli Mediterranean coast, using horizontal hauls of 300 µl mesh size Manta net, filtering the very top surface layer of the water. In order to identify the different species, common molecular taxonomy techniques were used. After imaging the specimens, DNA was extracted from the fish eggs and larvae, then the mtDNA COI gene was amplified, commonly referred to as the 'Barcoding gene'. Finally, contiguous sequences were compared with taxonomically confirmed genetic vouchers for specific identification. The present preliminary results of this study can be separated to three main findings: (1) the obtainment of novel information regarding the invasive ichthyoplankton. Throughout the examined material, high diversity of invasive fish eggs and larvae was found. Some of the invasive larvae have been found beyond the continental shelf, far from their permanent habitat (10-30 km), thus demonstrating efficient dispersal abilities. Moreover, such findings enabled fine-tuning of the present temporal knowledge of the reproduction seasonality. (2) Detecting the existence of reproduction products of uncommon species. Genetically identified eggs of the bullet tuna Auxis rochei and Atlantic pomfret Brama brama confirmed the existence of these two highly infrequent species. This finding exemplified the lack of knowledge regarding temporal and spatial reproduction of pelagic species around the Israeli coast. (3) First documentation of the grey mullet Mugil cephalus reproduction cycle. Although well known in the western Mediterranean, the finding of M. cephalus larvae in the upper water above the continental slope (more than 30 km from the coast) provided the first evidence of its reproduction cycle in the Eastern Mediterranean. These somewhat random findings emphasized the hidden, though informative, knowledge that is stored within the marine ichthyoplankton. Moreover, by employing molecular taxonomy on the hardly discernable fish eggs and larvae, maximum certainty can be obtained that will improve our understanding the population dynamics within the early life history of fishes. Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge Gal Lipson, Hadeel Hamdan, Marwa Nemer and Jessica Guerchon for incorporating their preliminary results for this study. Keywords: DNA barcoding, fish larvae, Integrative taxonomy, Marine invasion, Levant (eastern Mediterranean) Conference: XVI European Congress of Ichthyology, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2 Sep - 6 Sep, 2019. Presentation Type: Oral Topic: TAXONOMY, PHYLOGENY AND ZOOGEOGRAPHY Citation: Stern N (2019). Employing molecular taxonomy for understanding ichthyoplankton diversity in the upper water layers of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Front. Mar. Sci. Conference Abstract: XVI European Congress of Ichthyology. doi: 10.3389/conf.fmars.2019.07.00106 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 30 May 2019; Published Online: 14 Aug 2019. * Correspondence: Dr. Nir Stern, Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, Haifa, Israel, nirstern@ocean.org.il Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Nir Stern Google Nir Stern Google Scholar Nir Stern PubMed Nir Stern Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.