Michela Borges

Latin America Echinoderm Biodiversity and Biogeography: Patterns and Affinities

We investigated the current patterns of diversity by country and by class of echinoderms, and analyzed their biogeographical, depth, and habitat or substratum affinities, using the database of the appendix of this book. Traditionally, the area has been divided into five biogeographical Regions and nine Provinces that cover a wide climate range. Currently, the echinoderm fauna of Latin America and Canary islands is constituted by 1,539 species, with 82 species of Crinoidea, 392 species of Asteroidea, 521 species of Ophiuroidea, 242 species of Echinoidea and 302 species of Holothuroidea. Species richness is highly variable among the different countries. The number of species for the countries is highly dependent on its coast length. The echinoderm fauna of the Panamic, Galapagos and the Chilean regions are biogeographically related. Other regions that are closely related are the Caribbean, West Indian, Lusitania and Brazilian. Cosmopolitan species are an important component in all the regions. Affinities between faunas are a consequence of the combination of climatic and trophic factors, connectivity as a function of distance, currents patterns and historical processes. Moreover, different environmental factors would be responsible for the faunal composition and species distribution at different spatial scales. The bathymetrical distribution of the echinoderm classes and the species richness varies according to the depth range and the ocean. Most species occurred at depths between 20 and 200 m. The Caribbean-Atlantic regions are richest in shallow depths, while the Pacific coast has higher values in deeper waters. The domination of each class in each substrate and habitat categories also varies differentially along each coast.

Echinoderm from Brazil: Historical Research and the Current State of Biodiversity Knowledge

This chapter aims to present historical development of echinoderm studies and current research in Brazil. Information about the important geographic and oceanographic features of the Brazilian coast is highlighted. Several aspects of taxonomy, distribution, reproduction, development, immunology, physiology and ecology of echinoderms found in both shallow and deep Brazilian waters are compiled and analyzed to show the current state of knowledge.

Ophiuroidea (Echinodermata) from La Coronilla-Cerro Verde (Uruguay): a new record for the Uruguayan coast

Carranza, A., Borges, M., Rodriguez, M. & Borthagaray, A.I. Ophiuroidea (Echinodermata) from La Coronilla-Cerro Verde (Uruguay): a new record for the Uruguayan coast. Biota Neotrop. Sep/Dez 2007 vol. 7, no. 3 http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v7n3/pt/abstract?article+bn01607032007. ISSN 1676-0603. La Coronilla-Cerro verde has been proposed as the first marine protected area in Uruguay. As part of a detailed benthic biodiversity assessment at the reserve, we analyzed the ophiuroid fauna collected in the intertidal and shallow subtidal during 2005 and 2006. Three species of ophiuroids were identified: Amphioplus lucyae, Amphipholis squamata and Amphiodia sp. Only two species belonging to the genus Amphiodia (A. pulchella and A. planispina) have been previously mentioned for Uruguayan waters, indicating that the unidentified species found in this study constitutes a previously unreported species.

A new species of Ophiomisidium (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) from the continental shelf and slope off southern Brazil

A new species of Ophiomisidium is described and regards about reproduction are presented. It is the first species in the genus to posses, apparently, a brooding development. Very few specimens of species of Ophiomisidium have previously been collected, but over 3000 specimens of the new species were collected on the continental shelf and slope (60-810 m depth) off southern Brazil. They were obtained during the REVIZEE Programme, the first extensive surveys to examine Brazilian ophiuroids from depths greater than 200 m.

Shallow-water brittle stars (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) from Araçá Bay (Southeastern Brazil), with spatial distribution considerations

The detailed study of arm ossicles, particularly the lateral arm plates, is providing valuable information in the elucidation of ophiuroid taxonomy. The present study describes in detail 16 species of brittle stars from Araçá Bay, Brazil. This information is used to construct the first interactive electronic key, providing a valuable resource for a broad range of researchers. Brittle stars families were divided into three groups based on their spatial distribution: i) infaunal species of intertidal and shallow subtidal belonging to Amphiuridae and Ophiactidae, ii) epizoic species belonging to Amphiuridae, Ophiactidae, and Ophiotrichidae and, iii) epifaunal species of the subtidal belonging to Ophiodermatidae and Hemieuryalidae. In the global context of recent revisions of ophiuroid taxonomy, the present work provides additional characters for use in future phylogenetic studies.

Annotated checklist of Echinoderms from Araçá Bay, Southeastern Brazil

We present a species list of echinoderms from Araca Bay, state of Sao Paulo. Altogether, 863 specimens belonging to 25 species, 19 genera, and 13 families were exhaustively collected during three years in consolidated and non-consolidated substrate. Ophiuroidea was the most representative taxon with 16 species, follow by Asteroidea with four species, Echinoidea with three, and Holothuroidea with two species. The brittle stars Amphiura kinbergi and Ophiothela cf. mirabilis are new records for Araca Bay. We confirm that Araca Bay is one of the best known area of echinoderm diversity in Brazil considering that the perimeter (3 km) of the bay corresponds to only 0.03% of the Brazilian coastline (8500 km). This work complements the knowledge of Araca Bay biodiversity and supports future interventions, management and maintaining the diversity of this wonderful group of marine animals.