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Pleistocene diversification of the Pomacentrus coelestis species complex (Pisces: Pomacentridae): historical biogeography and species boundaries

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Abstract

Pleistocene eustatic changes in sea level are often invoked to explain genetic divergence among marine organisms. However, molecular phylogenies have revealed relatively few examples of speciation events dating to the Pleistocene. We present a species-level hypothesis of the timing of evolution for the Pomacentrus coelestis species complex (Pomacentridae), based on the nuclear S7 intron and the mitochondrial Cytb gene, and reconstruct ancestral range distributions across the timetree. Ancestral range reconstruction suggests the complex originated in the Coral Triangle and East Indian Ocean, with subsequent range expansion outward from this region. We suggest that land barriers to dispersal (e.g., Indo-Pacific barrier) may be responsible for the divergence between Indian (P. alleni, P. similis, P. caeruleopunctatus, and P. caeruleus) and Pacific (P. micronesicus, P. auriventris, and P. coelestis) species groups, and subsequent isolation by Pleistocene sea-level fluctuations in certain areas of the Coral Triangle (glacial refugia) may play an important role in the diversification of this species complex. Additionally, our analyses show cryptic lineages within P. micronesicus and highlight the need for comprehensive sampling within and among species to reveal recent speciation events.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Andrew Bentley (University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute) and Ofer Gon (South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity) for providing tissue samples of Pomacentrus caeruleopunctatus (SAIAB 80854 and SAIAB 77347, respectively), and Bruno Frederich for sharing samples of Pomacentrus caeruleus from Madagascar. This study was supported by a grant from the National Science Council of Taiwan ROC (NSC99-2811-M-002-151) to C.F.D.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, 610 Charles E Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Laurie Sorenson & Shang-Yin Vanson Liu

  2. Department of Aquatic Zoology, Western Australian Museum, Locked Bag 49, Welshpool DC, Perth, 6986, Australia

    Gerald R. Allen

  3. Conservation International, Indonesia Marine Program, Jl. Drive Muwardi No. 17, Bali, Indonesia

    Mark V. Erdmann

  4. Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan, ROC

    Chang-Feng Dai

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  1. Laurie Sorenson
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  2. Gerald R. Allen
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Correspondence to Shang-Yin Vanson Liu.

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Communicated by M. Taylor.

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Sorenson, L., Allen, G.R., Erdmann, M.V. et al. Pleistocene diversification of the Pomacentrus coelestis species complex (Pisces: Pomacentridae): historical biogeography and species boundaries. Mar Biol 161, 2495–2507 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-014-2521-8

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