DNA Barcoding of Cold-Water Coral-Associated Ophiuroid Fauna from the North Atlantic

In this study we focus on the ophiuroid species associated with cold-water corals south of Iceland. The specimens were sampled with the ROV Phoca (GEOMAR) in three different areas, during the recent expedition MSM75 connected to the IceAGE_RR (Icelandic marine Animals: Genetics and Ecology_Reykjanes Ridge hydrothermal vent activity) project. In each area, several corals were sampled and the ophiuroid specimens identified to the species level. The integrative taxonomic approach, based on morphological characters and DNA barcoding with COI of the collected ophiuroids, revealed five species that live on corals: Ophiomitrella clavigera (Ljungman, 1865); Ophiomyxa serpentaria (Lyman, 1883); Ophiacantha cuspidata (Lyman, 1879); Ophiactis abyssicola (M. Sars, 1861); and Ophiolebes bacata Koehler, 1921. Some of the sampled deep-sea corals exclusively host the species O.clavigera. The collected species are therefore associated with different corals but do not demonstrate a species-specific distribution. The video data support the integrative taxonomy and confirm the ecological evidence.