The Antarctic Circumpolar Current as a diversification trigger for deep-sea octocorals

Antarctica is surrounded by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), the largest and strongest current in the world. Despite its potential importance for shaping biogeographical patterns, the distribution and connectivity of deep-sea populations across the ACC remain poorly understood. In this study...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMC Evolutionary Biology
Main Authors: Dueñas, Luisa F., Tracey, Dianne M., Crawford, Andrew J., Wilke, Thomas, Alderslade, Phil, Sánchez, Juan A.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: 2016
Subjects:
Antarctic
Pacific
Southern Ocean
The Antarctic
Antarc*
Antarctica
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10088/27932
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-015-0574-z
Description
Summary:Antarctica is surrounded by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), the largest and strongest current in the world. Despite its potential importance for shaping biogeographical patterns, the distribution and connectivity of deep-sea populations across the ACC remain poorly understood. In this study we conducted the first assessment of phylogeographical patterns in deep-sea octocorals in the South Pacific and Southern Ocean, specifically a group of closely related bottlebrush octocorals (Primnoidae: Tokoprymno and Thourella), as a test case to study the effect of the ACC on the population structure of brooding species. We assessed the degree to which the ACC constitutes a barrier to gene flow between northern and southern populations and whether the onset of diversification of these corals coincides with the origin of the ACC (Oligocene-Miocene boundary). research associate STRI Peer-reviewed

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