Lauren E. Hughes

Establishing a Neotype for Elasmopus rapax Costa, 1853 and Its Presence as an Invasive Species in Temperate Australian Waters

Abstract A neotype of Elasmopus rapax Costa, 1853 is designated based on material from the Fusaro Coastal Lagoon, Central Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy. The species is confirmed as an invasive species in Australian ports. Populations of E. rapax are identified from seven port, harbour, and marina locations around the south-eastern, southern, and south-western coasts. Museum collections indicate that this species has been present in Australia since at least 1884. It is not currently known from tropical Australia.

Effects of light pollution on the emergent fauna of shallow marine ecosystems: Amphipods as a case study

Light pollution from coastal urban development is a widespread and increasing threat to biodiversity. Many amphipod species migrate between the benthos and the pelagic environment and light seems is a main ecological factor which regulates migration. We explore the effect of artificial lighting on amphipod assemblages using two kind of lights, LED and halogen, and control traps in shallow waters of the Great Barrier Reef. Both types of artificial light traps showed a significantly higher abundance of individuals for all species in comparison to control traps. LED lights showed a stronger effect over the amphipod assemblages, with these traps collecting a higher number of individuals and differing species composition, with some species showing a specific attraction to LED light. As emergent amphipods are a key ecological group in the shallow water environment, the impact of artificial light can affect the broader functioning of the ecosystem.

A genetic fingerprint of Amphipoda from Icelandic waters – the baseline for further biodiversity and biogeography studies

Abstract Amphipods constitute an abundant part of Icelandic deep-sea zoobenthos yet knowledge of the diversity of this fauna, particularly at the molecular level, is scarce. The present work aims to use molecular methods to investigate genetic variation of the Amphipoda sampled during two IceAGE collecting expeditions. The mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) of 167 individuals originally assigned to 75 morphospecies was analysed. These targeted morhospecies were readily identifiable by experts using light microscopy and representative of families where there is current ongoing taxonomic research. The study resulted in 81 Barcode Identity Numbers (BINs) (of which >90% were published for the first time), while Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery revealed the existence of 78 to 83 Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs). Six nominal species (Rhachotropis helleri, Arrhis phyllonyx, Deflexilodes tenuirostratus, Paroediceros propinquus, Metopa boeckii, Astyra abyssi) appeared to have a molecular variation higher than the 0.03 threshold of both p-distance and K2P usually used for amphipod species delineation. Conversely, two Oedicerotidae regarded as separate morphospecies clustered together with divergences in the order of intraspecific variation. The incongruence between the BINs associated with presently identified species and the publicly available data of the same taxa was observed in case of Paramphithoe hystrix and Amphilochus manudens. The findings from this research project highlight the necessity of supporting molecular studies with thorough morphology species analyses.

Amphipod family distributions around Iceland

Abstract Amphipod crustaceans were collected at all 55 stations sampled with an epibenthic sledge during two IceAGE expeditions (Icelandic marine Animals: Genetics and Ecology) in 2011 and 2013. In total, 34 amphipod families and three superfamilies were recorded in the samples. Distribution maps are presented for each taxon along with a summary of the regional taxonomy for the group. Statistical analyses based on presence/absence data revealed a pattern of family distributions that correlated with sampling depth. Clustering according to the geographic location of the stations (northernmost North Atlantic Sea and Arctic Ocean) can also be observed. IceAGE data for the Amphilochidae and Oedicerotidae were analysed on species level; in case of the Amphilochidae they were compared to the findings from a previous Icelandic benthic survey, BIOICE (Benthic Invertebrates of Icelandic waters), which also identified a high abundance of amphipod fauna.

The genus Elasmopus (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Maeridae) in Australian waters

Eight new species and one new record of Elasmopus Costa, 1853 are described from Australian waters including the extended offshore territories of Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Indian Ocean), Christmas Island (Indian Ocean), Ashmore Reef (Timor Sea), Norfolk Island (Tasman Sea) and Lord Howe Island (Tasman Sea). Range extensions are reported for seven described Australian species. Twenty-three species are now known from Australian waters. Elasmopus arafura sp. nov., E. carteri sp. nov., E. hyperopia sp. nov., E. leveque sp. nov., E. mcluerensis sp. nov., E. otus sp. nov., E. shepherdi sp. nov. and E. woodjonesi sp. nov. are described herein.

Three new species of Exampithoe from Australia and New Zealand (Ampithoidae: Amphipoda: Crustacea)

Three new species of Exampithoe are described from Australia and New Zealand. Material described here corroborates the peculiar mandibular palp variability, with either a two- or three- articulate palp reported for species within the genus Exampithoe compared to the absence of the mandibular palp in Melanesius. The Exampthoinae remain a Southern Hemisphere subfamily with nine described species.

Ampithoid amphipods from the South Pacific: Papua New Guinea, French Polynesia and New Caledonia

This paper documents 13 known and seven new species of Ampithoidae from three South Pacific locations: Papua New Guinea; the Austral Isles, French Polynesia; and the Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia. The new species Ampithoe ricaudyana, Ampithoe takeuchii, Cymadusa lituus, Cymadusa paradisaea, Plumithoe boulari, Sunamphitoe kanaka and Sunamphitoe tjiboui are described. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:590B4276-1DFA-40C1-B562-A7B5FC1E6A5C

A molecular phylogeny of marine amphipods in the herbivorous family Ampithoidae

Ampithoid amphipods dominate invertebrate assemblages associated with shallow‐water macroalgae and seagrasses worldwide and represent the most species‐rich family of herbivorous amphipod known. To generate the first molecular phylogeny of this family, we sequenced 35 species from 10 genera at two mitochondrial genes [the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and the large subunit of 16 s (LSU)] and two nuclear loci [sodium–potassium ATPase (NAK) and elongation factor 1‐alpha (EF1)], for a total of 1453 base pairs. All 10 genera are embedded within an apparently monophyletic Ampithoidae (Amphitholina, Ampithoe, Biancolina, Cymadusa, Exampithoe, Paragrubia, Peramphithoe, Pleonexes, Plumithoe, Pseudoamphithoides and Sunamphitoe). Biancolina was previously placed within its own superfamily in another suborder. Within the family, single‐locus trees were generally poor at resolving relationships among genera. Combined‐locus trees were better at resolving deeper nodes, but complete resolution will require greater taxon sampling of ampithoids and closely related outgroup species, and more molecular characters. Despite these difficulties, our data generally support the monophyly of Ampithoidae, novel evolutionary relationships among genera, several currently accepted genera that will require revisions via alpha taxonomy and the presence of cryptic species.

Pseudocallisoma coecum (Holmes, 1908) (Amphipoda, Scopelocheiridae) and Lanceola clausi clausi Bovallius, 1885 (Amphipoda, Lanceolidae) associated with Poralia rufescens Vanhöffen, 1902 (Scyphozoa, Ulmaridae)

Juvenile specimens of the scavenging amphipod Pseudocallisoma coecum (Holmes, 1908) were recorded near the bases of the oral arms of the jellyfish Poralia rufescens Vanhoffen, 1902 in the Japan Trench. Video footage and sampling imply a high infection rate of Poralia , with one to six amphipod specimens occurring on each P. rufescens individual. The hyperiidean amphipod Lanceola clausi clausi Bovallius, 1885 was also found to infect P. rufescens .

New genera, species and records of Maeridae from Australian Waters: Austromaera, Ceradocus, Glossomaera, Hamimaera, Huonella gen. nov., Linguimaera and Maeraceterus gen. nov. (Crustacea: Amphipoda).

Thirty species of Maeridae are reported for Australian waters including the description of two new genera and nine new species. The new genus Huonella from southern Tasmanian seamounts is distinguished among the maerids by characters on the uropod 3, including elongation of both rami, inner ramus half the length of the outer ramus and outer ramus two articulate. The new genus Maeraceterus is establish for two new species, M. bramblensis from Western Australia and M. taaroa from Norfolk Island, which have a near transverse gnathopod 1 propodus palm and symmetrical male gnathopod 2. The new species Ceradocus baudini, Hamimaera thijsseni, Linguimaera boeckoides, L. daveyi, L. everardensis and L. mere are described here in. Additional distribution records are provided for eleven known Ceradocus and seven known Linguimaera, as well as three known maerids Austromaera mastersii (Haswell, 1879a), Glossomaera octodens (Sivaprakasam, 1969) and Hamimaera hamigera (Haswell, 1879b). Collections reported on here include material from Australia; Cocos (Keeling) and Christmas Islands, Indian Ocean; the Torres Strait; Papua New Guinea, Bismarck Sea and Norfolk Island, South Pacific. Keys to Ceradocus and Linguimaera sensu lato species in Australian waters are provided.