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1. Pan-Arctic Phylogeography of the Pelagic Chaetognath Eukrohnia hamata.

   Passacantando, M. (February 2018, Ocean Sciences Meeting)

   Chaetognatha are highly-effective predatory components of the marine planktonic assemblages. Many species exhibit disjunct biogeographical distributions throughout the global ocean, and thus serve as sentinel species for examining climate-driven changes in ocean circulation on zooplankton species, communities, and food webs. Of particular interest are ecological changes in the Arctic, a region being drastically affected by climate change. In this study, a 650 base-pair region of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (mtCOI) gene was sequenced for 131 individuals for the chaetognath Eukrohnia hamata collected from diverse regions throughout the Arctic. DNA sequence analysis was done to characterize population genetic diversity and structure, phylogeography (i.e., geographic distribution of genetic lineages within species), and connectivity among regional populations. High haplotype diversity (Hd) and significant (p <0.02) negative values for Fu’s and Li’s F statistic imply that E. hamata is undergoing population expansion.. Patterns and pathways of population connectivity examined to test several migration hypotheses revealed that pan-Arctic population connectivity followed the primary ocean currents. The reliance of this ecologically important zooplankton species on Arctic Ocean currents has implications for future warming conditions, which have the potential to modify these currents, resulting in altered biogeographical distributions and population connectivity of Arctic zooplankton. 

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2. Population connectivity of the euphausiid, Stylocheiron elongatum , in the Gulf Stream (NW Atlantic Ocean) in relation to COI barcode diversity of Stylocheiron species

   https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsab158  

   Bucklin, Ann; Questel, Jennifer M; Blanco-Bercial, Leocadio; Frenzel, Alexandra; Smolenack, Sara B; Wiebe, Peter H (August 2021, ICES Journal of Marine Science)

   Grant, William (Ed.)

   Abstract The euphausiid genus Stylocheiron includes species with biogeographical distributions spanning multiple ocean basins. Despite their circumglobal distributions, the species show low levels of genetic diversity and little or no evidence of population structure based on the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) barcode region, with the exception of a possible cryptic species within Stylocheiron affine. Stylocheiron elongatum showed < 1% variation of the COI barcode region among populations in different ocean basins, but analysis of samples collected from the Florida Current (February, 1993) and Gulf Stream Meander Region (April, 1993) in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean revealed small-but-significant genetic differentiation between samples based on a different section of COI and mitochondrial cytochrome b (CYB). Both COI and CYB showed large haplotype and small nucleotide diversities, departures from neutral expectations, and haplotype networks consistent with persistent genetic structuring of the species population. These patterns of diversity indicate the presence of selection driving population divergence. We hypothesize that position-keeping by this deep-living, non-migrating euphausiid species may prevent genetic homogenization (panmixia) in the dynamic Gulf Stream System. This study demonstrates the importance of analyzing patterns of genetic diversity and structure at regional and global scales to understand the ecological and evolutionary processes impacting marine zooplankton. 

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3. Population Genomics of Marine Zooplankton

   https://doi.org/10.1007/13836_2017_9  

   Bucklin, A; DiVito, K; Smolina, I; Choquet, M; Questel, JM; Hoarau, G; O’Neill, RJ (January 2018, Population Genomics)

   The exceptionally large population size and cosmopolitan biogeographic distribution that distinguish many – but not all – marine zooplankton species generate similarly exceptional patterns of population genetic and genomic diversity and structure. The phylogenetic diversity of zooplankton has slowed the application of population genomic approaches, due to lack of genomic resources for closelyrelated species and diversity of genomic architecture, including highly-replicated genomes of many crustaceans. Use of numerous genomic markers, especially single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), is transforming our ability to analyze population genetics and connectivity of marine zooplankton, and providing new understanding and different answers than earlier analyses, which typically used mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite markers. Population genomic approaches have confirmed that, despite high dispersal potential, many zooplankton species exhibit genetic structuring among geographic populations, especially at large ocean-basin scales, and have revealed patterns and pathways of population connectivity that do not always track ocean circulation. Genomic and transcriptomic resources are critically needed to allow further examination of micro-evolution and local adaptation, including identification of genes that show evidence of selection. These new tools will also enable further examination of the significance of small-scale genetic heterogeneity of marine zooplankton, to discriminate genetic “noise” in large and patchy populations from local adaptation to environmental conditions and change. 

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4. Toward a global reference database of COI barcodes for marine zooplankton

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-021-03887-y  

   Bucklin, Ann; Peijnenburg, Katja T. C. A.; Kosobokova, Ksenia N.; O’Brien, Todd D.; Blanco-Bercial, Leocadio; Cornils, Astrid; Falkenhaug, Tone; Hopcroft, Russell R.; Hosia, Aino; Laakmann, Silke; et al (May 2021, Marine Biology)

   Abstract Characterization of species diversity of zooplankton is key to understanding, assessing, and predicting the function and future of pelagic ecosystems throughout the global ocean. The marine zooplankton assemblage, including only metazoans, is highly diverse and taxonomically complex, with an estimated ~28,000 species of 41 major taxonomic groups. This review provides a comprehensive summary of DNA sequences for the barcode region of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) for identified specimens. The foundation of this summary is the MetaZooGene Barcode Atlas and Database (MZGdb), a new open-access data and metadata portal that is linked to NCBI GenBank and BOLD data repositories. The MZGdb provides enhanced quality control and tools for assembling COI reference sequence databases that are specific to selected taxonomic groups and/or ocean regions, with associated metadata (e.g., collection georeferencing, verification of species identification, molecular protocols), and tools for statistical analysis, mapping, and visualization. To date, over 150,000 COI sequences for ~ 5600 described species of marine metazoan plankton (including holo- and meroplankton) are available via the MZGdb portal. This review uses the MZGdb as a resource for summaries of COI barcode data and metadata for important taxonomic groups of marine zooplankton and selected regions, including the North Atlantic, Arctic, North Pacific, and Southern Oceans. The MZGdb is designed to provide a foundation for analysis of species diversity of marine zooplankton based on DNA barcoding and metabarcoding for assessment of marine ecosystems and rapid detection of the impacts of climate change. 

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5. Zooplankton abundance data for 53 micron mesh ring net samples, taken during the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAIC) expedition (PS 122), in the central Arctic and Fram Strait, November 2019 - September 2020

   https://doi.org/10.18739/A2XP6V547  

   Gelfman, Cecilia; Campbell, Robert; Ashjian, Carin (January 2024, NSF Arctic Data Center)

   The Multi-disciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC), was conducted from October 2019 to September 2020. The Research Vessel Polarstern was frozen into the ice in the Central Arctic Ocean north of Norway and drifted with the prevailing currents from north to south, traversing multiple Arctic basins and regimes and serving as a floating laboratory for an international, multidisciplinary program focusing on multiple facets of ice, ocean, atmosphere, biogeochemistry, and ecosystem responses to ongoing changing environmental conditions. Zooplankton ecology was investigated as part of the ecosystem team program. Abundance data from the area has been limited, particularly for the winter season. Weekly net tows were scheduled with multiple nets (mesh sizes 53, 150 and 1000 microns (µm)) to add to that data. This data set contains zooplankton abundance data (individuals per cubic meter) for the 53 µm ring net samples, sampling location and net depth information. Abundant zooplankton were identified to species and stage, including nauplii. Less abundant specimens were identified to subgroup, genus, group or family. 

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