11th ICRS Abstract book - Nova Southeastern University

13-1
Prioritizing Conservation Hotspots: Does Phylogeny Matter?
Christopher MEYER* 1
1 Natural History Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
Oral Mini-Symposium 13: Evolution and Conservation of Coral Reef Ecosystems
Most approaches to coral reef biodiversity use species richness as the metric for
examining geographic patterns with the implicit assumption that all species are equal.
However, some have argued various measures that incorporate evolutionary history, such
as phylogenetic diversity or taxonomic distinctiveness, may be more appropriate metrics,
especially when establishing conservation priorities. Most published comparisons that
integrate phylogentic data into conservation planning are terrestrial and geographically
restricted in scope. Using a taxonomically comprehensive phylogeny of cypraeid
gastropods, a well-known, predominantly reef-associated group of snails, I examine the
effects of incorporating phylogeny in prioritizing biogeographic hotspots for conservation
importance. The global diversity profile of cowries is similar to most other major reefassociated
groups, including corals and reef-fishes, and cowries have a range of life
history attributes that make them a reasonable proxy for other reef-associated species. I
compare three metrics of biodiversity: (1) richness, (2) phylogenetic diversity and (3)
taxonomic distinctiveness across three phylogenetic scales: (A) genera, (B) species, and
(C) ESUs (= DNA barcode lineages). This 3 x 3 approach indicates that some metrics or
scales can act as effective surrogates for others in some instances. However, finer
phylogenetic scales reveal the importance of inter and intra-basinal processes as engines
of diversification and highlight their importance in both conservation efforts and
establishing biodiversity survey focal regions.
13-2
Identification And Conservation Of Evolutionary Processes in The Coral Triangle
Biodiversity Hotspot.
Paul BARBER* 1
1 Boston University Marine Program, Boston University, Boston, MA
The reefs of the Coral Triangle are the most diverse in the World. While the origins of
pattern have long attracted the attention of evolutionary biologists, answering this
question has largely been considered of purely academic interest. However, given the
increasing threats facing the reefs of the Coral Triangle, it is becoming increasingly clear
that understanding the processes generating high biodiversity in this region is critical for
preserving this diversity, including the processes that create it. In this study we compare
phylogeography and genetic connectivity of over 30 fish and invertebrate taxa that are
codistsributed across the Coral Triangle, representing multiple reef functional groups
ranging from corals to pelagic fish. Results indicate a broad array of evolutionary patterns
in this shared physical environment. Some taxa exhibit the classic pattern of
differentiation between Pacific and Indian Ocean populations, suggesting Pleistocene
vicariance. Others show fine-scale genetic differentiation, suggesting a common history
of regional geographic isolation. Still others show no genetic structure at all. Although
patterns fell into these three basic classes, there were few commonalities among taxa with
similar patterns of genetic structure. The unique responses of multiple taxa to a shared
environment suggest a multiplicity of physical and ecological processes contributing to
the evolution of high biodiversity in the Coral Triangle. While the commonalities seen
among some taxa suggests some support for regional seascape conservation initiatives,
the idiosyncrasies among taxa demonstrate the challenges facing marine managers in
designing reserve systems that will effectively protect a broad array of biodiversity.
13-3
Absence Of Geographic Barrier Across The Indo-Pacific Province For Coral Reef Fishes
Serge PLANES 1,2 , Cécile FAUVELOT* 3 , Vanessa MESSMER 1,4 , Shital SWARUP 1 , Matthieu
LERAY 1 , Jean-Luc TISON 1
1 UMR 5244 - Laboratoire Écosystèmes Aquatiques Tropicaux et Méditerranéens, CNRS -
EPHE - UPVD, Perpignan, France, 2 UMS 2978 - CRIOBE, CNRS - EPHE, Moorea, French
Polynesia, 3 UR 128 – CoRéUs, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Perpignan,
France, 4 School of Marine and Tropical Biology, and ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef
Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
With an area spanning half the world’s tropical marine belt, from East Africa to western coast
of Americas, the Indo-Pacific region is the largest biogeographic province. Within this
province, coral reef species distributions varied greatly, with some species restricted to a single
island while others are found throughout the province. In this context, the question related to the
dynamic of spreading of species within such a large biogeographic province as always been a
striking point. Recent phylogenetic studies on such topic remain too limited, and the results
often conflicting to provide any consensus. In the perspective of providing a general view, it
appears essential to compare the phylogeography of several taxa differing in life histories in
order to reveal how geographic barriers may affect similarly evolutionary history of species.
Here we investigate the phylogeographic patterns of seven coral reef fishes (i.e; Acanthurus
triostegus, Dascyllus aruanus, Forcipiger flavissimus, Lutjanus kasmira, Paracirrhites forsteri,
Zanclus cornutus and Rhinecanthus aculeatus) sampled among up to 29 locations throughout
the Indo-Pacific with the objective of identifying common barriers to colonization and gene
flow. Analyses based on sequences of the hypervariable region of the mitochondrial DNA
Control Region (Dloop) revealed different phylogenetic patterns exhibited by the seven species.
While some species showed marginal genetic isolation of remote islands, other showed clear
phylogenetic signals. Nevertheless, all species did exhibit genetic footprint of exponential
population growth. The pairwise mismatch distributions strongly differed among species
revealing unique ancient demographic expansion signatures. The absence of common
evolutionary histories is likely correlated with the high dispersal capabilities of coral reef fishes
during their larval phase. Though recent works have emphasised local retention and small-scale
self-recruitment at an ecological timescale, this does not prevent sporadic large-scale dispersal
to spread molecular variants throughout the Indo-Pacific area on an evolutionary timescale.
Financial support provided by: CRISP
13-4
Population Structure Of The Three-Spot Damselfish, Dascyllus Trimaculatus Across Its
Distribution Range
Matthieu LERAY* 1,2 , Ricardo BELDADE 1 , Serge PLANES 2 , Sally HOLBROOK 3 , Russell
SCHMITT 3 , Giacomo BERNARDI 1
1 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa
Cruz, CA, 2 EPHE - UMR CNRS 8046, Universite de Perpignan, Perpignan, France, 3 Ecology,
Evolution & Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA
In previous studies, members of the three-spot damselfish species complex composed by four
nominal species: Dascyllus albisella Gill, D. auripinnis Randall and Randall, D. strasburgi
Klausewitz, and D. trimaculatus (Ruppell) were sampled from the Indian Ocean, the Pacific
Rim (Japan to Wallis Island), French Polynesia, Hawaii, and Marquesas. Analyses of the
control region of the mitochondrial DNA (D-loop) revealed five different clades: 3 of which
correspond to the Pacific Rim (D. trimaculatus and D. auripinnis), Hawaii (D. albisella) and
Marquesas (D. strasburgi) and the remaining two clades, Indian Ocean and French Polynesia
(D. trimaculatus). We developed microsatellite primers to determine if clades uncovered by the
mitochondrial analyses were consistent with nuclear data. Color morphs, species boundaries
and incipient speciation in the three-spot damselfish complex are discussed.
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