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Diversity of pelagic tunicates (Appendicularia and Thaliacea) from Cuba: a review

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Abstract

Gelatinous zooplankton (GZ), and pelagic tunicates specifically, plays key roles in marine ecosystems, contributing to diets of various predators and oceanic carbon cycling. Nevertheless, biological inventories are often lacking, but are essential in establishing marine biodiversity baselines that, in turn, are critical in detecting broad-scale changes. The use of social media in combination with scientific records provides a powerful tool to broaden the scope of biodiversity studies. This study assesses the diversity of pelagic tunicates (appendicularians and thaliaceans) in the Cuban Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and whether the EEZ acts as an ecotone between the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) and the Caribbean Sea (CS). By reviewing the scientific literature and using citizen science data, a total of 28 species were identified. The most diverse family among the appendicularians was Oikopleuridae (9 species) and among the thaliaceans Salpidae (6 species). Cuba’s northern EEZ was more speciose compared to the southern EEZ, 18 versus 14 species. No endemic species were found in Cuba’s waters and tunicate assemblages were most similar to the GoM. Our data do not support that Cuban waters act as an ecotone (for pelagic tunicates) between the GoM and CS faunas. The study highlights the importance of these GZ in marine food webs and their scarce knowledge in the region. Further long-term studies are required to understand spatiotemporal patterns and ecological roles of tunicates in Cuban ecosystems.

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Acknowledgements

We appreciate the patient support by librarians from the Center for Marine Research, University of Havana, the Institute of Marine Science, and the Centre for Fisheries Research, as well as, the University of British Columbia. We also thank two anonymous reviewers for constructive comments made on an earlier version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was partially supported by the NSERC Discovery Grant RGPIN-2014–05107 to EAP and by the Fellowship “Ayudas María Zambrano para la atracción del talento internacional” awarded by the University of Cádiz (UCA/R155REC/2021) to LRV.

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  1. Ramón D. Morejón-Arrojo and Florian Lüskow contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Marine Science, Loma Street, Number 14 Between 35 and 37, Plaza de La Revolución, CP. 10400, Havana, Cuba

    Ramón D. Morejón-Arrojo

  2. Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, 2039–2207, Canada

    Florian Lüskow & Evgeny A. Pakhomov

  3. Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, 2202, Canada

    Florian Lüskow & Evgeny A. Pakhomov

  4. Department of Biology, Faculty of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Marine Research (INMAR), University of Cádiz, International Campus of Excellence of the Sea, Campus Universitario de Puerto Real, 11510, Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain

    Leandro Rodríguez-Viera

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Correspondence to Ramón D. Morejón-Arrojo.

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RDMA and FL designed to study and compiled the data; RDMA and FL analysed and visualised the data, and wrote the manuscript; EAP and LRV secured funding; EAP and LRV edited the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Morejón-Arrojo, R.D., Lüskow, F., Pakhomov, E.A. et al. Diversity of pelagic tunicates (Appendicularia and Thaliacea) from Cuba: a review. Mar. Biodivers. 54, 59 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-024-01451-7

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