Assessing hidden species diversity in the coral Pocillopora damicornis from Eastern Australia
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Assessing hidden species diversity in the coral Pocillopora damicornis from Eastern Australia S. Schmidt-Roach • P. Lundgren • K. J. Miller G. Gerlach • A. M. E. Noreen • N. Andreakis
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Received: 3 October 2011 / Accepted: 16 September 2012 Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012
Abstract The incredible range of morphological plasticity present in scleractinian corals has confused the taxonomy of the group, prompting the introduction of ‘‘ecomorphs’’ to explain the observed correlation between local environmental conditions and phenotypic variation. Pocillopora damicornis (Linnaeus, 1758) represents one of the best known examples of eco-phenotypic variation in scleractinian corals with a variety of forms and reproductive strategies reported across its global distribution range. Here, we reconstruct genealogical relationships of P. damicornis colonies collected from thirteen locations along the East Australian coast to examine the relationship between genetic and phenotypic diversity in this species. Haplotype networks computed from two mitochondrial DNA regions (CR, ORF) indicate that the range of Communicated by Biology Editor Dr. Ruth Gates
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00338-012-0959-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. S. Schmidt-Roach K. J. Miller Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobar, TAS 7001, Australia S. Schmidt-Roach (&) P. Lundgren A. M. E. Noreen N. Andreakis Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB no. 3, Townsville MC, QLD 4810, Australia e-mail: [email protected] P. Lundgren Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, PO Box 1379, Townsville, QLD 4810, Australia G. Gerlach Fakulta¨t V, Institut fu¨r Biologie, Carl von Ossietzky Universita¨t Oldenburg, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany
morphotypes observed within this taxon fall into at least five genetically distinct mitochondrial lineages. Nuclear (HSP70, ITS2) haplowebs on the other hand recover sharp genetic discontinuities among three of the morphological groups. We conclude that P. damicornis from Eastern Australia constitutes a cryptic species complex. The misinterpretation of taxonomical units within P. damicornis may well explain its perceived variation in the ecology, biology and life history across its range. Keywords Speciation Cryptic Ecomorphs Phylogeny GBR Reproduction
Introduction Inconsistent species identification leads to errors in biological diversity estimates and may result in confusing or misleading interpretations of ecological and evolutionary data (Bickford et al. 2007). With the advent of molecular tools, we are now in a position to better understand patterns of species diversity and distribution. Furthermore, initiatives such as the Barcode of Life (www.barcodeoflife.org) allow consistent identification of taxa through combining rigorous morphological taxonomy with DNA sequence data. It is becoming apparent that many ecological studies have failed to account for t
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