Abstract
Biodiversity and biogeographic studies comparing the distribution patterns of benthic marine organisms across the Iberian Atlantic and Mediterranean waters are scarce. The Pycnogonida (sea spiders) are a clear example of both endemicity and diversity, and are considered a key taxon to study and monitor biogeographic and biodiversity patterns. This is the first review that compiles data about abundance and diversity of Iberian pycnogonids and examines their biogeographic patterns and bathymetric constraints using GIS tools. A total of 17762 pycnogonid records from 343 localities were analyzed and were found to contain 65 species, 21 genera and 12 families. Achelia echinata and Ammothella longipes (family Acheliidae) were the most abundant comprising ~80% of the total records. The Acheliidae is also the most speciose in Iberian waters with 15 species. In contrast, the family Nymphonidae has 7 species but is significantly less abundant (<1% of the total records) than Acheliidae. Species accumulation curves indicate that further sampling would increase the number of Iberian species records. Current sampling effort suggests that the pycnogonid fauna of the Mediterranean region may be richer than that of the Atlantic. The Strait of Gibraltar and the Alboran Sea are recognized as species-rich areas that act as buffer zones between the Atlantic and Mediterranean boundaries. The deep waters surrounding the Iberian Peninsula are poorly surveyed, with only 15% of the sampling sites located below 1000 m. Further deep-water sampling is needed mainly on the Iberian Mediterranean side.
Highlights
Biodiversity and biogeographic patterns of marine organisms in the Mediterranean and NE Atlantic are a relatively recent topic of study
The Strait of Gibraltar and the Alboran Sea are recognized as species-rich areas that act as buffer zones between the Atlantic and Mediterranean boundaries
A few studies on hydroids [1], peracarids [2], sponges [3,4] and ascidians [5] have compared the faunal assemblages between both sides of the Peninsula but these focused on the Strait of Gibraltar
Summary
Biodiversity and biogeographic patterns of marine organisms in the Mediterranean and NE Atlantic are a relatively recent topic of study. There are still very few check-lists of Iberian marine invertebrate taxa, and studies comparing the distribution patterns of benthic organisms between Atlantic and Mediterranean waters around the Iberian Peninsula are still uncommon. A few studies on hydroids [1], peracarids [2], sponges [3,4] and ascidians [5] have compared the faunal assemblages between both sides of the Peninsula but these focused on the Strait of Gibraltar. Most studies did not find any clear differentiation along the MediterraneanAtlantic interface leading to the conclusion that this is an homogeneous area [2] and that the major component of sublittoral Mediterranean fauna is of Lusitanian origin [4]. PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0120818 March 17, 2015
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