Two distinct, geographically overlapping lineages of the corallimorpharian Ricordea florida (Cnidaria: Hexacorallia: Ricordeidae) |
| |
Authors: | H Torres-Pratts T Lado-Insua A L Rhyne L Rodr??guez-Matos N V Schizas |
| |
Institution: | (1) Department of Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico Mayag?ez, Call Box 9000, Mayag?ez, PR 00681, USA;(2) Department of Ocean Engineering, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA;(3) New England Aquarium, Boston, MA 02110, USA;(4) Department of Biology and Marine Biology, Roger Williams University, One Old Ferry Road, Bristol, RI 02809, USA |
| |
Abstract: | We examined the genetic variation of the corallimorpharian Ricordea florida; it is distributed throughout the Caribbean region and is heavily harvested for the marine aquarium trade. Eighty-four distinct
individuals of R. florida were sequenced from four geographically distant Caribbean locations (Cura?ao, Florida, Guadeloupe, and Puerto Rico). Analysis
of the ribosomal nuclear region (ITS1, 5.8S, ITS2) uncovered two geographically partially overlapping genetic lineages in
R. florida, probably representing two cryptic species. Lineage 1 was found in Florida and Puerto Rico, and Lineage 2 was found in Florida,
Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe, and Cura?ao. Because of the multi-allelic nature of the ITS region, four individuals from Lineage
1 and six from Lineage 2 were cloned to evaluate the levels of hidden intra-individual variability. Pairwise genetic comparisons
indicated that the levels of intra-individual and intra-lineage variability (<1%) were approximately an order of magnitude
lower than the divergence (~9%) observed between the two lineages. The fishery regulations of the aquarium trade regard R. florida as one species. More refined regulations should take into account the presence of two genetic lineages, and they should be
managed separately in order to preserve the long-term evolutionary potential of this corallimorpharian. The discovery of two
distinct lineages in R. florida illustrates the importance of evaluating genetic variability in harvested species prior to the implementation of management
policies. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|