Vol. 63, 2024
(update: 2024.4.26)
Population Genetics of the Deep-sea Acorn Barnacle Bathylasma
hirsutum (Hoek, 1883) and the First Report of its Affiliation
with a Hydrothermal Vent Field
Jenny
Neuhaus1,* , Katrin Linse2, Saskia Brix1,
Pedro Martínez Arbizu3, and James Taylor1,4
doi:-
1German
Centre for Marine Biodiversity Research (DZMB), c/o Biozentrum Grindel,
Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, 20146 Hamburg, Germany. *Correspondence:
E-mail: jenny.neuhaus@senckenberg.de (Neuhaus)
E-mail: saskia.brix-elsig@senckenberg.de (Brix)
2British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environmental
Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK.
E-mail: kl@bas.ac.uk (Linse)
3German Centre for Marine Biodiversity Research
(DZMB), Senckenberg am Meer, Südstrand 44, 26382, Wilhelmshaven,
Germany. E-mail: pedro.martinez@senckenberg.de (Arbizu)
4GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, 24105
Kiel, Germany. E-mail: jtaylor@geomar.de (Taylor)
(Received 1 December 2023 /
Accepted 10 April 2024 / Published -- 2024)
Communicated by Benny K.K. Chan
Confined by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the European continental shelf, the deep-sea acorn barnacle Bathylasma hirsutum
(Hoek, 1883) lives in the northeast Atlantic deep sea where it has been
frequently reported from high current areas. Cemented to a solid
substrate during its entire adult life, the species can only disperse
by means of planktotrophic nauplius larvae. This study reports on the
occurrence, ecology and genetic connectivity of B. hirsutum
from four sites within the northeastern Iceland Basin and presents a
first record of the species living affiliated a hydrothermal vent field
on the Reykjanes Ridge axis. Vent-associated specimens were found to
differ extrinsically from their natural shaded conspecifics by a
prominent brown-black shell precipitate. Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy
revealed ferromanganese oxides to be the main component of these shell
precipitates. Morphometric measurements of shell plates revealed
specimens from the vent-associated habitat to be smaller compared to
non-venting sites. Molecular species delimitation based on themitochondrial COI
and nuclear EF1 genetic markers aided species identification and
revealed a low intraspecific genetic variability. Our findings suggest
a pronounced genetic connectivity of B. hirsutum
within the studied region and provide a first step towards a
biogeographic study. As such, habitats of hydrothermal influence along
the Mid-Atlantic Ridge are discussed upon as possible niches, as are
deep-sea basins in the western Atlantic as potential habitats. In light
of the reported affiliation with hydrothermal activity, we elaborate on
the potential for the sister species Bathylasma corolliforme (Hoek, 1883) and Bathylasma chilense
Araya & Newman, 2018 to utilise equivalent habitats in the
Antarctic and Pacific Ocean, respectively. Our record of the
unacquainted ecological niche occupation for B. hirsutum
emphasises the need for further research on bathylasmatid acorn
barnacles along the extensive Mid-Atlantic Ridge where many biological
communities remain to be discovered.
Key words: Bathylasmatidae, Biogeography, Connectivity, Habitat expansion, Larval distribution
Citation: Neuhaus J, Linse K, Brix S, Martínez Arbizu P, Taylor J. 2024. Population genetics of the deep-sea acorn barnacle Bathylasma hirsutum (Hoek, 1883) and the first report of its affiliation with a hydrothermal vent field. Zool Stud 63:25.
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Supplementary materials: Table S1丨Table S2丨Table S3丨Table S4丨Table S5
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