Abstract

Narcomedusae play a key role as top-down regulators in the midwater, the largest and most understudied biome on Earth. Here, we used ecological niche modeling in three-dimensions (3D), ecomorphology, and phylogeny, to answer evolutionary and ecological questions about the widespread narcomedusan genus Solmissus. Our phylogenetic analyses confirmed that Solmissus incisa represents a complex of several cryptic species. Both the different genetic clades and tentacle morphotypes were widespread and often overlapped geographically- the main difference in their distribution and ecological niche being depth. This demonstrated the importance of including the third dimension when modeling the distribution of pelagic species. Contrary to our hypothesis, we found the modeled distribution of the Solmissus genus (n = 1444) and both tentacle morphotypes to be mostly driven by low dissolved oxygen values and a salinity of 34, and slightly by depth and temperature. Solmissus spp. were reproducing all year round, with specimens reproducing in slightly warmer waters (up to 1.25°C warmer). Our results suggest that Solmissus spp. will likely come out as climate change winners by expanding their distribution when facing ocean deoxygenation and by increasing their reproduction due to global warming. However, because most available midwater data comes from the northern Pacific, this sampling bias was undoubtedly reflected in the output of our ecological niche models, which should be assessed carefully. Our study illustrated the value of online databases including imagery and videography records, for studying midwater organisms and treating midwater biogeographic regions as 3D spaces.