Hidden genetic diversity in a key model species of coral

Souter, Petra

doi:10.1007/s00227-009-1370-3

Cited by 60 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…The present body of work on the clonal structure, population connectivity, and life history strategies perceived among populations of Pocillopora in the wider Pacific may be confounded by inaccurate taxonomic resolution. The incongruence between genetic and morphological data suggests that the current morphospecies designations of Pocillopora need revision (Flot et al 2010;Souter 2010;Pinzón 2011;Pinzón and LaJeunesse 2011). For example, colonies that appear to be P. damicornis in one region may not be a member of the same evolutionary lineage at another location, and colonies that appear morphologically different may actually be the same species while colonies that appear similar may represent cryptic taxa (Souter 2010;Pinzón and LaJeunesse 2011).…”

Section: Contribution Of Asexual Reproduction To Population Maintenanmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…The incongruence between genetic and morphological data suggests that the current morphospecies designations of Pocillopora need revision (Flot et al 2010;Souter 2010;Pinzón 2011;Pinzón and LaJeunesse 2011). For example, colonies that appear to be P. damicornis in one region may not be a member of the same evolutionary lineage at another location, and colonies that appear morphologically different may actually be the same species while colonies that appear similar may represent cryptic taxa (Souter 2010;Pinzón and LaJeunesse 2011). In certain regions, such as the ETP where morphology does not relate to species identity (Pinzón and LaJeunesse 2011), samples should be pre-screened by sequencing phylogenetically informative markers to identify the genetic lineage of a colony so that population level analyses are correctly applied and results between studies are directly comparable.…”

Section: Contribution Of Asexual Reproduction To Population Maintenanmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Contrasting clonal structure among Pocillopora (Scleractinia) communities at two environmentally distinct sites in the Gulf of California

et al. 2012

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The contributions of sexual versus asexual reproduction are thought to play an important role in the abundance and ecological success of corals, especially in marginal habitats. Pocillopora corals are distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific and dominate shallow hardbottom communities in the eastern Pacific where broad seasonal fluctuations in temperature and water turbidity create suboptimal conditions for reef community development. Previous work had revealed three genetic clades in the eastern Pacific that show little correspondence with colony morphology; the broad distribution of type 1 extends into the subtropical southern Gulf of California. Here we examine genetic and clonal structure of two type 1 communities separated by 10 km with microsatellite data. Samples were collected randomly in six 10 m radius circular plots (20 colonies per plot, 3 plots per site). Sites differed in their relative clonality because clonemates (ramets) from a single clone (genet) dominated a large portion (90.9 m long) of the protected leeward side of Gaviota Island (Number of genets/ Number of samples = 0.35; observed Genotypic diversity/ expected Genotypic diversity = 0.087), while an exposed community at the entrance to La Paz Bay, Punta Galeras, exhibited high genotypic diversity (N g /N = 0.85; G o / G e = 0.714). Gene flow was unrestricted between sites indicating these communities comprised a single population. The relative proportion of asexual colonies found between community aggregations of Pocillopora in the Gulf of California differed significantly and suggests factors at local, not regional, scales affect these patterns. The possibility that heterogeneity in clonal structure is common throughout the eastern Pacific and across the west Indo-Pacific requires further study. Finally, since morphological variation in Pocillopora has been underappreciated and is in need of taxonomic revision, the use of a consistent field-sampling protocol and high-resolution makers will advance ecological research and aid in the conservation of these corals.

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Section: Contribution Of Asexual Reproduction To Population Maintenanmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Contribution Of Asexual Reproduction To Population Maintenanmentioning

confidence: 97%

Contrasting clonal structure among Pocillopora (Scleractinia) communities at two environmentally distinct sites in the Gulf of California

et al. 2012

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“…Many scleractinian corals display considerable morphological plasticity, and overlapping morphologies may occur between some species (Miller & Babcock 1997, Flot et al 2008. Furthermore, introgressive hybridisation (van Oppen et al 2000, Willis et al 2006) and the occurrence of cryptic species (Souter 2010) have the potential to obscure the units relevant for conservation purposes. The genus Acropora, the most abundant and species-rich Indo-Pacific scleractinian genus (Veron 2000), has been the subject of numerous genetic, morphological and breeding studies (reviewed in Willis et al 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Location and disturbance affect population genetic structure in four coral species of the genus Acropora on the Great Barrier Reef

Souter¹,

Willis²,

Bay³

et al. 2010

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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The impact of a mass bleaching event on temporal and spatial population genetic structure in 4 scleractinian coral species in the Acropora aspera group was studied around the Palm Islands in the central Great Barrier Reef. Species status of sympatric populations of 2 of the 4 species, A. millepora and A. spathulata, was confirmed by the population genetic data; these species have recently been separated based on morphological and breeding characters. Spatial analyses of population samples from 2004 detected differences in the level of gene flow among locations. No significant genetic differentiation was inferred between conspecific populations at Orpheus and Pelorus Islands, which are both located in the northern part of the island group and separated by ~1000 m. In contrast, all populations at Fantome Island were genetically differentiated, despite this island being located only 11 km south. Sampling of A. millepora and A. pulchra in the year prior to the 1998 mass bleaching event enabled a temporal comparison across this event. The genetic composition of these populations changed between 1997 and 2004, but patterns of genetic differentiation among locations were similar in 1997 and 2004. Extensive mortality of these species following the 1998 bleaching event did not cause an apparent reduction in genetic diversity and identical multi-locus genotypes were encountered in both temporal samples, suggesting that re-growth of surviving genotypes contributed to the recovery of these populations. Comparisons among the 4 study species revealed lower genetic diversity in A. papillare, consistent with its low abundance throughout its distributional range.

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“…Moreover, large geographic samplings across the Indo-Pacific have demonstrated the occurrence of genetic structureing, demographic isolation, and cryptic lineages within taxa that were traditionally considered to be widespread and common in the Indo-Pacific. For example, several instances of cryptic taxa have been demonstrated discovered in Acropora (Ladner and Palumbi, 2012;Richards et al, 2016), Stylophora (Flot et al, 2011;Stefani et al, 2011;Flot et al, 2011), Pocillopora (Souter, 2010;Pinzón et al, 2013;Schmidt-Roach et al, 2013a;Gélin et al, 2017a), and Seriatopora (Bongaerts et al, 2010;Warner et al, 2015).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Uncovering hidden coral diversity: a new cryptic lobophylliid scleractinian from the Indian Ocean

et al. 2018

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Extant biodiversity can easily be underestimated by the presence of cryptic taxa, even among commonly observed species. Scleractinian corals are challenging to identify because of their ecophenotypic variationplasticity and morphological plasticityvariation determined by genotype. In addition, molecular analysesdata haves revealed the occurrence of cryptic speciation. Here, we described a new cryptic lobophylliid genus and species Paraechinophyllia variabilis gen. nov., sp. nov., which is morphologically indistinguishable similar to from Echinophyllia aspera and E. orpheensis. The new taxon occurs in Mayotte Island, Madagascar, the Gulf of Aden, and the Red Sea. Six molecular markers (COI, 12S, ATP6-NAD4, NAD3-NAD5, histone H3, and ITS) and 46 morphological characters at three different levels (macromorphology, micromorphology, and microstructure) were examined. The resulting molecular phylogeny reconstruction showed that Paraechinophyllia gen. nov. represents a distinct group within theof Lobophylliidae that diverged from the lineage leading to Echinophyllia and Oxypora in the Early Miocene, approximately 21.5 million years ago. The morphological phylogeny reconstruction clustered Paraechinophyllia gen. nov., Echinophyllia, and Oxypora together in a single clade. and Aa sole morphological character, calice relief, discriminated Paraechinophyllia gen. nov. from the latter two genera, suggesting that limited morphological variation has occurred over a long period. These results highlight the importance of cryptic taxa in reef corals, with implications for population genetics, ecological studies, and conservation.

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Hidden genetic diversity in a key model species of coral

Cited by 60 publications

References 46 publications

Contrasting clonal structure among Pocillopora (Scleractinia) communities at two environmentally distinct sites in the Gulf of California

Contrasting clonal structure among Pocillopora (Scleractinia) communities at two environmentally distinct sites in the Gulf of California

Location and disturbance affect population genetic structure in four coral species of the genus Acropora on the Great Barrier Reef

Uncovering hidden coral diversity: a new cryptic lobophylliid scleractinian from the Indian Ocean

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