First report of a sleeper shark (Somniosus sp.) in the southern Colombian Caribbean

A sleeper shark, genus Somniosus, was observed in the Colombian Caribbean. A Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) recorded a sleeper shark specimen during an inspection while drilling a hydrocarbon exploratory well at 1,820 m water depth. This is the first record of a sleeper shark for the southern Colombian Caribbean. The previous most southern records of Somniosid sharks in the tropical and subtropical western Atlantic came from the western and northern Gulf of Mexico, and from Cuba.     

Biogeographical patterns of the avifaunas of the Caribbean Basin Islands: a parsimony perspective

We analyzed the avifaunas of the Caribbean islands and nearby continental areas and their relationships using Parsimony Analysis of Endemicity (PAE), in order to assess biogeographical patterns and their concordance with geological and phylogenetic evidence. Using distributional information of birds obtained from published literature, a presence/absence matrix for 695 genera and 2026 species of land and freshwater birds was constructed and analyzed. Three different analyses were performed: for species, for genera, and for species and genera combined. In the combined analysis, the Lesser Antilles appear paraphyletic at the base of the cladogram. Then, two major clades are identified: South America (Andes, Venezuelan lowlands, Dutch West Indies and Trinidad and Tobago) and North America, including the Greater Antilles in a clade that is the sister area to Yucatan and the Central American countries nested from north to south. PAE results support Caribbean vicariant models and cladistic biogeographical hypotheses on area relationships, and show relative congruence with available phylogenetic data. Bird biogeography on the Caribbean islands appears to have been caused by both vicariance and dispersal processes. © The Willi Hennig Society 2007.     

Hermit crabs (Anomura: Paguroidea) distribution patterns in the Colombian Caribbean Sea

Hermit crabs represent the marine life in the Colombian Caribbean, and are important for the dynamic equilibrium maintenance in ecosystems, the ecological interactions and their impact on food web stability. Generally, in order to come up with some conservation strategies, strong bio-geographical information is needed for poll cies definition. With this aim, this study analyzed the distribution patterns of hermit crabs in the Colombian Caribbean Sea. through classification and spatial ordination multivariate analyses, using historical records from years 1916 to 2006. Besides, the world distribution of Colombian species and their geographic affinity in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic were identified. The results show deep differences between coastal and continental slope faunas, and latitudinal differences in the assemblages, with the identification of three groups: Northeast. Center and Southwest. The differences in faunal composition that support these three groups were determined. Based on maps of the Colombian marine ecosystems, it was found that the main factors affecting the distribution of hermit crabs were the Caribaná slope (depth), water-mass temperature, Guajira sea-grass beds, and particular conditions of "Coralline Archipelagos" and "Darién" eco-regions. Colombian hermit crab fauna is more related to the North Atlantic and the Antilles, than to the South Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. Additionally, geographical sub-provinces in which Colombia is included, these were found as transition zones among Northern and Austral subprovinces of the Greater Caribbean.     

Brachiopod palaeobiogeography in the western Tethys during the Early Jurassic diversity maximum: introduction of a Pontic Province

The biogeography of Pliensbachian (Early Jurassic) brachiopods in western Tethys is investigated using complementary multivariate tools including metric and non-metric ordination, additive cluster and bootstrapped spanning network analyses, as well as one-way analysis of similarity and similarity percentage analysis. All analyses were conducted using the Dice and Simpson similarity indices for presence/absence data on occurrence datasets involving 24 assemblages homogenized at the species level, including (403 taxa) or excluding (210 taxa) species found in only one assemblage. The analyses present a highly consistent biogeographical picture involving three main clusters: the Euro-Boreal, Mediterranean and Pontic biochores. The brachiopod species typical of the newly defined Pontic biochore are illustrated. The three assemblages from the Atlas area are interpreted as a fourth biochore, compositionally intermediate between those of the Euro-Boreal and Mediterranean. The Mediterranean biochore can be further divided into an intra- and a peri-Mediterranean group. These five, palaeogeographically well-constrained biochores show moderate to high degrees of species endemicity, ranging from 20% (Atlas) to 58% (Euro-Boreal). Based on available evidence, and after a reasonable cutback of the customary scale of ranks, the following biogeographical categories and names are suggested for the western Tethyan Pliensbachian brachiopod biochores: Euro-Boreal Province, Mediterranean Province (including an intra-Mediterranean and a peri-Mediterranean Subprovince), Pontic Province and Atlas Subprovince. In addition, a still poorly documented brachiopod biochore occurs on the Gondwana margin as a possible precursor of the extensive Middle to Late Jurassic Ethiopian Province.     

Preliminary genetic data on some Caribbean Artemia franciscana strains based on RAPD's

A total of fourteen Artemia samples from Colombia, Venezuela, Curaçao (Netherlands Antilles), Puerto Rico, and reference samples from U.S.A. (San Francisco Bay, SFB) belonging to the superspecies Artemia franciscana, and Argentina (A. persimilis), were analysed with the RAPD technique in order to demonstrate genetic dissimilarities. Pearson's correlation coefficients between the DNA banding patterns were calculated. They served as input values for the construction of UPGMA dendrograms. The results indicate that, within the collection of Colombian, Venezuelan and the two Netherlands Antilles Artemiacyst samples examined, two different groups seem to exist. Geographically, the mountainous area of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta separates these two groups (lower Caribbean to the South and middle Caribbean to the North). Although the Caribbean, North and South American populations belong to A. franciscana, genetic discontinuities are to be expected due to habitat differences and geographic isolation. The Sierra Nevada (with an altitude of about 5800 m) emerges as the barrier very likely to explain the observed RAPD differences. Little genetic variability was present in the Colombian samples from Manaure that were collected almost every ten years, nor in the samples from Galerazamba collected almost two decades apart, although these samples were more likely subjected to different prevailing environmental conditions. The SFB population did not show a very close relation with all Caribbean populations analyzed, including the Puerto Rican. All A. franciscana populations analyzed were divergent from A. persimilis(Argentina).     

Genetic variation at the immunoglobulin allotype loci in Creoles of Trinidad

The sera of a sample of 204 Creoles from Trinidad were tested for the presence of polymorphic gene complexes occurring on immunoglobulin light- and heavy-chain molecules including the allotypic markers IGKC 1, IGHA2 1 and 2, IGHG1 A, X, F, and Z, and IGHG3 G, G5, B0, B1, B3, B4, B5, C3, C5, S, and T. Nine IGHG (GM) haplotypes occur in polymorphic frequencies (greater than .01) in this population, including known African, Asian, Caucasian, and Amerindian marker haplotypes. Significant differences (P less than .01) were found in the frequency distributions of three IGHG (GM) haplotypes and the frequency of IGKC*1 in these data and data from Creole populations of Belize and St. Vincent. The Creoles of Trinidad and St. Vincent are more similar in IGHG (GM) haplotype distributions than are Trinidad and Belize populations. Previous testing has revealed no significant differences between St. Vincent and Belize Creoles at the Ig allotypic loci. Analysis of migration patterns in the Caribbean suggests that different rates of Asian migration have maintained regional diversity at these loci, while continuous gene flow from the eastern Caribbean to Trinidad has had a relative homogenizing effect on the gene pools of this area.     

Biogeographical homogeneity of Caribbean coral reef benthos

Caribbean reef benthic assemblages have been considered biogeographically homogeneous at regional scales, but this concept was recently challenged by Williams et al. (2015, Journal of Biogeography, 42 , 1327–1335). These authors concluded that benthic assemblages exhibit considerable biogeographical variability at regional and smaller scales, that rugosity and wave exposure play key roles in structuring assemblages, and that homogenization has yet to occur at a regional scale. We reassess their conclusions using recently published benthic and fish surveys that targeted sites either protected from fishing or intensively overfished. For sponges, regional variation in assemblages is mostly attributable to the removal of chemically undefended species by sponge‐eating fishes at sites protected from overfishing. We maintain that Caribbean benthic assemblages are remarkably homogeneous when compared to reefs in other tropical regions, and were likely more homogeneous before the localized effects of intensive fishing resulted in top‐down ecosystem alterations in benthic assemblages.     

MITOCHONDRIAL DNA SEQUENCE VARIATION AMONG NATURAL POPULATIONS OF THE TRINIDAD GUPPY,POECILIA RETICULATA

Guppies were sampled from eight populations representing four river drainage basins in northern Trinidad, and from one population on the nearby island of Tobago. For each individual, a 465 base pair (bp) segment of the control region of the mitochondrial genome was sequenced. The resulting DNA sequences were subjected to sequence divergence calculations and the populations were linked by maximum parsimony analysis to determine their phylogenetic relationships. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence variation was found both within and between river drainages, correlated with the geographic features of northern Trinidad. The variation observed exists primarily between drainages, particularly between the Oropuche drainage and all other Trinidad drainages examined. Estimates of time of divergence between guppy populations of different drainages, based on mtDNA sequence variation, ranged from 100,000 to 200,000 for the most recently separated populations and from 600,000 to 1.2 million years between the Oropuche populations and all others examined. Examination of fish from northeastern South America will be required to determine whether these populations differentiated in their present locations or were the result of separate invasions of Trinidad from different Venezuelan sources. However, genetic isolation of these populations appears to predate the current physical separation of the island of Trinidad from the Venezuelan mainland.     

Taxonomic list of the asteroids (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) from the shelf and superior slope from the Colombian Caribbean

Between 1998 and 2001 we surveyed the benthic macrofauna of the continental shelf and its upper slope in the Colombian Caribbean. The INVEMAR-MACROFAUNA I-II expeditions used a "semi-ballon" net were for 10 minute bottom drags from Punta Gallinas (Guajira) to Arboletes (Antioquia). These covered seven ecological sectors from the Colombian Caribbean: Guajira (GUA), Palomino (PAL), Tayrona (TAY), Magdalena (MAG), Archipiélagos Coralinos (ARCO), Morrosquillo (MOR), and Darié (DAR). We collected 4109 Asteroidea individuals belonging to six orders, 13 families, 26 genera, four subgenera, 35 species and eight subspecies. Luidia barbadensis, Luidia heterozona barimae, Luidia ludwigi scotti, Luidia sarsi elegans, Prionaster elegans, Cheiraster (Cheiraster) planus, Cheiraster (Cheiraster) sepitus, Cheiraster (Barbadosaster) echinulatus, Pseudarchaster gracilis gracilis, Rosaster alexandri, Pteraster acicula, Pteraster militarioides militarioides, Doraster constellatus, Mammaster sigsbeei and Coronaster briareus are first records for the Colombian Caribbean. Luidia sarsi elegans, Marginaster pectinatus, Tamaria halperni and Stephanasterias albula are first records for the south Caribbean and Pterasterpersonatus and Dipsacaster antillensis are first records for the Caribbean sea.     

A new species of the genus Acyrtus on the eastern Pacific: A cornerstone for the evolution and biogeography of the genus

The genus Acyrtus Schultz, 1944 currently includes four species distributed in the western Atlantic (WA), three occurring from the Bahamas to the southern Caribbean, and one endemic to the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago in north-east Brazil. We describe a new species of Acyrtus based on morphology and genetics from several individuals caught at artificial hard substrates deployed between 10 and 16 m deep at Malpelo Island, Colombian Pacific. The Malpelo clingfish, Acyrtus arturo new species, differs from all its WA congeners by a combination of morphology, meristics and genetics. This species is unique within Acyrtus in having the greatest number of caudal rays (12–13). It can also be distinguished by the greater body height (19.8–27.8% standard length), its longer disc (34.0–39.1% standard length) and the greater distance between anus and disc (13.9–18.1% standard length). A. arturo sp. nov. is the first Acyrtus so far recorded from the eastern Pacific and adds to the already high number of fishes endemic to Colombia's remote oceanic territory of Malpelo.     

Captive‐born intergeneric hybrid of a Guiana and bottlenose dolphin: Sotalia guianensis×Tursiops truncatus

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and Guiana dolphin (Sotalia guianensis) live in sympatry along the Caribbean Coast of Central and South America and social interactions between these species have been described in the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica, including sexual encounters. Here we examine and document the only known hybridization event between a male Guiana dolphin and a female bottlenose dolphin, in captivity at Oceanario Islas del Rosario (Colombian Caribbean), using photographic and genetic evidence from mitochondrial DNA markers and nuclear autosomal introns. Zoo Biol 29:647–657, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Treerunners,cryptic lizards of the Plica plica group (Squamata,Sauria, Tropiduridae) of?northern?South?America

The arboreal, Neotropical lizard Plica plica (Linnaeus, 1758) has been long considered a widespread species with a distribution east of the Andes. A preliminary examination of 101 specimens from about 28 locations mostly north of the Amazon suggests that Plica plica is a cryptic species complex with taxa that can be distinguished on the basis of the number of scale rows at mid-body; the arrangement, shape and ornamentation of scales on the snout; the number of lamellae on the fourth toe; the number of subocular plates; as well as other commonly used external morphological traits. The allopatric species discussed here are concordant with northern South American geography. Plica plica (Linnaeus, 1758) is associated with the Guiana Shield (Suriname, Guyana and Venezuela). A second species, P. caribeana sp. n. is associated with the Caribbean Coastal Range of Venezuela including Trinidad and Tobago. A third, distinctive species, P. rayi sp. n. is associated with the middle Orinoco at the eastern edge of the Guiana Shield. Two other species, P. kathleenae sp. n. and P. medemi sp. n., each based upon a single specimen, one from the Sierra Acarai Mountains of Guyana, and the other from southern Meta, Colombia are described. In addition to morphological analyses, we sequenced 12S and 16S rDNA gene fragments from one Plica plica from Trinidad to assess its relationship and taxonomy to other mainland Plica cf. plica. The results suggest Plica caribeana sp. n. likely diverged prior to the separation of Trinidad from northern Venezuela. Isolation in the Caribbean Coastal Range during its rapid uplift in the late Miocene, combined with a marine incursion into northern Venezuela may have contributed to their genetic divergence from other populations.     

Trophic levels of fish species of commercial importance in the Colombian Caribbean

Ecological studies on commercial important fish species are of great value to support resource management issues. This study calculated trophic levels of those Colombian Caribbean fish species whose diet has been locally described. Usable diet data of 119 species resulted in 164 trophic level estimates. An ordinary regression model relating trophic level and fish size was formulated. The regression slope was positive and significantly different from zero (p < 0.05) suggesting a scaling of trophic level with fish size. Both the list of trophic levels and the regression model should be of help in the formulation of trophic indicators and models of neotropical ecosystems.     

Island biogeography of Caribbean coral reef fish

Aim The goal of our study was to test fundamental predictions of biogeographical theories in tropical reef fish assemblages, in particular relationships between fish species richness and island area, isolation and oceanographic variables (temperature and productivity) in the insular Caribbean. These analyses complement an analogous and more voluminous body of work from the tropical Indo‐Pacific. The Caribbean is more limited in area with smaller inter‐island distances than the Indo‐Pacific, providing a unique context to consider fundamental processes likely to affect richness patterns of reef fish. Location Caribbean Sea. Methods We compiled a set of data describing reef‐associated fish assemblages from 24 island nations across the Caribbean Sea, representing a wide range of isolation and varying in land area from 53 to 110,860 km². Regression‐based analyses compared the univariate and combined effects of island‐specific physical predictors on fish species richness. Results We found that diversity of reef‐associated fishes increases strongly with increasing island area and with decreasing isolation. Richness also increases with increasing nearshore productivity. Analyses of various subsets of the entire data set reveal the robustness of the richness data and biogeographical patterns. Main conclusions Within the relatively small and densely packed Caribbean basin, fish species richness fits the classical species–area relationship. Richness also was related negatively to isolation, suggesting direct effects of dispersal limitation in community assembly. Because oceanic productivity was correlated with isolation, however, the related effects of system‐wide productivity on richness cannot be disentangled. These results highlight fundamental mechanisms that underlie spatial patterns of biodiversity among Caribbean coral reefs, and which are probably also are functioning in the more widespread and heterogeneous reefs of the Indo‐Pacific.     

Population structure and distribution of deep-water cardinal fish <Emphasis Type="Italic">Epigonus occidentalis</Emphasis> (Epigonidae) and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Epigonus pandionis</Emphasis> (Epigonidae) in the Colombian Caribbean Sea

Cardinal fish are commercially valuable species. In the Colombian Caribbean Sea E. occidentalis and E. pandionis occurred in 37and 35% of tows during a research trawl survey (>200 m), respectively and the biology of these vulnerable species is unknown. The aim of this work is to describe the spatial distribution patterns of biomass, size structure and morphometric relationships of E. occidentalis and E. pandionis in deep waters of the Colombian Caribbean Sea. The samples were collected by trawling in depths between 200 and 550 m. No statistical differences were found in size by sexes in both species. In female and male E. occidentalis the growth was isometric, while in female and male E. pandionis it was positive allometric. E. occidentalis occurred mainly in the northern zone of Colombian Caribbean Sea, with highest aggregations off Santa Marta and Riohacha. E. pandionis was distributed in the northern area between Santa Marta and Riohacha and in the southern area between Cartagena and Morrosquillo Gulf. However, before the exploitation of these species is considered, further research is required to determine basic life history traits, such as growth, reproduction, recruitment, and mortality.     

Molecular epidemiology of rabies epizootics in Colombia, 1994-2002: evidence of human and canine rabies associated with chiroptera

Three urban rabies outbreaks have been reported in Colombia during the last two decades, one of which is ongoing in the Caribbean region (northern Colombia). The earlier outbreaks occurred almost simultaneously in Arauca (eastern Colombia) and in the Central region, ending in 1997. Phylogenetic relationships among rabies viruses isolated from the three areas were based on a comparison of cDNA fragments coding for the endodomain of protein G and a fragment of L protein obtained by RT-PCR. The sequenced amplicons which included the G-L intergenic region contained 902 base pairs. Phylogenetic analysis showed three distinct groups of viruses. Colombian genetic variant I viruses were isolated only from Arauca and the Central region, but are now apparently extinct. Colombian genetic variant II viruses were isolated in the Caribbean region and are still being transmitted in that area. The third group of bat rabies variants were isolated from two insectivorous bats, three domestic dogs and a human. This associates bat rabies virus with rabies in Colombian dogs and humans, and indicates bats to be a rabies reservoir of public health significance.     

Evolutionary History and Phylogeography of Rabies Viruses Associated with Outbreaks in Trinidad

Bat rabies is an emerging disease of public health significance in the Americas. The Caribbean island of Trinidad experiences periodic outbreaks within the livestock population. We performed molecular characterisation of Trinidad rabies virus (RABV) and used a Bayesian phylogeographic approach to investigate the extent to which outbreaks are a result of in situ evolution versus importation of virus from the nearby South American mainland. Trinidadian RABV sequences were confirmed as bat variant and clustered with Desmodus rotundus (vampire bat) related sequences. They fell into two largely temporally defined lineages designated Trinidad I and II. The Trinidad I lineage which included sequences from 1997–2000 (all but two of which were from the northeast of the island) was most closely related to RABV from Ecuador (2005, 2007), French Guiana (1990) and Venezuela (1993, 1994). Trinidad II comprised sequences from the southwest of the island, which clustered into two groups: Trinidad IIa, which included one sequence each from 2000 and 2007, and Trinidad IIb including all 2010 sequences. The Trinidad II sequences were most closely related to sequences from Brazil (1999, 2004) and Uruguay (2007, 2008). Phylogeographic analyses support three separate RABV introductions from the mainland from which each of the three Trinidadian lineages arose. The estimated dates for the introductions and subsequent lineage expansions suggest periods of in situ evolution within Trinidad following each introduction. These data also indicate co-circulation of Trinidad lineage I and IIa during 2000. In light of these findings and the likely vampire bat origin of Trinidadian RABV, further studies should be conducted to investigate the relationship between RABV spatiotemporal dynamics and vampire bat population ecology, in particular any movement between the mainland and Trinidad.     

Length–weight relationships for 36 deep‐sea fish in the Colombian Caribbean Sea

Length–weight relationships (LWR) for 36 deep‐sea fish species belonging to 22 families are provided. Samples were collected during 2009 by trawling with the sampling design stratified by depths ranging from 200 to 550 m in the Colombian Caribbean Sea. To the best knowledge of the authors, this study represents the first study on length–weight relationships for 17 species worldwide, as well as 13 new maximum lengths.     

Coraux du Barrémien du Sud de la France (Ardèche et Drôme)

Corals from the Barremian of southern France (dépt. Ardèche and Drôme) are described. The rather small fauna of colonial corals encompasses 23 species belonging to 18 genera of both Hexa- and Octocorals. The assemblages from the lower as well as upper Barremian show stratigraphic relationships to those of the Hauterivian and Aptian of the Tethys and the Caribbean province.