Convergent evolution of small body size occurs across many vertebrate clades and may reflect an evolutionary response to shared selective pressures. However it remains unclear if other aspects of phenotype undergo convergent evolution in miniaturized lineages. Here we present a comparative analysis of body size and shape evolution in marine angelfishes (Pomacanthidae), a reef fish family characterized by repeated transitions to small body size. We ask if lineages that evolve small sizes show convergent evolution...

From a practical point of view, the determination of species in the wild is based on their phenotypes. Consequently, many species remain unknown because they are visually indistinguishable from described species. Although molecular methods and advances in bioacoustical analysis have been extensively used to uncover cryptic species, the combination of both methodologies is still rare and concerns only some terrestrial taxa such as insects, bats, frogs and birds. In this study, we aim to determine...

Dispersal is a critical process for the persistence and productivity of marine populations. For many reef species, there is increasing evidence that local demography and self-recruitment have major consequences on their genetic diversity and adaptation to environmental change. Yet empirical data of dispersal patterns in reef-building species remain scarce. Here, we document the first genetic estimates of self-recruitment and dispersal distances in a free-spawning marine invertebrate, the hydrocoral Millepora platyphylla. Using twelve microsatellite markers, we...

Metacommunity structure reflects the interplay of various processes, including niche filtering, extinction/colonization, and interspecific interactions. Spatial patterns of species distributions are often analyzed to infer these processes. However, such inferences rely on often unrealistic equilibrium assumptions, and remain ambiguous, as different processes can produce similar patterns. Temporal data may improve these inferences. For example, stochastic species turnover may occur in local communities, while, on the long run, temporal changes are kept within limits set by...

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) occupy a wide range of coastal and pelagic habitats throughout tropical and temperate waters worldwide. In some regions, "inshore" and "offshore" forms or ecotypes differ genetically and morphologically, despite no obvious boundaries to interchange. Around New Zealand, bottlenose dolphins inhabit 3 coastal regions: Northland, Marlborough Sounds, and Fiordland. Previous demographic studies showed no interchange of individuals among these populations. Here, we describe the genetic structure and diversity of these populations using...

Aim The mutualistic relationship between anemones and anemonefishes is one of the most iconic examples of symbiosis. However, while anemonefishes have been extensively studied in terms of genetic connectivity, such information is lacking entirely for host sea anemones. Here, we provide the first information on the broad-scale population structure and phylogeographic patterns of three species of host sea anemone, Heteractis magnifica, Stichodactyla mertensii, and Entacmaea quadricolor. We evaluate if there is concordance in genetic structure...

To adapt to their environment, organisms can either directly interact with their surroundings or use social information, namely information provided by neighbouring individuals. Social information relates to the external features of surrounding peers, and little is known about its use by solitary species. Here, we investigated the use of social cues in a solitary marine predator by creating artificial aggregations of free-ranging sicklefin lemon sharks (Negaprion acutidens). Using a novel monitoring protocol, we analysed both...

1. Climate change is impacting marine ecosystems and their goods and services in diverse ways, which can directly hinder our ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, set out under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 2. Through expert elicitation and a literature review, we find that most climate change effects have a wide variety of negative consequences across marine ecosystem services, though most studies have highlighted impacts from warming and consequences to marine species....

Lionfish (Pterois volitans) have rapidly invaded the tropical Atlantic and spread across the wider Caribbean in a relatively short period of time. Because of its high invasion capacity, we used it as a model to identify the connectivity among nine marine protected areas (MPAs) situated in four countries in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.This study provides evidence of local genetic differentiation of P. volitansin the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.A...

Dispersal abilities play a crucial role in shaping the extent of population genetic structure, with more mobile species being panmictic over large geographic ranges and less mobile ones organized in meta-populations exchanging migrants to different degrees. In turn, population structure directly influences the coalescence pattern of the sampled lineages, but the consequences on the estimated variation of the effective population size (Ne) over time obtained by means of unstructureddemographic models remain poorly understood. However, this...

Phenotypic adjustments to environmental variation are particularly relevant to cope with putative environmental mismatches often imposed by natal dispersal. We used an inter-generational cross-transplant field-based experiment to evaluate the morphological and physiological effects of parental and post-settlement water flow environments on the orange-fin anemonefish Amphiprion chrysopterus through ontogeny (at pre- and post-settlement stages). Offspring born from parents under high water flow had an 18% higher caudal fin aspect ratio (a compound measure of shape) at...

Observers of the Polynesian Shark Observatory (ORP), a citizen science network organized mainly through the Polynesian dive centers, collected an unprecedented amount of data in 43% of the islands of French Polynesia between July 8, 2011, and April 11, 2018, during 13,916 dives. The objective of such a data collection, not accessible to standard research resources, was to provide a unique dataset, offering the opportunity to explore the specific diversity, distribution, seasonality and abundance of...