Abstract
Nanipora Miyazaki & Reimer, 2015 is a recently described monotypic octocoral genus belonging to the family Helioporidae (class Octocorallia). Nanipora kamurai Miyazaki & Reimer, 2015 was formally described from shallow coral reefs around Zamami Island, within Kerama-shoto National Park, in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan. To date, Nanipora has been reported from two other locations in Japan: N. aff. kamurai from a shallow inner lagoon at Iriomotejima Island, and Nanipora cf. kamurai from the coral reef surrounding a shallow CO2 vent at Iotorishima Island, both in Okinawa Prefecture. Additionally, Nanipora cf. kamurai has been reported from three locations outside Japan: in shallow seagrass meadows at Dongsha Atoll in the South China Sea, on coral reefs at Koh Tao in Thailand and from a reef in Toboso, central Philippines. Finally, N. kamurai has been detected in environmental DNA samples from the Rowley Shoals off northwestern Australia. As a ‘living fossil’ and also apparently common in the low pH environment of Iotorishima I., a clearer understanding of the distribution of the genus should aid in better understanding of its ecology. Here, we report three new additional records from the Ryukyu Archipelago where Nanipora colonies were found, resulting in ten total records of Nanipora. Molecular phylogenetic analyses utilizing cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI), mitochondrial mismatch repair protein (mtMutS), and the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) sequences of specimens from two of these new locations combined with additional sequences from previously collected specimens from Dongsha, Iotorishima, and Iriomotejima showed evidence of three closely related groups within Nanipora, warranting future investigations into the species diversity of this genus.
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Acknowledgements
We thank members of the Molecular Invertebrate Systematics and Ecology (MISE) laboratory of the University of the Ryukyus for field work support and discussion. Comments from two anonymous reviewers and the handling editor greatly improved earlier versions of this manuscript.
Funding
GMC was supported by tuition exemptions at the University of the Ryukyus (UR). EAJ and JAAL were supported by Japan Ministry of Education (MEXT) scholarships. Work at Iotorishima was supported by an Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) KICKS grant entitled “Japanese volcanic CO2 vents—natural laboratories to study the behaviour and adaptation of marine organisms to acidifying oceans” to JDR and colleagues at UR and OIST. JDR thanks the captain and crew of the Yosemiya III, and cruise members for their support and advice at Iotorishima.
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The authors followed all applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for animal testing, animal care and use of animals.
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All necessary permits for sampling and observational field studies have been obtained by the authors from Okinawa Prefecture (Permit No. 1504 to JDR).
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The specimens collected during this study have been deposited in the Fujukan University of the Ryukyus Museum under the corresponding specimen numbers.
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GMC and JDR conceived and designed research. GMC, RM, and JDR performed field surveys. GMC, EAJ, and JAAL performed molecular experiments and analyses. GMC wrote the manuscript. All authors edited the manuscript, and all authors read and approved the manuscript.
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Castelló, G.M., Jamodiong, E.A., Lalas, J.A.A. et al. Distribution and molecular phylogeny of the octocoral genus Nanipora (Helioporidae) in the western Pacific. Mar. Biodivers. 53, 73 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-023-01383-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-023-01383-8