Fuzzy species limits in Mediterranean gorgonians (Cnidaria, Octocorallia): inferences on speciation processes

The study of the interplay between speciation and hybridization is of primary importance in evolutionary biology. Octocorals are ecologically important species whose shallow phylogenetic relationships often remain to be studied. In the Mediterranean Sea, three congeneric octocorals can be observed i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Zoologica scripta 2017-11, Vol.46 (6), p.767-778
Main Authors: Aurelle, Didier, Pivotto, Isabelle D., Malfant, Marine, Topçu, Nur E., Masmoudi, Mauatassem B., Chaoui, Lamya, Kara, Hichem M., Coelho, Márcio A.G., Castilho, Rita, Haguenauer, Anne
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ABC
Bayesian analysis
Biodiversity
Biodiversity and Ecology
Biological evolution
Biology
Computation
Ecological effects
Ecology
Environmental Sciences
Eunicella
Gene flow
Hybridization
intron
Life Sciences
Marine invertebrates
Network analysis
octocorals
Photosynthesis
Phylogeny
Populations and Evolution
Probability theory
Speciation
Species
Sympatry
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Summary:The study of the interplay between speciation and hybridization is of primary importance in evolutionary biology. Octocorals are ecologically important species whose shallow phylogenetic relationships often remain to be studied. In the Mediterranean Sea, three congeneric octocorals can be observed in sympatry: Eunicella verrucosa, Eunicella cavolini and Eunicella singularis. They display morphological differences and E. singularis hosts photosynthetic Symbiodinium, contrary to the two other species. Two nuclear sequence markers were used to study speciation and gene flow between these species, through network analysis and Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC). Shared sequences indicated the possibility of hybridization or incomplete lineage sorting. According to ABC, a scenario of gene flow through secondary contact was the best model to explain these results. At the intraspecific level, neither geographical nor ecological isolation corresponded to distinct genetic lineages in E. cavolini. These results are discussed in the light of the potential role of ecology and genetic incompatibilities in the persistence of species limits.
ISSN:0300-3256
1463-6409
DOI:10.1111/zsc.12245