Contrasting Patterns of Clinal Genetic Diversity and Potential Colonization Pathways in Two Species of Western Atlantic Fiddler Crabs

Fiddler crabs (Brachyura, Ocypodidae), like many other marine organisms, disperse via planktonic larvae. A lengthy pelagic larval duration is generally assumed to result in genetic connectivity even among distant populations. However, major river outflows, such as of the Amazon or Orinoco, or strong...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2016-11, Vol.11 (11), p.e0166518-e0166518
Main Authors: Laurenzano, Claudia, Costa, Tânia M, Schubart, Christoph D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acanthuridae
Animals
Atlantic Ocean
Biodiversity
Biogeography
Biology and Life Sciences
Brachyura
Brachyura - genetics
Callinectes sapidus
Colonization
Crabs
Crustaceans
Data processing
Decapoda
Divergence
DNA, Mitochondrial
Earth Sciences
Ecology and Environmental Sciences
Fish
Gene flow
Genetic diversity
Genetic structure
Genetic Variation
Genetics, Population
Geography
Haplotypes
Homogeneity
Islands
Larvae
Marine
Marine organisms
Minuca
Mitochondrial DNA
Ocypodidae
People and places
Phylogeny
Population genetics
Populations
Rivers
Species
Species diversity
Statistical analysis
Teleostei
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Summary:Fiddler crabs (Brachyura, Ocypodidae), like many other marine organisms, disperse via planktonic larvae. A lengthy pelagic larval duration is generally assumed to result in genetic connectivity even among distant populations. However, major river outflows, such as of the Amazon or Orinoco, or strong currents may act as phylogeographic barriers to ongoing gene flow. For example, the Mona Passage, located between Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, has been postulated to impair larval exchange of several species. In this study, Cox1 mtDNA data was used to analyze population genetic structure of two fiddler crab species from the western Atlantic, comparing the continental coastline and Caribbean islands. The results indicate genetic homogeneity in Minuca rapax among Atlantic (continental) populations (Suriname, Brazil), whereas Caribbean populations show significantly restricted gene flow among the constituent islands and towards continental populations. Our data support the hypothesis of the Mona Passage hindering larval exchange. Contrastingly, Caribbean Leptuca leptodactyla populations appear to be devoid of detectable variation, while Atlantic-continental (i.e. Brazilian) populations show much higher haplotype and nucleotide diversities and display slight genetic differentiation among populations within the Atlantic region, though not statistically significant. Both species show a pronounced divergence between regions, supporting the presence of a phylogeographic barrier.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0166518