Nautilus sex determination is unique among cephalopods.

Mechanisms for sex determination are highly diverse among animals and can evolve rapidly across taxonomic groups. This fundamental process dictates an animal's sexual fate and ultimately its development. Recent research has suggested that cephalopods follow a ZZ/Z0 sex determination (where males are homozygous and females are hemizygous) that originated at least 480 million years ago, making it one of the oldest conserved sex determination systems known for animals.

Population Genomics for Coral Reef Restoration-A Case Study of Staghorn Corals in Micronesia.

Staghorn corals are ecological keystone species in shallow lagoons and back reef habitats throughout the tropics. Their widespread decline coupled with their amenability for asexual propagation propelled them to the forefront of global coral restoration efforts-albeit frequently without much scientific input. To guide these efforts and as a blueprint for similar projects, we conducted a comprehensive population genomic study of cf.

Chromosome-level genome assembly and annotation of the sharpsnout seabream (Diplodus puntazzo).

Diplodus puntazzo is a demersal fish inhabiting the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic and plays an important ecological role in coastal areas. Here, we present the first nuclear genome assembly and annotation of this species and genus. We used a combination of PacBio CLR long reads, Illumina short reads and chromatin capture reads (Omni-C) to generate a chromosome-level assembly.

Evolutionary Genomics of Two Co-occurring Congeneric Fore Reef Coral Species on Guam (Mariana Islands).

Population structure provides essential information for developing meaningful conservation plans. This is especially important in remote places, such as oceanic islands, where limited population sizes and genetic isolation can make populations more susceptible and self-dependent. In this study, we assess and compare the relatedness, population genetics and molecular ecology of two sympatric Acropora species, A.

Genomic basis for early-life mortality in sharpsnout seabream.

Mortality at early life stages of fishes is common in nature and can be shaped by stochastic and selective processes. Selective mortality has rarely been assessed in natural conditions but can now be studied by combining genomic data with information on different life stages that realates to fitness. Here we investigate selective mortality between settlers and six-month survivors of the sharpsnout seabream by genotype-phenotype/environmental association studies in three localities along a geographic gradient.

Temperature reduces fish dispersal as larvae grow faster to their settlement size.

As species struggle to cope with rising ocean temperatures, temperate marine assemblages are facing major reorganization. Many benthic species have a brief but critical period dispersing through the plankton, when they are particularly susceptible to variations in temperature. Impacts of rising temperatures can thus ripple through the population with community-wide consequences.

Warming intensifies the interaction between the temperate seagrass Posidonia oceanica and its dominant fish herbivore Sarpa salpa.

Apart from directly influencing individual life histories of species, climate change is altering key biotic interactions as well, causing community processes to unravel. With rising temperatures, disruptions to producer-consumer relationships can have major knock-on effects, particularly when the producer is a habitat-forming species. We studied how sea surface temperature (SST) modifies multiple pathways influencing the interaction between the foundational seagrass species, Posidonia oceanica, and its main consumer, the fish Sarpa salpa in the Mediterranean Sea.

Individual-based population genomics reveal different drivers of adaptation in sympatric fish.

Connectivity and local adaptation are two contrasting evolutionary forces highly influencing population structure. To evaluate the impact of early-life traits and environmental conditions on genetic structuring and adaptation, we studied two sympatric fish species in the Western Mediterranean Sea: Symphodus tinca and S. ocellatus.

Helping decision making for reliable and cost-effective 2b-RAD sequencing and genotyping analyses in non-model species.

High-throughput sequencing has revolutionized population and conservation genetics. RAD sequencing methods, such as 2b-RAD, can be used on species lacking a reference genome. However, transferring protocols across taxa can potentially lead to poor results.