Population subdivision in marine environments: the contributions of biogeography, geographic distance, and discontinuous habitat to genetic differentiation in a blennioid

The relative importance of factors that may promote genetic differentiation in marine organisms is largely unknown. Here, contributions to population structure from biogeography, habitat distribution, and isolation by distance were investigated in Axoclinus nigricaudus, a small subtidal rock reef fish, throughout its range in the Gulf of California. A 408 basepair fragment of the mitochondrial control region was sequenced from 105 individuals. Variation was significantly partitioned between many pairs of populations. Phylogenetic analyses, hierarchical analyses of variance, and general linear models substantiated a major break between two putative biogeographic regions. This genetic discontinuity coincides with an abrupt change in ecological characteristics (including temperature and salinity) but does not coincide with known oceanographic circulation patterns. Geographic distance and the nature of habitat separating populations (continuous habitat along a shoreline, discontinuous habitat along a shoreline, and open water) also contributed to population structure in general linear model analyses. To verify that local populations are genetically stable over time, one population was resampled on four occasions over eighteen months; it showed no evidence of a temporal component to diversity. These results indicate that having a planktonic life stage does not preclude geographically partitioned genetic variation over relatively small geographic distances in marine environments. Moreover, levels of genetic differentiation among populations of Axoclinus nigricaudus cannot be explained by a single factor, but are due to the combined influences of a biogeographic boundary, habitat, and geographic distance.

A total-evidence phylogeny of ticks provides insights into the evolution of life cycles and biogeography

We inferred the phylogeny of 33 species of ticks from the subfamilies Rhipicephalinae and Hyalomminae from analyses of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA and morphology. We used nucleotide sequences from 12S rRNA, cytochrome c oxidase I, internal transcribed spacer 2 of the nuclear rRNA, and 18S rRNA. Nucleotide sequences and morphology were analyzed separately and together in a total-evidence analysis. Analyses of the five partitions together (3303 characters) gave the best-resolved and the best-supported hypothesis so far for the phylogeny of ticks in the Rhipicephalinae and Hyalomminae, despite the fact that some partitions did not have data for some taxa. However, most of the hidden conflict (lower support in the total-evidence analyses compared to that in the individual analyses) was found in those partitions that had taxa without data. The partitions with complete taxonomic sampling had more hidden support (higher support in the total-evidence analyses compared to that in the separate-partition analyses) than hidden conflict. Mapping of geographic origins of ticks onto our phylogeny indicates an African origin for the Rhipicephalinae sensu lato (i.e., including Hyalomma spp.), the Rhipicephalus-Boophilus lineage, the Dermacentor-Anocentor lineage, and the Rhipicephalus-Booophilus-Nosomma-Hyalomma-Rhipicentor lineage. The Nosomma-Hyalomma lineage appears to have evolved in Asia. Our total-evidence phylogeny indicates that (i) the genus Rhipicephalus is paraphyletic with respect to the genus Boophilus, (ii) the genus Dermacentor is paraphyletic with respect to the genus Anocentor, and (iii) some subgenera of the genera Hyalomma and Rhipicephalus are paraphyletic with respect to other subgenera in these genera. Study of the Rhipicephalinae and Hyalomminae over the last 7 years has shown that analyses of individual datasets (e.g., one gene or morphology) seldom resolve many phylogenetic relationships, but analyses of more than one dataset can generate well-resolved phylogenies for these ticks. (C) 2001 Academic Press.

Drosophilidae (Diptera) of Australia's Northern Territory: Ecology and biogeography

The drosophilid fauna is well documented in eastern Australia but is poorly known in other parts of the continent. This paper summarises what is known of this fauna in the Northern Territory (NT), and includes results from banana trapping in the humid and arid zones. The 42 recorded species include species that breed in fruit, fungi and/or flowers, and a larval predator of scale insects. Drosophilids occur in all three major climate zones (humid, semiarid and arid) but predominate in the humid zone. Banana-attracted species in the humid zone (wet-dry tropics) were common in all sampled habitats: urban, rainforest and open woodland. They included predominantly urban and/or rainforest species. Of the species collected in open woodland, some are likely to be breeding there, whereas others may have been intercepted during movement across the area. The semiarid fauna is a depauperate version of that found in the humid region. Only three species have been recorded in the arid region: an endemic arid specialist, and two cosmopolitan species (D. simulans and D. melanogaster ) in urban Alice Springs. Overall, the NT drosophilid fauna represents a depauperate version of that found in eastern Australia, probably because of climatic factors and natural barriers to range expansion. There is little evidence of regional endemism, with probably only one (and at most three) species endemic to the NT, and no evidence of independent, natural dispersion from nearby Indonesia.

Molecular phylogenetics of Lentibulariaceae inferred from plastid rps16 Intron and trnL-F DNA sequences: implications for character evolution and biogeography

Phylogenetic relationships among 75 species of Lentibulariaceae, representing the three recognized genera, were assessed by cladistic analysis of DNA sequences from the plastid rps16 intron and the trnL-F region. Sequence data from the two loci were analyzed both separately and in combination. Consensus trees from all analyses are congruent, and parsimony jackknife results demonstrate strong support for relationships both between and within each of the three demonstrably monophyletic genera. The genus Pinguicula is sister to a Genlisea-Utricularia clade, the phylogenetic structure within this clade closely follows Taylor's recent sectional delimitations based on morphology. Three principal clades are shown within Utricularia, with the basal sections Polypoinpholyx and Pleiochasia together forming the sister lineage of the remaining Utricularia species. Of the fundamental morphological specializations, the stoloniferous growth form apparently arose independently within Genlisea and Utricularia three times, and within Utricularia itself, perhaps more than once. The epiphytic habit has evolved independently at least three times, in Pinguicula, in Utricularia section Phyllaria, and within the two sections Orchidioides and Iperua (in the latter as bromeliad tank-epiphytes). The suspended aquatic habit may have evolved independently within sections Utricularia and Vesiculina. Biogeographic optimization on the phylogeny demonstrates patterns commonly associated with the boreotropics hypothesis and limits the spatial origin of Lentibulariaceae to temperate Eurasia or tropical America.

Was there a second adaptive radiation of giant tortoises in the Indian Ocean? Using mitochondrial DNA to investigate speciation and biogeography of Aldabrachelys (Reptilia, Testudinidae)

A radiation of five species of giant tortoises (Cylindraspis ) existed in the southwest Indian Ocean, on the Mascarene islands, and another (of Aldabrachelys ) has been postulated on small islands north of Madagascar, from where at least eight nominal species have been named and up to five have been recently recognized. Of 37 specimens of Madagascan and small-island Aldabrachelys investigated by us, 23 yielded significant portions of a 428-base-pair (bp) fragment of mitochondrial (cytochrome b and tRNA-Glu), including type material of seven nominal species (A. arnoldi, A. dussumieri, A. hololissa, A. daudinii, A. sumierei, A. ponderosa and A. gouffei ). These and nearly all the remaining specimens, including 15 additional captive individuals sequenced previously, show little variation. Thirty-three exhibit no differences and the remainder diverge by only 1-4 bp (0.23-0.93%). This contrasts with more widely accepted tortoise species which show much greater inter- and intraspecific differences. The non-Madagascan material examined may therefore only represent a single species and all specimens may come from Aldabra where the common haplotype is known to occur. The present study provides no evidence against the Madagascan origin for Aldabra tortoises suggested by a previous molecular phylogenetic analysis, the direction of marine currents and phylogeography of other reptiles in the area. Ancient mitochondrial DNA from the extinct subfossil A. grandidieri of Madagascar differs at 25 sites (5.8%) from all other Aldabrachelys samples examined here.

Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of the dung beetle genus Temnoplectron Westwood (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) from Australia’s wet tropics

The landscape of the Australian Wet Tropics can be described as islands of montane rainforest Surrounded by warmer or more xeric habitats. Historical glaciation cycles have caused expansion and contraction of these rainforest islands leading to consistent patterns of genetic divergence within species of vertebrates. To explore whether this dynamic history has promoted speciation in endemic and diverse groups Of insects, we used a combination of mtDNA sequencing and morphological characters to estimate relationships and the tempo of divergence among Australian representatives of the dung beetle genus Temnoplectron. This phylogenetic hypothesis shares a number of well-supported clades with a previously published phylogenetic hypothesis based on morphological data. though statistical support for several nodes is weak. Sister species relationships well-supported in both tree topologies. and a tree obtained by combining the two data sets. suggest that speciation has mostly been allopatric. We identify a number of speciation barriers, which coincide with phylogeographic breaks found in vertebrate species. Large sequence divergences between species emphasize that speciation events are ancient (pre-Pleistocene). The flightless, rainforest species appear to have speciated rapidly. but also in the distant past. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Phylogeny and biogeography of the freshwater crayfish Euastacus (Decapoda : Parastacidae) based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA

Euastacus crayfish are endemic to freshwater ecosystems of the eastern coast of Australia. While recent evolutionary studies have focused on a few of these species, here we provide a comprehensive phylogenetic estimate of relationships among the species within the genus. We sequenced three mitochondrial gene regions (COI, 16S, and 12S) and one nuclear region (28S) from 40 species of the genus Euastacus, as well as one undescribed species. Using these data, we estimated the phylogenetic relationships within the genus using maximum-likelihood, parsimony, and Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo analyses. Using Bayes factors to test different model hypotheses, we found that the best phylogeny supports monophyletic groupings of all but two recognized species and suggests a widespread ancestor that diverged by vicariance. We also show that Eitastacus and Astacopsis are most likely monophyletic sister genera. We use the resulting phylogeny as a framework to test biogeographic hypotheses relating to the diversification of the genus. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Phylogeny, evolution and biogeography of the Quadrifoliovariinae Yamaguti, 1965 (Digenea : Lecithasteridae)

The Quadrifoliovariinae is revised and three new species of Quadrifoliovarium Yamaguit, 1965 from acanthurid fishes of the genus Naso from waters of the Indo-Pacific are described: Q, maceria n. sp. from N. tonganus, N. annulatus, N. fageni and N. brevirostris; Q. simplex n. sp. from N. tonganus and N. quannulatus; and Q. quattuordecim n. sp. from N. tonganus. Amendments are made to the characterisation of the Quadrifoliovariinae, Quadrifoliovarium, Bilacinia Manter, 1969 and Unilacinia Manter, 1969 in light of observations on type and new material. A molecular phylogeny based on ITS2 and 28S regions of the ribosomal DNA is proposed. The phylogeny suggests that U. asymmetrica is the most basal taxon and Q. simplex n. sp. and Q. quattuordecim n. sp. the most derived. Evolution of morphological traits within the Quadrifoliovariinae are discussed in light of the molecular phylogeny. Molecular sequences of the ITS2 rDNA were identical between specimens of Q. pritchardae collected off Exmouth (Indian Ocean), Heron Island and Lizard Island (Western Pacific) and Moorea (far Eastern Indo-Pacific), indicating a broad Indo-Pacific distribution. All members of the subfamily are recorded only from the acanthurid genus Naso, with the exception of B. lobatum (Yamaguti, 1970), which has been recorded from a pomacanthid. The restricted host range of the group is discussed in the light of the phylogeny of the host genus Naso.