Anna Soler i MembrivesAutonomous University of Barcelona | UAB · Department of Animal Biology, Vegetal Biology and Ecology
Anna Soler i Membrives
PhD
About
72
Publications
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Introduction
I am a biologist specializing in marine biology. I focus my research on the ecology and biology of aquatic organisms, particularly in marine invertebrates and fish. I have a special interest in marine benthic communities. My work is part of the Aquatic Animals and Ecosystem Health research group (SEAaq-UAB).
Publications
Publications (72)
The small-spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula) is a bottom-dwelling elasmobranch that represents the most discarded catch in terms of biomass in the Catalan coast (NW Mediterranean). Potential impacts affecting its population and food safety implications have been assessed in three localities along the Catalan coast. Distinct indicators were in...
The sustainable management and conservation of deep-sea species may be hampered by the paucity of data on their population structure and connectivity, in the face of ever-increasing fisheries pressure and other forms of impacts on deep-sea ecosystems. The rabbit fish, Chimaera monstrosa, is a deep-sea cartilaginous fish, reported worldwide in the p...
The Montseny brook newt (Calotriton arnoldi), considered the most endangered amphibian in Europe, is a relict salamandrid species endemic to a small massif located in northeastern Spain. Although conservation efforts should always be guided by genomic studies, those are yet scarce among urodeles, hampered by the extreme sizes of their genomes. Here...
Artisanal fisheries, although considered less harmful, can still endanger marine ecosystems, especially in areas with long-standing tradition. In Cap de Creus, where artisanal fisheries has likely occurred for centuries, the status of benthic communities in fishing grounds was poorly understood. Through collaboration with local
fishers, the benthic...
Prevalence, abundance, concentration, size and composition of anthropogenic items (AIs) (synthetic and non-synthetic) ingested by Merluccius merluccius juvenile specimens and from near-bottom water samples from different localities off the Catalan coast (NW Mediterranean), were characterized. The potential effect of AIs on fish condition was assess...
Anthropogenic pollution is considered one of the main threats to the marine environment, and there is an imperious need to assess its potential impact on ecologically and economically relevant species. This study characterises plastic ingestion and tissue levels of potentially toxic metallic elements in Nephrops norvegicus and their simultaneous le...
Plastic pollution has increased worldwide and specially in the oceans, where it turns out to be a concerning threat regarding marine wildlife. Previous research has reported plastic ingestion in the small spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula) as a common occurrence, probably due to its benthic nature and feeding behaviour. S. canicula is one of...
The European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) is a small pelagic fish with an outstanding commercial value supporting important fisheries and is a key component of pelagic ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea. Progressive reductions in the population size of this species has been observed in the Mediterranean Sea during recent decades, accompanied b...
Many studies have been carried out along mighty rivers with heavily industrialized watersheds to evaluate pollutants and their effects on freshwater organisms. However, their impact on marine organisms is virtually unknown. In order to cover this gap, Solea solea, one of the most important commercial fish species, together with sediments, were samp...
Although the ingestion of plastics has been reported in a wide variety of organisms, there remains a lack of knowledge regarding the extent of spatial and temporal gradients and no consensus concerning the definition of monitor species for benthic marine environments. The present study aims at demonstrating the correlation between the presence of t...
Aquaculture products are commonplace in markets around the world. However, despite efforts to minimize the negative perceptions towards aquaculture, several misbeliefs or myths still persist, and thus globally consumers tend to value wild fish more highly than farmed fish . The lack of information has been shown to be one of the most important caus...
Leptostracans from western Iberian Peninsula are comparatively better known than in the Mediterranean coasts. The presence of Nebalia troncosoi Moreira, Cacabelos & Domínguez, 2003 is reported for the first time for the Iberian Mediterranean from specimens collected in 2014 off the Ebro Delta river mouth. Material examined
fits well with original d...
We aim to study the sea spider specimens collected from a deep cruise in the economic exploitation zone of Uruguay from 250 to 3800 m with the Marianne fishing vessel. We gather the information from deep-sea Uruguayan pycnogonids from literature together with the ones reported in a recent checklist of sea spiders present in Uruguayan waters publish...
The increasingly gender-sensitive legislation promotes the inclusion of substantial legislative changes and actions to move towards effective gender equality in higher education. However, scholars frequently lack information and training to implement the gender perspective in their teaching. Moreover, there is extensive evidence of gender differenc...
Image-based research in mesophotic and deep environments of the Mediterranean Sea has significantly increased during the past decades. So far, this research has been focused on the ecology of key structuring organisms such as scleractinians, antipatharians, gorgonians or large demosponges. However, the ecology of true soft corals has barely been st...
Microfibres are among the most prevalent type of microplastics in marine environments. Man-made fibres derived from cellulose are distributed worldwide, but are often confused with synthetic plastic fibres and consequently neglected. All these fibres may adversely affect aquatic organisms, but their levels and potential effects in wild fish remain...
Marine litter is one of the most concerning threats for marine wildlife especially regarding plastics and their micro-sized forms, widely known as microplastics. The present study evaluates mesoscale spatial (230 km, Catalan coast) and temporal (2007 vs 2017–2018, Barcelona area) differences on the ingestion of anthropogenic fibers in the deep-sea...
Records of pycnogonids from Uruguayan waters (south-western Atlantic) include 26 species cited from precise locations, and at least five other species based on unconfirmed records. Nearly half of the species in that fauna belong to the genus Nymphon (12 spp.). Most species (22) come from deep-water and were recorded and described by C. A. Child. Of...
Differences in environmental conditions such as those between lakes and streams can produce phenotypic variation and ultimately promote evolutionary diversification. Some species of newts and salamanders can occupy these habitats and express alternative phenotypes: metamorphs that lose gills at metamorphosis and paedomorphs that retain them at the...
The Pyrenees represent a natural laboratory for biogeographic, evolutionary and ecological research of mountain fauna as a result of the high variety of habitats and the profound effect of the glacial and interglacial periods. There is a paucity of studies providing a detailed insight into genetic processes and better knowledge on the patterns of g...
List and codification of environmental variables from the BIOCLIM dataset.
List and codification of environmental variables from the BIOCLIM dataset. Units expressed and mean, median, minimum and maximum values for the 44 Calotriton asper populations. Temperature data is in units °C *10 with a 0.1°C precision.
(XLSX)
Pairwise FST values among Calotriton asper populations.
Pairwise FST values among Calotriton asper populations. See Table 1 for the population codification; p values were <0.05 for all pairs except for those in bold.
(XLSX)
Estimates of effective population size (Ne) for each Calotriton asper population.
Estimates of effective population size (Ne) for each Calotriton asper population, calculated with two analytical approaches (ONeSAMP, and COLONY) and using different priors; estimates of the upper and lower 95% CI estimates for each method are indicated.
(XLSX)
Plot of deltaK values calculated by Evanno’s method from the Structure analyses.
Plot of deltaK values calculated by Evanno’s method from the Structure analyses. A) Global dataset of the 44 Calotriton asper populations. B) Western Pyrenean populations, i.e. Cluster 1. C) Central-eastern Pyrenean populations, i.e. Cluster 2.
(TIF)
IBD of the five genetic clusters.
Results of the isolation by distance analyses (IBD; Mantel test) of the five genetic Calotriton asper clusters.
(XLSX)
Microsatellite data of the Calotriton asper dataset used.
(XLSX)
Neighbor-joining tree among the Calotriton asper populations.
Neighbor-joining tree using DA distances among the Calotriton asper populations showing the relationships between the five genetic clusters defined by STRUCTURE analysis. As for the population codifications see Table 1.
(TIF)
Pearson correlation matrix of environmental and geographical variables.
Pearson correlation matrix of environmental and geographical variables. In bold, significant levels of p<0.05. See text, for the codes of the variables.
(XLSX)
Univariate linear regression between genetic diversity and geographical and environmental selected variables.
Univariate linear regression between genetic diversity and geographical and environmental selected variables of Calotriton asper populations. In bold significant levels of p<0.05.
(XLSX)
Linear regressions between the genetic diversity across the longitude and altitude using only stream populations.
Linear regressions between the three genetic diversity indices (Ar, HO and HE) across the longitude (A) and altitude (B) ranges when only stream Calotriton asper populations were analyzed.
(TIF)
ANOVA among the three distinct habitat types to genetic diversity.
ANOVA with Tukey HSD posthoc test among the three distinct habitat types to allelic richness (Ar) observed (HO) and expected heterozygosity (HE).
(XLSX)
Spatial interpolation of the genetic diversity measures acroos the Calotriton asper distribution range.
Spatial interpolation of the genetic diversity of Calotriton asper. A) First axis of a principal components analysis (PC1) summarizing the allelic richness, the rarified private allele richness and the observed and expected heterozygosities (posi...
The evolutionary history of Antarctic organisms is becoming increasingly important to understand and manage population trajectories under rapid environmental change. The Antarctic sea spider Nymphon australe, with an apparently large population size compared with other sea spider species, is an ideal target to look for molecular signatures of past...
Electronic Supplementary material S5 Observed and expected mismatch distributions of pairwise haplotype differences
La contaminación por microplásticos representa una amenaza potencial para los organismos marinos. Aunque su efecto es aún una incógnita, ya son diversos los estudios que han confirmado la ingestión de estas pequeñas partículas por parte de diversos organismos. En el presente estudio se ha evaluado la presencia de microplásticos en estómagos de gamb...
Microplastic pollution is currently one of the most concerning threats for wildlife. Ingestion of microplastics has been confirmed in a wide variety of marine species. However, their potential effect remains unclear and only a few studies have addressed this issue in natural environments. The present study aims to assess the presence and potential...
Ex situ management strategies play an important role in the conservation of threatened species when the wild survival of the species cannot be ensured. Molecular markers have become an outstanding tool for the evaluation and management of captive breeding programs. Two main genetic objectives should be prioritized when planning breeding programs: t...
ANOVA and Tukey HSD posthoc comparisons among the simulated (mean of the 100 random replicates per each sample size) and empirical estimation
ANOVA and Tukey HSD posthoc comparisons among the simulated (mean of the 100 random replicates per each sample size) and empirical estimations of mean percentage of common alleles (frequency >0.05), mean expe...
Microsatellite allele frequencies in the wild and captive populations of the Montseny brook newt (Calotriton arnoldi)
Sample sizes at each locus are also provided. Data from wild specimens were obtained from Valbuena-Ureña et al. (2017).
Cut-off values (midpoints between the means of the distributions of pairwise relatedness estimates; Blouin et al., 1996) of each simulated relationship category
Un, unrelated; hs, half-sibling; fs, full-siblings; po, parent-offsprings; rel, related, including hs, fs and po. The relationship category compatible with the observed rlr99 value was and...
Estimates of genetic parameters for each breeding line and locus
N, sample size; A, number of alleles per locus; Ar, allelic richness; PA, number of private alleles; HO, observed heterozygosity; HE, expected heterozygosity; FIS, inbreeding coefficient. Values in bold indicate statistical significance after Bonferroni correction.
Rate of missclassification for the related for the relatedness indices of Queller and Goodnight and Lynch and Ritland
Rate of misclassification of unrelated (un) to half-siblings (hs) and first-order relatives (fs, full-siblings and po, parent-offsprings) for the related for the relatedness indices of Queller & Goodnight (1989, rqg89) and Lynch & R...
This study examines the parasite communities of Coelorinchus caelorhincus, Coelorinchus mediterraneus, Coryphaenoides guentheri and Coryphaenoides mediterraneus of the middle and lower slopes of the Mediterranean Sea. Histopathological, enzymatic activity (acetylcholinesterase and lactate dehydrogenase), dietary and environmental (oxygen, salinity,...
Endemic species with restricted geographic ranges potentially suffer the highest risk of extinction. If these species are further fragmented into genetically isolated subpopulations, the risk of extinction is elevated. Habitat fragmentation is generally considered to have negative effects on species survival, despite some evidence for neutral or ev...
This paper includes the complete description of the new species Arcturinella deltensis and the comparison with the other species of the same genus, A. banyulensis. The holotype used by Poisson and Maury (1931) to describe A. banyulensis is currently missing. The unique specimen available was one female from Estepona, Málaga (Strait of Gibraltar are...
The genus Culicoides Latreille 1809 is a well-known vector for protozoa, filarial worms and, above all, numerous viruses. The Bluetongue virus (BTV) and the recently emerged Schmallenberg virus (SBV) are responsible for important infectious, non-contagious, insect-borne viral diseases found in domestic ruminants and transmitted by Culicoides spp. B...
A new pycnogonid species of the genus Pycnogonum is described from Flemish Cap (Northwest Atlantic Ocean) at 1453-1462 m depth. Pycnogonum bamberi sp. nov. is compared with its congeners, from which it can be distinguished by the combination of a glans-shaped proboscis, the low, transverse ridges that lie on the dorsodistal surfaces of the first co...
A new nematode species, Raphidascaris (Raphidascaris) macrouri n. sp. (Anisakidae), is described from male and female specimens found in the intestine, and occasionally in stomach and pyloric caeca, of two deep-water macrourid fishes (Gadiformes) off Barcelona, Mediterranean Sea: Nezumia aequalis (Günther) (type-host) and Trachyrincus scabrus (Rafi...
Biodiversity and biogeographic studies comparing the distribution patterns of benthic marine organisms across the Iberian Atlantic and Mediterranean waters are scarce. The Pycnogonida (sea spiders) are a clear example of both endemicity and diversity, and are considered a key taxon to study and monitor biogeographic and biodiversity patterns. This...
This study examines the parasite communities of Alepocephalus rostratus and its influence on some fish biochemical markers and histological alterations. Alepocephalus rostratus constitutes the second most important fish species, in terms of biomass, inhabiting the deep slope of the Catalan Sea (Balearic Sea, NW Mediterranean). The study revealed ei...
This monograph of the Fauna Ibérica Series is devoted to the twelve families (Acheliidae, Aschorhynchidae, Tanystylidae, Nymphonidae, Callipallenidae, Pallenopseidae, Phoxichilidiidae, Endeididae, Colossendeidae, Austrodecidae, Rhynchothoracidae and Pycnogonidae) that are grouped in the pycnogonid fauna widely known as sea spiders, of the Iberian P...
The Bellingshausen and Amundsen Seas are among the least studied Antarctic areas. Pycnogonids constitute a common and conspicuous component of the Antarctic marine fauna. Antarctic pycnogonids have been widely studied and are usually more abundant than elsewhere. Therefore, they represent a key taxon to understand the zoogeographic and bathymetric...
The digestive system of sea spiders (Pycnogonida) presents peculiarities that have not been discussed in the context of their ecology or feeding behaviour. We investigated the digestive system of two Mediterranean species, a carnivorous species Ammothella longipes and a detritivorous Endeis spinosa, with special focus on its correlation with behavi...
In the Southern Ocean, i.e. areas south of the Polar Front, long-term oceanographic cooling, geographic separation, development of isolating current and wind systems, tectonic drift, and fluctuation of ice sheets amongst others have resulted in a highly endemic benthic fauna, which is generally adapted to the long-lasting, relatively stable environ...
Fatty acid analysis has proved valuable in determining seasonal trophic links and the feeding behavior in organisms in which these diet and trophic links cannot be inferred from stomach content analyses. Seasonal variations in total free fatty acid content (TFFA) and fatty acid composition of seston (<250 μm), the brown macroalgae Stypocaulon spp.,...
A new species of pycnogonid, Nymphon tricuspidatum, is described from a slope (574–610 m depth) on the NE Atlantic coast. Four males, two females, five juveniles and nine post-larvae were collected with suprabenthic and epibenthic sledg-es from Le Danois Bank (Bay of Biscay) and the Galician waters. This uniunguiculate and brevitarsal species is de...
Nymphon australe Hodgson 1902 is the most abundant species of sea spiders in the Southern Ocean. The species is recognised as highly morphologically variable, circumpolar and eurybathic—which is surprising given that sea spiders lack a planktonic stage; the fertilised eggs and larvae remain attached to the ovigers of the father, and consequently ha...
The current work presents new data on the pycnogonids collected during the ANTXXI/2 cruise on board of “Polarstern” R/V during
December 2003 and January 2004 in the Eastern Weddell Sea (Antarctica). Twenty-eight samples were taken, with different trawls,
from depths between 120 and 1,866m. In total, 251 specimens of pycnogonids, belonging to 31 spe...
This study contains the current list of the austral pycnogonids together with details of their depth range and distribution. To date 264 species have been recorded, accounting for 19.6% of the 1344 species recorded worldwide. One hundred and eight species are endemic to Antarctic waters, 62 to the sub-Antarctic, 63 are common in both regions, and 5...
Fifty-four specimens of pycnogonids belonging to twenty-two species, eight genera and six families were collected with a rocky dredge during the cruise Gebrap-96 in the central basin of Bransfield Strait, from depths between 647 and 1592 m. The richest station in terms of abundance and biomass was DR6 (south of Livingston Island), which was also th...
This chapter determines the prevalence of Legionella spp. and identifies the chromosomal DNA subtypes and the genomic stability of these isolates during a 20-month follow-up period in the potable-water distribution system of a hotel. From June 2003 to March 2005, 110 water samples were collected from a hotel water supply comprising 11 sample collec...