Benthic dinoflagellates of the genera Coolia, Ostreopsis and Prorocentrum isolated from coastal waters of the south-eastern Bay of Biscay were identified morphologically by means of light microscopy (LM) including epifluorescence microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). To identify the strains to species level, molecular phylogenetic analyses using the nuclear large subunit rDNA (LSU) were performed for 16 strains of the three genera. These morphological and phylogenetic analyses revealed the presence of the following species: Coolia canariensis S. Fraga, Coolia monotis Meunier, Ostreopsis cf. siamensis Schmidt, Prorocentrum emarginatun Fukuyo, P. lima (Ehrenberg) Dodge, P. rhathymum Loeblich III, Sherley & Schmidt, and two as yet unidentified species, which in the phylogenetic tree were grouped with different strains of Prorocentrum emarginatun and P. fukuyoi Murray et Nagahama from GenBank. A strain from Minorca (Balearic Islands, western Mediterranean Sea) analysed in this study for comparative purposes and fitting morphologically into the P. emarginatum/P. fukuyoi group also appeared in this cluster, which seems to include morphologically cryptic or semicryptic species. The most common taxa were Coolia monotis, Ostreopsis cf. siamensis and Prorocentrum lima, which appeared at most sampling sites. Only the strains corresponding to Ostreopsis cf. siamensis and Prorocentrum lima were toxic to Artemia franciscana.

-Traditional morphometrics, allozymes, and mitochondrial data have supported a close relationship between the M branch subspecies A. m. iberiensis and the North African subspecies (A branch). However, studies using nuclear DNA markers have revealed a clear distinction between the latter and the two European M branch subspecies. In help resolve this paradox, we analyzed 663 colonies from six European and African subspecies. A geometric morphometrics approach was applied to the analysis of wing shape, and the results were compared with data of six microsatellite loci. Both data sets were found to be highly consistent and corroborated a marked divergence of West European subspecies from North African ones. This supports the hypothesis that the presence of the African lineage mitotype in Iberian honey bee populations is likely the consequence of secondary introductions, with a minimal African influence within the current Iberian genetic background. Wing geometric morphometrics appears more appropriate than mitochondrial DNA analysis or traditional morphometrics in the screening and identification of the Africanization process.honeybee / evolutionary branch / wing morphology / geometric morphometrics / microsatellite

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract