Hidden genetic diversity in a key model species of coral

• Published in: Marine biology Vol. 157; no. 4; pp. 875 - 885
• Main Author: Souter, Petra
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Berlin/Heidelberg : Springer-Verlag 01-04-2010; Springer-Verlag; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Boundaries; Cnidaria. Ctenaria; Corals; Cryptic species; Evolution; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetic aspects; Genetic diversity; Invertebrates; Life Sciences; Marine; Marine & Freshwater Sciences; Marine biology; Microbiology; Mitochondrial DNA; Oceanography; Original Paper; Phylogeny; Pocillopora; Pocillopora damicornis; Scleractinia; Sea water ecosystems; Synecology; Zoology; Hawaii; ISW, Indian Ocean; Introgressive Hybridisation; Mitochondrial Lineage; Incomplete Lineage Sorting; Western Indian Ocean; Internal Transcribe Spacer; Coelenterata; Coral; Cnidaria; Genetic diversity; Key species; Models; Invertebrata
• ISSN: 0025-3162; 1432-1793
• DOI: 10.1007/s00227-009-1370-3

A total of 43 colonies of the scleractinian coral Pocillopora damicornis from lagoonal and reef slope sites in the western Indian Ocean (WIO) region were genetically characterised at one nuclear and two mitochondrial sequence markers and six microsatellite loci. Both mitochondrial and microsatellite data support the existence of two reciprocally monophyletic clusters (F- and NF-types) and provide evidence of the existence of two cryptic species of P. damicornis on reefs in WIO region and put current morphological delineation and geographical boundaries of P. damicornis and Pocillopora molokensis into question. The results add to ongoing studies on the phylogeny and phylogeography within the genus Pocillopora, which all point towards a range of unresolved morphological and molecular species boundaries. Nuclear phylogenies derived from the present and previously published sequences show evidence for incomplete lineage sorting and/or introgressive hybridisation between Pocillopora morphospecies. However, the two WIO types largely remain in separate clusters, further supporting the theory that these represent two different species.