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Assessing hidden species diversity in the coral Pocillopora damicornis from Eastern Australia

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Abstract

The incredible range of morphological plasticity present in scleractinian corals has confused the taxonomy of the group, prompting the introduction of “ecomorphs” to explain the observed correlation between local environmental conditions and phenotypic variation. Pocillopora damicornis (Linnaeus, 1758) represents one of the best known examples of eco-phenotypic variation in scleractinian corals with a variety of forms and reproductive strategies reported across its global distribution range. Here, we reconstruct genealogical relationships of P. damicornis colonies collected from thirteen locations along the East Australian coast to examine the relationship between genetic and phenotypic diversity in this species. Haplotype networks computed from two mitochondrial DNA regions (CR, ORF) indicate that the range of morphotypes observed within this taxon fall into at least five genetically distinct mitochondrial lineages. Nuclear (HSP70, ITS2) haplowebs on the other hand recover sharp genetic discontinuities among three of the morphological groups. We conclude that P. damicornis from Eastern Australia constitutes a cryptic species complex. The misinterpretation of taxonomical units within P. damicornis may well explain its perceived variation in the ecology, biology and life history across its range.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank C. C. Wallace, P. Muir and J. E. N. Veron for constructive criticism and advice and M. J. H. van Oppen for comments on the manuscript and for contributing some of the mitochondrial sequences used in the final analyses. We also thank L. Peplow, D. Abrego and J. Doyle for technical advice and support, and G. Torda and A. Baird for field assistance and N. Vogel for laboratory assistance. This work has been funded through the Commonwealth Environment Research Facilities (CERF) programme, an Australian Government initiative supporting world class, public good research. The CERF Marine Biodiversity Hub is a collaborative partnership between the University of Tasmania, CSIRO Wealth from Oceans Flagship, Geoscience Australia, Australian Institute of Marine Science and Museum Victoria. Additionally, this study was kindly supported by a research award from the Winifred Violet Scott Estate Trust. S.S-R is also supported by an Endeavour International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (EIPRS), CERF Marine Biodiversity Hub scholarship and a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). This paper represents the first part of the Ph.D. thesis of S.S-R.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobar, TAS, 7001, Australia

    S. Schmidt-Roach & K. J. Miller

  2. Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB no. 3, Townsville MC, QLD, 4810, Australia

    S. Schmidt-Roach, P. Lundgren, A. M. E. Noreen & N. Andreakis

  3. Fakultät V, Institut für Biologie, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany

    G. Gerlach

  4. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, PO Box 1379, Townsville, QLD, 4810, Australia

    P. Lundgren

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  1. S. Schmidt-Roach
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  2. P. Lundgren
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  3. K. J. Miller
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  4. G. Gerlach
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  5. A. M. E. Noreen
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Correspondence to S. Schmidt-Roach.

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Communicated by Biology Editor Dr. Ruth Gates

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

338_2012_959_MOESM1_ESM.eps

Supplementary material 1 Photos of colonies representing examples of each morphological group. Colony numbers of tropical individuals correspond to individuals sequenced (EPS 23698 kb)

338_2012_959_MOESM2_ESM.eps

Supplementary material 2 Haplotype network based on ORF DNA sequence data (n = 145, total alignment length = 593 bp) (EPS 779 kb)

338_2012_959_MOESM3_ESM.eps

Supplementary material 3 Haplotype network based on CR DNA sequence data (n = 37, total alignment length = 1266 bp) (EPS 820 kb)

338_2012_959_MOESM4_ESM.eps

Supplementary material 4 Left: DGGE of Symbiodinium ITS2; letters indicate diagnostic bands of each Symbiodinium type. Right: Table showing scoring results (EPS 176 kb)

Supplementary material 5 (DOCX 20 kb)

Supplementary material 6 (DOCX 18 kb)

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Schmidt-Roach, S., Lundgren, P., Miller, K.J. et al. Assessing hidden species diversity in the coral Pocillopora damicornis from Eastern Australia. Coral Reefs 32, 161–172 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-012-0959-z

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