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Abstract The objective of this study was to evaluate the function, and usability of a novel automated software-guided cryostorage system in an active IVF laboratory setting. The investigational device (ID) was installed at 3 IVF laboratories (sites: α, β, and γ). A total of 15 embryologists were trained to use the ID. Mock patient specimens containing mirrored live patient data were handled using the ID. Temperature readings were recorded every minute. Successful identification, storage, and retrieval of mock patient specimens by the ID were evaluated. To assess an LN2 pressure builder, the frequency of use and events of workflow interruption were logged. Student’s t-test was used to determine statistical significance. The ID was in active use for 164 days total. During this time, 329 mock patient egg and embryo cohorts were handled by the ID. The mean ± SD temperatures during active use were: α, − 176.57 ± 1.83 °C; β, − 178.21 ± 2.75 °C; γ, − 178.98 ± 1.74 and did not differ significantly. The highest recorded temperatures were: α, − 165.14 °C; β, − 157.41 °C; γ, − 164.45 °C. A total of 1064 automation transactions on 409 specimen vessels were performed. Data was managed on 1501 eggs and embryos. The ID did not lose or misplace any specimen data or vessels, and no mock specimen was exposed to a detrimental (> − 150 °C) temperature excursion. Over the 25 LN2 pressure builder usages during 99 total days, there was 1 occurrence where usage interrupted workflow due to a lack of LN2 pressure. The ID has advantages over the current manual-based cryostorage systems, including radio frequency identification (RFID) tracking, automation of manual tasks, and software guidance to ensure accurate specimen storage and retrieval. The results of this study indicate that the ID can be integrated into active IVF laboratories.

Abstract Background In recognition of the burden of Perinatal Mental Health problems, NHS England invested £365 million to transform women’s access to mental health care, including investment in Community Perinatal Mental Health Services. This study examined how elements of provider care affected women’s engagement with these services. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 139 women and explored their experiences of care from 10 different Community Perinatal Mental Health Teams; including which service components participants believed made a difference to their initial and continued engagement. Realist analysis was used to create context-mechanism-outcome configurations (CMOCs) across interviews, since not all parts of the configurations were always articulated within singular interviews. Results Four key pillars for engagement were identified: perinatal competence, relationship building, accurate reassurance, and reliability. The way perinatal competencies were relayed to women mattered; compassion, understanding and consistency were critical interactional styles. The extent to which these factors affected women’s engagement varied by their context and personal characteristics. Conclusions As mental health problems increase, disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations, it is critical to continue to ensure support is not only available, but appropriately meets the needs of those individuals. Our findings suggest that key staff behaviours applied at the right time can support women’s engagement and potentially contribute to better treatment outcomes.

Although systematic treatments of Hydrozoa have been notoriously difficult, a great deal of useful information on morphologies and life histories has steadily accumulated. From the assimilation of this information, numerous hypotheses of the phylogenetic relationships of the major groups of Hydrozoa have been offered. Here I evaluate these hypotheses using the complete sequence of the 18S gene for 35 hydrozoan species. New 18S sequences for 31 hydrozoans, 6 scyphozoans, one cubozoan, and one anthozoan are reported. Parsimony analyses of two datasets that include the new 18S sequences are used to assess the relative strengths and weaknesses of a list of phylogenetic hypotheses that deal with Hydrozoa. Alternative measures of tree optimality, minimum evolution and maximum likelihood, are used to evaluate the reliability of the parsimony analyses. Hydrozoa appears to be composed of two clades, herein called Trachylina and Hydroidolina. Trachylina consists of Limnomedusae, Narcomedusae, and Trachymedusae. Narcomedusae is not likely to be the basal group of Trachylina, but is instead derived directly from within Trachymedusae. This implies the secondary gain of a polyp stage. Hydroidolina consists of Capitata, Filifera, Hydridae, Leptomedusae, and Siphonophora. Anthomedusae may not form a monophyletic grouping. However, the relationships among the hydroidolinan groups are difficult to resolve with the present set of data. Finally, the monophyly of Hydrozoa is strongly supported.

Abstract Background The global economic cost of cancer and the costs of ongoing care for survivors are increasing. Little is known about factors affecting hospitalisations and related costs for the growing number of cancer survivors. Our aim was to identify associated factors of cancer survivors admitted to hospital in the public system and their costs from a health services perspective. Methods A population‐based, retrospective, data linkage study was conducted in Queensland (COS‐Q), Australia, including individuals diagnosed with a first primary cancer who incurred healthcare costs between 2013 and 2016. Generalised linear models were fitted to explore associations between socio‐demographic (age, sex, country of birth, marital status, occupation, geographic remoteness category and socio‐economic index) and clinical (cancer type, year of/time since diagnosis, vital status and care type) factors with mean annual hospital costs and mean episode costs. Results Of the cohort (N = 230,380) 48.5% (n = 111,820) incurred hospitalisations in the public system (n = 682,483 admissions). Hospital costs were highest for individuals who died during the costing period (cost ratio ‘CR’: 1.79, p

Abstract Recreation is known to impact wildlife by displacing and sometimes contributing to the extirpation of sensitive species, underscoring a need for policies that balance wildlife and recreation. This is especially pressing when Indigenous rights necessitate ecological integrity and sustainable populations of wildlife throughout traditional territories. In the Cascade Mountain Range of Washington, USA, Indigenous harvest of elk (Cervus canadensis) is declining, concurrent with increases in recreation. Yet, the nature and magnitude of the effects of recreation on elk are unknown, which prevents land managers from developing informed policies regarding recreation and wildlife management. Here, we use camera traps alongside visitation models that incorporate geolocated social media to quantify the impacts of recreation on elk in western Washington. Random forest models show elk detection rates are relatively constant at low levels of recreation (0–11 people/day), but decrease by over 41% when recreation increases from 12 to 22 people/day. Activity overlap analysis also revealed a shift toward increased evening activity by elk at cameras with higher‐than‐average recreation (∆ = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.61–0.88; χ2 = 7.79, p = 0.02). Generalized additive modeling confirms that elk are more crepuscular or nocturnal at camera locations with more than 10 hiker detections per day. We compare methods for estimating recreation, showing model‐based estimates are more informative than camera‐based estimates. This indicates that recreational intensity along and in the immediate vicinity of trails may be a better predictor of impacts on wildlife than camera‐based estimates that quantify recreational intensity at specific locations along trails. We stress the importance of examining the impacts of recreation on wildlife across multiple spatiotemporal scales and underscore how novel approaches can provide land managers valuable tools to develop management strategies that balance recreation and wildlife. We hope that our work can also serve as a strong example of collaboration between universities, state agencies, and sovereign Indigenous nations toward the broader goal of mitigating the negative impacts of recreation on wildlife.

Purpose: The impact of morphological knowledge on students' literacy development has been well documented. The purpose of this tutorial is to illustrate how school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can target morphology in their interventions to support their students' literacy development. Method: This tutorial includes a review of the concepts and terminology essential to providing morphological interventions, the norm-referenced and informal assessments that can be used to assess students' morphological knowledge, and intervention strategies to use across multiple grade levels that are aligned with the Common Core State Standards. Conclusion: This tutorial provides school-based SLPs with the information needed to get started developing and implementing interventions with morphology at the core.

Abstract Polar ecosystems are experiencing amongst the most rapid rates of regional warming on Earth. Here, we discuss ‘omics’ approaches to investigate polar biodiversity, including the current state of the art, future perspectives and recommendations. We propose a community road map to generate and more fully exploit multi-omics data from polar organisms. These data are needed for the comprehensive evaluation of polar biodiversity and to reveal how life evolved and adapted to permanently cold environments with extreme seasonality. We argue that concerted action is required to mitigate the impact of warming on polar ecosystems via conservation efforts, to sustainably manage these unique habitats and their ecosystem services, and for the sustainable bioprospecting of novel genes and compounds for societal gain.

Platyhelminthes (flatworms) are a diverse invertebrate phylum useful for exploring life-history evolution. Within Platyhelminthes, only two clades develop through a larval stage: free-living polyclads and parasitic neodermatans. Neodermatan larvae are considered evolutionarily derived, whereas polyclad larvae are hypothesized to be ancestral due to ciliary band similarities among polyclad and other spiralian larvae. However, larval evolution has been challenging to investigate within polyclads due to low support for deeper phylogenetic relationships. To investigate polyclad life-history evolution, we generated transcriptomic data for 21 species of polyclads to build a well-supported phylogeny for the group. The resulting tree provides strong support for deeper nodes, and we recover a new monophyletic clade of early branching cotyleans. We then used ancestral state reconstructions to investigate ancestral modes of development within Polycladida and more broadly within flatworms. In polyclads, we were unable to reconstruct the ancestral state of deeper nodes with significant support because early branching clades show diverse modes of development. This suggests a complex history of larval evolution in polyclads that likely includes multiple losses and/or multiple gains. However, our ancestral state reconstruction across a previously published platyhelminth phylogeny supports a direct developing prorhynchid/polyclad ancestor, which suggests that a larval stage in the life cycle evolved along the polyclad stem lineage or within polyclads.

IntroductionBotrynema, a genus of medusozoans in the trachyline family Halicreatidae, currently contains two species: B. brucei and B. ellinorae, distinguished by the presence or absence, respectively, of an apical knob as a diagnostic character. However, no study has corroborated if these taxonomic diagnoses have a biological and evolutionary basis. Therefore, in this study we attempted to address the question “do the two nominal species in the genus Botrynema represent independent phylogenetic lineages, or two phenotypic variants of a single species?MethodsIn this study we took advantage of legacy collections from different research expeditions across the globe from 2000 to 2021 to study the phylogenetics and taxonomy of the genus Botrynema.ResultsB. brucei and B. ellinorae present partially overlapping vertical distributions in the Arctic and as a whole in the Arctic the genus seems to be limited to the Atlantic water masses. The phylogenetic reconstruction based on the concatenated alignment corroborates the validity of the family Halicreatidae and of genus Botrynema as monophyletic groups. However no clear differentiation was found between the two presently accepted species, B. ellinorae and B. brucei.DiscussionBased on the evidence we gathered, we conclude that while the genus Botrynema does contain at least two species lineages, these lineages are not concordant with current species definitions. The species B. ellinorae is reassigned as a subspecies of B. brucei and diagnostic characters are provided.

Background. Delayed graft function (DGF) is a major complication of deceased donor kidney transplantation. Saline (0.9% sodium chloride) is a commonly used intravenous fluid in transplantation but may increase the risk of DGF because of its high chloride content. Better Evidence for Selecting Transplant Fluids (BEST-Fluids), a pragmatic, registry-based, double-blind, randomized trial, sought to determine whether using a balanced low-chloride crystalloid solution (Plasma-Lyte 148) instead of saline would reduce DGF. We sought to evaluate the generalizability of the trial cohort by reporting the baseline characteristics and representativeness of the trial participants in detail. Methods. We compared the characteristics of BEST-Fluids participants with those of a contemporary cohort of deceased donor kidney transplant recipients in Australia and New Zealand using data from the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry. To explore potential international differences, we compared trial participants with a cohort of transplant recipients in the United States using data from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients. Results. During the trial recruitment period, 2373 deceased donor kidney transplants were performed in Australia and New Zealand; 2178 were eligible‚ and 808 were enrolled in BEST-Fluids. Overall, trial participants and nonparticipants were similar at baseline. Trial participants had more coronary artery disease (standardized difference [d] = 0.09; P = 0.03), longer dialysis duration (d = 0.18, P < 0.001), and fewer hypertensive (d = −0.11, P = 0.03) and circulatory death (d = −0.14, P < 0.01) donors than nonparticipants. Most key characteristics were similar between trial participants and US recipients, with moderate differences (|d| ≥ 0.2; all P < 0.001) in kidney failure cause, diabetes, dialysis duration, ischemic time, and several donor risk predictors, likely reflecting underlying population differences. Conclusions. BEST-Fluids participants had more comorbidities and received slightly fewer high-risk deceased donor kidneys but were otherwise representative of Australian and New Zealand transplant recipients and were generally similar to US recipients. The trial results should be broadly applicable to deceased donor kidney transplantation practice worldwide.

Abstract DNA metabarcoding is an increasingly popular technique to investigate biodiversity; however, many methodological unknowns remain, especially concerning the biases resulting from marker choice. Regions of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and 18S rDNA (18S) genes are commonly employed “universal” markers for eukaryotes, but the extent of taxonomic biases introduced by these markers and how such biases may impact metabarcoding performance is not well quantified. Here, focusing on macroeukaryotes, we use standardized sampling from autonomous reef monitoring structures (ARMS) deployed in the world's most biodiverse marine ecosystem, the Coral Triangle, to compare the performance of COI and 18S markers. We then compared metabarcoding data to image‐based annotations of ARMS plates. Although both markers provided similar estimates of taxonomic richness and total sequence reads, marker choice skewed estimates of eukaryotic diversity. The COI marker recovered relative abundances of the dominant sessile phyla consistent with image annotations. Both COI and the image annotations provided higher relative abundance estimates of Bryozoa and Porifera and lower estimates of Chordata as compared to 18S, but 18S recovered 25% more phyla than COI. Thus, while COI more reliably reflects the occurrence of dominant sessile phyla, 18S provides a more holistic representation of overall taxonomic diversity. Ideal marker choice is, therefore, contingent on study system and research question, especially in relation to desired taxonomic resolution, and a multimarker approach provides the greatest application across a broad range of research objectives. As metabarcoding becomes an essential tool to monitor biodiversity in our changing world, it is critical to evaluate biases associated with marker choice.

Human disturbance, such as trampling, is an integral component of global change, yet we lack a comprehensive understanding of its effects on alpine ecosystems. Many alpine systems are seeing a rapid increase in recreation and in understudied regions, such as the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, yet disturbance impacts on alpine plants remain unclear. We surveyed disturbed (trail-side) and undisturbed (off-trail) transects along elevational gradients of popular hiking trails in the T’ak’t’ak’múy’in tl’a In’inyáxa7n region (Garibaldi Provincial Park), Canada, focusing on dominant shrubs (Phyllodoce empetriformis, Cassiope mertensiana, Vaccinium ovalifolium) and graminoids (Carex spp). We used a hierarchical Bayesian framework to test for disturbance by elevation effects on total plant percent cover, maximum plant height and diameter (growth proxies), and buds, flowers, and fruits (reproduction proxies). We found that trampling reduces plant cover and impacts all species, but that effects vary by species and trait, and disturbance effects only vary with elevation for one species’ trait. Growth traits are more sensitive to trampling than reproductive traits, which may lead to differential impacts on population persistence and species-level fitness outcomes. Our study highlights that disturbance responses are species-specific, and this knowledge can help land managers minimize disturbance impacts on sensitive vegetation types.

This paper finds strong support for a Phillips curve that becomes nonlinear when inflation is “low”—which our baseline model defines as less than 3 percent. The nonlinear curve is steep when output is above potential (slack is negative) but flat when output is below potential (slack is positive) so that further increases in economic slack have little effect on inflation. This finding is consistent with evidence of downward nominal wage and price rigidity. When inflation is high, the Phillips curve is linear and relatively steep. These results are robust to placing the threshold between the high and low inflation regimes at 2, 3, or 4 percent inflation or for a threshold based on country-specific medians of inflation. In this nonlinear model, international factors play a large role in explaining headline inflation (albeit less so for core inflation), a role that has been increasing since the global financial crisis. These results provide evidence of channels which could boost inflation in the future, even if they were dormant before the Covid pandemic.

DNA barcoding is critical to conservation and biodiversity research, yet public reference databases are incomplete. Existing barcode databases are biased toward cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and frequently lack associated voucher specimens or geospatial metadata, which can hinder reliable species assignments. The emergence of metabarcoding approaches such as environmental DNA (eDNA) has necessitated multiple marker techniques combined with barcode reference databases backed by voucher specimens. Reference barcodes have traditionally been generated by Sanger sequencing, however sequencing multiple markers is costly for large numbers of specimens, requires multiple separate PCR reactions, and limits resulting sequences to targeted regions. High-throughput sequencing techniques such as genome skimming enable assembly of complete mitogenomes, which contain the most commonly used barcoding loci (e.g., COI, 12S, 16S), as well as nuclear ribosomal repeat regions (e.g., ITS1&2, 18S). We evaluated the feasibility of genome skimming to generate barcode references databases for marine fishes by assembling complete mitogenomes and nuclear ribosomal repeats. We tested genome skimming across a taxonomically diverse selection of 12 marine fish species from the collections of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. We generated two sequencing libraries per species to test the impact of shearing method (enzymatic or mechanical), extraction method (kit-based or automated), and input DNA concentration. We produced complete mitogenomes for all non-chondrichthyans (11/12 species) and assembled nuclear ribosomal repeats (18S-ITS1-5.8S-ITS2-28S) for all taxa. The quality and completeness of mitogenome assemblies was not impacted by shearing method, extraction method or input DNA concentration. Our results reaffirm that genome skimming is an efficient and (at scale) cost-effective method to generate all mitochondrial and common nuclear DNA barcoding loci for multiple species simultaneously, which has great potential to scale for future projects and facilitate completing barcode reference databases for marine fishes.

Neurological conditions like neurodevelopmental disorders and neurodegenerative diseases are quite complex and often exceedingly difficult for patients. Most of these conditions are due to a mutation in a critical gene. There is no cure for the majority of these neurological conditions and the availability of disease-modifying therapeutics is quite rare. The lion’s share of the treatments that are available only provide symptomatic relief, as such, we are in desperate need of an effective therapeutic strategy for these conditions. Considering the current drug development landscape, gene therapy is giving us hope as one such effective therapeutic strategy. Consistent efforts have been made to develop gene therapy strategies using viral and non-viral vectors of gene delivery. Here, we have discussed both of these delivery methods and their properties. We have summarized the relative advantages and drawbacks of viral and non-viral vectors from the perspectives of safety, efficiency, and productivity. Recent developments such as clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9-mediated gene editing and its use in vivo have been described here as well. Given recent advancements, gene therapy shows great promise to emerge as a next-generation therapeutic for many of the neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative conditions.

Background Cerebral small‐vessel disease (cSVD) is an important cause of stroke and vascular dementia. Most cases are multifactorial, but an emerging minority have a monogenic cause. While NOTCH3 is the best‐known gene, several others have been reported. We aimed to summarize the cerebral phenotypes associated with these more recent cSVD genes. Methods and Results We performed a systematic review (PROSPERO [International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews]: CRD42020196720), searching Medline/Embase (conception to July 2020) for any language publications describing COL4A1/2, TREX1, HTRA1, ADA2, or CTSA pathogenic variant carriers. We extracted data about individuals’ characteristics and clinical and vascular radiological cerebral phenotypes. We summarized phenotype frequencies per gene, comparing patterns across genes. We screened 6485 publications including 402, and extracted data on 390 individuals with COL4A1, 123 with TREX1, 44 with HTRA1 homozygous, 41 with COL4A2, 346 with ADA2, 82 with HTRA1 heterozygous, and 14 with CTSA. Mean age ranged from 15 (ADA2) to 59 years (HTRA1 heterozygotes). Clinical phenotype frequencies varied widely: stroke, 9% (TREX1) to 52% (HTRA1 heterozygotes); cognitive features, 0% (ADA2) to 64% (HTRA1 homozygotes); and psychiatric features, 0% (COL4A2; ADA2) to 57% (CTSA). Among individuals with neuroimaging, vascular radiological phenotypes appeared common, ranging from 62% (ADA2) to 100% (HTRA1 homozygotes; CTSA). White matter lesions were the most common pathology, except in ADA2 and COL4A2 cases, where ischemic and hemorrhagic lesions dominated, respectively. Conclusions There appear to be differences in cerebral manifestations across cSVD genes. Vascular radiological changes were more common than clinical neurological phenotypes, and present in the majority of individuals with reported neuroimaging. However, these results may be affected by age and biases inherent to case reports. In the future, better characterization of associated phenotypes, as well as insights from population‐based studies, should improve our understanding of monogenic cSVD to inform genetic testing, guide clinical management, and help unravel underlying disease mechanisms.

Abstract Background Advances in peri-operative oncological treatment, surgery and peri-operative care have improved survival for patients with oesophagogastric cancers. Neoadjuvant cancer treatment (NCT) reduces physical fitness, which may reduce both compliance and tolerance of NCT as well as compromising post-operative outcomes. This is particularly detrimental in a patient group where malnutrition is common and surgery is demanding. The aim of this trial is to assess the effect on physical fitness and clinical outcomes of a comprehensive exercise training programme in patients undergoing NCT and surgical resection for oesophagogastric malignancies. Methods The PERIOP-OG trial is a pragmatic, multi-centre, randomised controlled trial comparing a peri-operative exercise programme with standard care in patients with oesophagogastric cancers treated with NCT and surgery. The intervention group undergo a formal exercise training programme and the usual care group receive standard clinical care (no formal exercise advice). The training programme is initiated at cancer diagnosis, continued during NCT, between NCT and surgery, and resumes after surgery. All participants undergo assessments at baseline, post-NCT, pre-surgery and at 4 and 10 weeks after surgery. The primary endpoint is cardiorespiratory fitness measured by demonstration of a 15% difference in the 6-min walk test assessed at the pre-surgery timepoint. Secondary endpoints include measures of physical health (upper and lower body strength tests), body mass index, frailty, activity behaviour, psychological and health-related quality of life outcomes. Exploratory endpoints include a health economics analysis, assessment of clinical health by post-operative morbidity scores, hospital length of stay, nutritional status, immune and inflammatory markers, and response to NCT. Rates of NCT toxicity, tolerance and compliance will also be assessed. Discussion The PERIOP-OG trial will determine whether, when compared to usual care, exercise training initiated at diagnosis and continued during NCT, between NCT and surgery and then during recovery, can maintain or improve cardiorespiratory fitness and other physical, psychological and clinical health outcomes. This trial will inform both the prescription of exercise regimes as well as the design of a larger prehabilitation and rehabilitation trial to investigate whether exercise in combination with nutritional and psychological interventions elicit greater benefits. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03807518 . Registered on 1 January 2019

Abstract Background Delayed graft function, the requirement for dialysis due to poor kidney function post-transplant, is a frequent complication of deceased donor kidney transplantation and is associated with inferior outcomes and higher costs. Intravenous fluids given during and after transplantation may affect the risk of poor kidney function after transplant. The most commonly used fluid, isotonic sodium chloride (0.9% saline), contains a high chloride concentration, which may be associated with acute kidney injury, and could increase the risk of delayed graft function. Whether using a balanced, low-chloride fluid instead of 0.9% saline is safe and improves kidney function after deceased donor kidney transplantation is unknown. Methods BEST-Fluids is an investigator-initiated, pragmatic, registry-based, multi-center, double-blind, randomized controlled trial. The primary objective is to compare the effect of intravenous Plasma-Lyte 148 (Plasmalyte), a balanced, low-chloride solution, with the effect of 0.9% saline on the incidence of delayed graft function in deceased donor kidney transplant recipients. From January 2018 onwards, 800 participants admitted for deceased donor kidney transplantation will be recruited over 3 years in Australia and New Zealand. Participants are randomized 1:1 to either intravenous Plasmalyte or 0.9% saline peri-operatively and until 48 h post-transplant, or until fluid is no longer required; whichever comes first. Follow up is for 1 year. The primary outcome is the incidence of delayed graft function, defined as dialysis in the first 7 days post-transplant. Secondary outcomes include early kidney transplant function (composite of dialysis duration and rate of improvement in graft function when dialysis is not required), hyperkalemia, mortality, graft survival, graft function, quality of life, healthcare resource use, and cost-effectiveness. Participants are enrolled, randomized, and followed up using the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant (ANZDATA) Registry. Discussion If using Plasmalyte instead of 0.9% saline is effective at reducing delayed graft function and improves other clinical outcomes in deceased donor kidney transplantation, this simple, inexpensive change to using a balanced low-chloride intravenous fluid at the time of transplantation could be easily implemented in the vast majority of transplant settings worldwide. Trial registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12617000358347 . Registered on 8 March 2017. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03829488 . Registered on 4 February 2019.

Cryptic species have been detected across Metazoa, and while no apparent morphological features distinguish them, it should not impede taxonomists from formal descriptions. We accepted this challenge for the jellyfish genus Aurelia, which has a long and confusing taxonomic history. We demonstrate that morphological variability in Aurelia medusae overlaps across very distant geographic localities. Even though some morphological features seem responsible for most of the variation, regional geographic patterns of dissimilarities are lacking. This is further emphasized by morphological differences found when comparing lab-cultured Aurelia coerulea medusae with the diagnostic features in its recent redescription. Previous studies have also highlighted the difficulties in distinguishing Aurelia polyps and ephyrae, and their morphological plasticity. Therefore, mostly based on genetic data, we recognize 28 species of Aurelia, of which seven were already described, 10 are formally described herein, four are resurrected and seven remain undescribed. We present diagnostic genetic characters for all species and designate type materials for newly described and some resurrected species. Recognizing moon jellyfish diversity with formal names is vital for conservation efforts and other studies. This work clarifies the practical implications of molecular genetic data as diagnostic characters, and sheds light on the patterns and processes that generate crypsis.

Higher-level relationships of the Hydrozoan subclass Hydroidolina, which encompasses the vast majority of medusozoan cnidarian species diversity, have been elusive to confidently infer. The most widely adopted phylogenetic framework for Hydroidolina based on ribosomal RNA data received low support for several higher level relationships. To address this issue, we developed a set of RNA baits to target more than a hundred loci from the genomes of a broad taxonomic sample of Hydroidolina for high-throughput sequencing. Using these data, we inferred the relationships of Hydroidolina using maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches. Both inference methods yielded well-supported phylogenetic hypotheses that largely agree with each other. Using maximum likelihood and Baysian hypothesis testing frameworks, we found that several alternate topological hypotheses proposed previously may be rejected in light of the genomic data generated for this study. Both the maximum likelihood and Bayesian topologies inferred herein consistently score well across testing frameworks, suggesting that their consensus represents the most likely phylogenetic hypothesis of Hydroidolina. This phylogenetic framework places Aplanulata as sister lineage to the remainder of Hydroidolina. This is a strong deviation from previous phylogenetic analyses that placed Capitata or Siphonophorae as sister group to the remainder of Hydroidolina. Considering that Aplanulata represents a lineage comprised of species that for the most part possess a life cycle involving a solitary polyp and free-swimming medusa stage, the phylogenetic hypotheses presented herein have potentially large implications for clarifying the evolution of life cycles, coloniality, and the division of labor in Hydrozoa as taxon sampling for phylogenetic analyses becomes more complete.

Abstract We provide preliminary insights into the global phylogeographic and evolutionary patterns across species of the hydrozoan superfamily Plumularioidea (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa). We analyzed 1,114 16S sequences of 198 putative species of Plumularioidea collected worldwide. We investigated genetic connections and divergence in relation to present‐day and ancient biogeographic barriers, climate changes and oceanic circulation. Geographical distributions of most species are generally more constrained than previously assumed. Some species able to raft are dispersed widely. Human‐mediated dispersal explains some wide geographical ranges. Trans‐Atlantic genetic connections are presently unlikely for most of the tropical‐temperate species, but were probably more frequent until the Miocene–Pliocene transition, before restriction of the Tethys Sea and the Central American Seaway. Trans‐Atlantic colonizations were predominantly directed westwards through (sub)tropical waters. The Azores were colonized multiple times and through different routes, mainly from the east Atlantic, at least since the Pliocene. Extant geminate clades separated by the Isthmus of Panama have predominantly Atlantic origin. Various ancient colonizations mainly directed from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic occurred through the Tethys Sea and around South Africa in periods of lower intensity of the Benguela upwelling. Thermal tolerance, population sizes, dispersal strategies, oceanic currents, substrate preference, and land barriers are important factors for dispersal and speciation of marine hydroids.

Recent advances in molecular sequencing technology and the increased availability of fieldable laboratory equipment have provided researchers with the opportunity to conduct real-time or near real-time gene-based biodiversity assessments of aquatic ecosystems. In this study, we developed a workflow and portable kit for fieldable environmental DNA sequencing (FeDS) and tested its efficacy by characterizing the breadth of jellyfish (Medusozoa) taxa in the coastal waters of the Upper and Lower Florida Keys. Environmental DNA was isolated from seawater collection events at eight sites and samples were subjected to medusozoan 16S rRNA gene and metazoan mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 gene profiling via metabarcoding onsite. In total, FeDS yielded 175,326 processed sequence reads providing evidence for 53 medusozoan taxa. Our most salient findings revealed eDNA from: (1) two venomous box jellyfish (Cubozoa) species, including taxa whose stings cause the notorious Irukandji envenomation syndrome; (2) two species of potentially introduced stalked jellyfish (Staurozoa); and (3) a likely cryptic species of upside-down jellyfish (Scyphozoa). Taken together, the results of this study highlight the merits of FeDS in conducting biodiversity surveys of endemic and introduced species, and as a potential tool for assessing envenomation and/or conservation-related threats.

This article describes or redescribes four hexactinellid sponges, namely Poliopogon amadou, Euplectella sanctipauli sp. nov., Bolosoma perezi sp. nov. and Advhena magnifica gen. et sp. nov. P. amadou, E. sanctipauli sp. nov. and B. perezi sp. nov. represent new findings for the South Atlantic deep-sea fauna, including the first record of Bolosoma for this ocean. Advhena magnifica gen. et sp. nov., on the other hand, was collected by NOAA oceanographic expeditions in the North Pacific (Pigafetta Guyot).