Salinity and depth as structuring factors of cryptic divergence in Moina brachiata (Crustacea: Cladocera)

Abstract

Microcrustacean taxa in temporary waters are important contributors to aquatic biodiversity on the landscape scale even though much of the diversity at the molecular level is still undiscovered. Cladoceran species other than Daphnia are not frequently targeted in molecular investigations. We used nuclear allozyme polymorphisms as well as DNA sequence variation in mitochondrial 16 S and COI gene regions to reveal patterns of genetic differentiation among populations of a cladoceran species -Moina brachiata -that typically inhabits temporary aquatic habitats. Samples originated from 20 temporary to semi-permanent waterbodies in the Hungarian Great Plain of the Pannonian biogeographic region. We observed strong genetic differentiation in the phylogenetic analyses of the concatenated 16 S and COI genes, based on which M. brachiata was found to represent a complex of four cryptic lineages (A, B, C and D) with, however, one of these (lineage D) detected based on only one individual. Regarding the nuclear markers, diagnostic alleles of the PGM and MDH enzyme loci in complete linkage disequilibrium were observed separating the 'B' lineage from the rest. In addition, indirect evidence was provided by the AAT locus, where the AAT1 allele was found to be potentially diagnostic for lineage 'C'. The three phylogenetically defined lineages ('A', 'B', 'C') could be separated from each other along the first canonical axis of a multivariate analysis of occurrence, and this first axis was strongly correlated with depth and salinity of the ponds. There is a strong association between habitat depth and the occurrence of the 'B' lineage. Our results indicate that habitat depth and associated ecological characteristics driven by differences in hydroperiod likely are responsible for the present distribution of the lineages.

DNA Barcoding Reveals High Cryptic Diversity in the North Eurasian Moina Species (Crustacea: Cladocera)

“…micrura and M . salina , species confirming preliminary conclusions of Petrusek et al [67] and Nédli et al [42]. In comparison to previous publications, we significantly increased the number of revealed phylogroups which presumably correspond to biological species.…”

“…Temporary and semi-temporary water bodies can have unique fauna [ 5 , 41 – 42 ] but remain poorly studied. In such localities, species of the genus Moina Baird are often dominant among freshwater microscopic animals [ 43 – 44 ].…”

“…The DNA barcoding studies of the genus were started by Elías-Gutiérrez et al [ 35 ], followed by Jeffrey et al [ 36 ], Prosser et al [ 70 ] and Dumont et al [ 65 ]. Finally, a comprehensive study of the Moina brachiata group in Hungary was made by Nédli et al [ 42 ]. Based on COI and 16S diversity, the latter authors found four cryptic species in Hungary alone.…”

Phylogeography of Daphnia magna Straus (Crustacea: Cladocera) in Northern Eurasia: Evidence for a deep longitudinal split between mitochondrial lineages

“…We have used two common approaches to separate evolutionary significant groups, the Nested Clade Phylogeographical Analysis [ 96 , 83 ] and a Bayesian approach realized in the GMYC model [ 75 ]. The NCPA has been widely used in cladoceran phylogeography [ 14 , 27 , 97 ], but its use has been criticized [ 98 ] and its results must be discussed with a great care. In most cases, separation of the highest rank of clades in NCPA is unproblematic, but the adequateness of lower-rank clades is questionable, despite the reduction of phylogenetic noise with the star contraction algorithm [ 80 ].…”

Morphometric characteristics and COI haplotype diversity of Arctodiaptomus spinosus (Copedoda) populations in soda pans in Hungary

“…The geology and biology including composition, abundance and seasonal changes of zooplankton of the soda pans has been intensively studied previously [4,12,22,27,34]. Characteristic crustacean species in the soda pans are fairy shrimps like [24,25].…”