Diversity and distribution of Laonice species (Annelida: Spionidae) in the tropical North Atlantic and Puerto Rico Trench

Laonice Malmgren, 1867 (Annelida: Spionidae) is a common polychaete genus in the deep-sea. Although most species are quite well studied morphologically, fragmentation and other damage that occurs during sampling often hampers morphological species identification of deep-sea specimens. In this study, we employ three molecular markers (16S, COI and 18S) to study the biodiversity and the distribution patterns of Laonice from the tropical North Atlantic and the Puerto Rico Trench. Based upon different molecular analyses (Automated Barcode Gap Discovery, pairwise genetic distances, phylogenetics, haplotype networks) we were able to identify and differentiate eight Laonice species. Up to four of these species co-occurred sympatrically at the same station. The majority of species were found at multiple stations and two species in the eastern as well as western Atlantic had ranges of up to 4,000 km. Genetic differentiation across these extensive geographic distances was very low. Surprisingly, one 16S haplotype was shared between individuals 2,776 km apart and individuals from the Caribbean and the abyssal plain in the eastern Atlantic (>3,389 km) differed in only a single mutation in 16S. Our results suggest that members of this genus successfully disperse across large geographic distances and are largely unaffected by topographic barriers.