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Octocoral-associated Parazoanthus cf. swiftii from the southwestern Atlantic

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Abstract

In this study, a zoantharian specimen was found associated with a gorgonian colony of the genus Nicella (Anthozoa, Octocorallia), representing the first zoantharian-octocoral association reported from the southwestern Atlantic. Unexpectedly, phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial (COI and mt 16S rDNA) and nuclear (ITS-rDNA) markers assigned the specimen to the widely distributed species Parazoanthus cf. swiftii, known until now to associate exclusively with sponges (Porifera). In the sampled locality (Alcatrazes Archipelago, São Paulo State), P. cf. swiftii has been observed to associate with both sponges and octocoral. We review the literature and discuss the specificity of biotic substrate associations in Zoantharia and suggest that many interactions may not be as host-specific as previously thought. Such flexibility in habitat choice may provide the mechanisms that have allowed zoantharians to adapt and associate with a wide range of invertebrate hosts across evolutionary time scales.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Ralf Cordeiro for his help in the analyses and generic assignment of the octocoral. MVK thanks the support of FAPESP (2014/01332-0) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (301436/2018-5). The first author was supported by a PhD scholarship from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (142149/2018-7). CFV, AEM, and MVK are grateful for the support from Kelen Leite and Silvia Godoy (ICMBio). The editor and two anonymous reviewers are thankful for comments that improved an earlier version of this manuscript.

Funding

This study was funded by Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) (grant number 2014/01332-0 to MVK) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (grant number 301436/2018-5 to MVK and grant number 142149/2018-7 to CVF).

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Correspondence to Claudia F. Vaga.

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All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for animal testing, animal care, and use of animals were followed by the authors.

Sampling and field studies

All necessary permits for sampling and observational field studies have been obtained by the authors from the competent authorities (ICMBio) and are mentioned in the acknowledgements.

Data availability

New sequences determined in the present study were deposited in the GenBank repository (accession numbers: MN545904, MN545740, MN563139). Accession numbers of already published and deposited in GenBank sequences used to build the alignments are listed in Online Resources 1.

Author Contribution

CFV and MVK conceived and designed research. CFV and AEM conducted the analyses. All authors contributed to the writing of the manuscript.

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Communicated by B. W. Hoeksema

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Vaga, C.F., Santos, M.E.A., Migotto, A.E. et al. Octocoral-associated Parazoanthus cf. swiftii from the southwestern Atlantic. Mar. Biodivers. 50, 17 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-020-01041-3

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