Evolutionary relationships of atyid shrimps imply both ancient Caribbean radiations and common marine dispersals

Abstract

The evolutionary relationships of the surface genera of shrimps of the family Atyidae from the Caribbean were inferred using mitochondrial 16S ribosomal DNA and cytochrome oxidase I gene sequences. The genetic divergence among the 4 Caribbean genera (Atya, Jonga, Micratya, Potimirim) is extensive and dates from between the Eocene and Miocene. This result suggests a vicariant origin or the ancient dispersal of some taxa. Most intrageneric divergences date to the late Miocene-Pliocene and, thus, are probably the result of dispersal. Some species show low levels of intraspecific genetic divergence between distant islands, and thus, present-day or geologically recent gene flow is likely. This gene flow is probably a consequence of the amphidromous life histories of most Caribbean freshwater shrimps. Despite the ancient divergences between the genera, the Caribbean surface atyids form a single evolutionary lineage when compared with atyid shrimp from throughout the world, and this result implies an ancient evolutionary radiation in the Caribbean. The sister group to the Caribbean atyids are the large-bodied and robust Atya-like shrimps of the Indo-Pacific, which share a similar size and shape with Caribbean Atya. Thus, the common ancestor probably was also large and robust. In contrast, the other Caribbean atyids are much smaller, and Jonga has a distinct morphology that is associated with a switch from lotic to lentic environments. This radiation may have been the result of the absence from the Caribbean of other small shrimps that are common in the Indo-Pacific.

Atyidae and Palaemonidae (Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea) of Bocas del Toro, Panama

“…Jonga serrei (Bouvier, 1909) Distribution: Cuba; Jamaica; Puerto Rico; Dominica; Barbados; Costa Rica (Chace and Hobbs 1969); Guadeloupe (Lévêque 1974); Venezuela (Pereira 1991); Tobago (Page et al 2008); Panama: Bocas del Toro (present study), being the first record for the country.…”

“…It was found sympatrically with Atya scabra, Micratya poeyi and Macrobrachium acanthurus at site 13 and with Jonga serrei at site 12 (see Table 2). This species was also found in Río Guarumo (Cabbage Creek), about 16 km from Chiriquí Grande (Page et al 2008).…”

Amphidromy in shrimps: a life cycle between rivers and the sea

“…Amphidromous (ELD) species generally have broader geographic ranges than non-amphidromous species in the same taxon. Gene flow among populations of the same species tends to be greater in amphidromous or presumed (small egg size) amphidromous species (Page et al, 2005(Page et al, , 2008Cook et al, 2006;Mashiko & Shy, 2008). For example, Mashiko & Shy (2008) studied four species of Macrobrachium in the western Pacific.…”

“…Dennenmoser et al (2010) demonstrated, using haplotypes of a mitochondrial gene, high gene flow among separate river populations over a distance of several hundred kilometers. The biogeography and distributional patterns of Caribbean and Pacific atyid shrimps appears, in large part, to be a product of larval dispersal or lack thereof (Page et al, 2008;Cook et al, 2009Cook et al, , 2012. "Estuary hopping" (larval movement among nearby estuaries), or limited dispersal in the open sea, has allowed gene flow among IndoAustralian populations of the river shrimp Macrobrachium rosenbergii (De Bruyn & Mather, 2007).…”

Amphidromy And Migrations Of Freshwater Shrimps. I. Costs, Benefits, Evolutionary Origins, And An Unusual Case Of Amphidromy

“…As larvae develop in estuaries or the open sea, dispersal to adjacent and sometimes distant streams and rivers, sometimes on other land masses, can occur. A variety of studies on populations of amphidromous species show gene flow among populations from stream systems on the same or other land masses (Page et al, 2005(Page et al, , 2007(Page et al, , 2008Cook et al, 2006;Mashiko & Shy, 2008). Amphidromy allows colonization of new but similar habitats as well as recruitment back into the stream of larval origin (Hunte, 1978).…”