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Molecular and morphological data suggest weak phylogeographic structure in the fairy shrimp Streptocephalus torvicornis (Branchiopoda, Anostraca)

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Abstract

Inland aquatic organisms almost ubiquitously display a pattern of marked provincialism characterized by substantial population differentiation and genealogical discontinuities. This is the result of strong priority effects and local adaptation following dispersal and colonization of new habitats. We present a case that defies this biogeographic paradigm. We have investigated the phylogeography of the fairy shrimp Streptocephalus torvicornis across its circum-Mediterranean and Eurasian distribution. Based on three independent datasets, namely sequence variation at 12S and 16S rRNA, cyst morphology and male second antenna characters, we discern a pattern of extensive genetic and morphological homogeneity pointing to unhindered gene flow and widespread connectivity among populations. These intriguing findings may provisionally be explained by (i) a high dispersal frequency overwhelming the ability of a population to maintain resource monopolization, (ii) an outbreeding vigour opportunity offered to secondary immigrants, (iii) an ecological equivalence of genotypes generating long-term immigration–extinction equilibria and buffering genetic diversity over spatial scales, (iv) enhanced bird-mediated dispersal in open habitats as opposed to ponds surrounded by forests or shrub, or (v) a shallow population history with little time for substantial genetic differentiation.

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Acknowledgements

This article is dedicated to the memory of Graziella Mura who initiated the Streptocephalus project, coordinated it passionately but regrettably did not manage to see it complete. She has been a real friend and a mentor for all of us and we will always remember her. We would like to thank Dani Boix (University of Girona), Massoud Seidgar (University of Teheran), Juan Garcia de Lomas (University of Cadiz), Brigita Petrov (University of Belgrade), László Demeter (Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania) and Stanislaw Malavin (Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg) for kindly providing samples.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Genetics, Development & Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Ilias Kappas, Dimitra Synefiaridou & Theodore J. Abatzopoulos

  2. Department of Animal and Human Biology, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Viale dell’Università 32, 00185, Rome, Italy

    Graziella Mura

  3. Molecular Genetics Group, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, Centre for Synthetic Biology, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Dimitra Synefiaridou

  4. Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche, Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, Università di Palermo, via Archirafi 18, 90123, Palermo, Italy

    Federico Marrone

  5. University of Salento – Di.S.Te.B.A., s.p. Lecce-Monteroni, 73100, Lecce, Italy

    Giuseppe Alfonso

  6. Department of Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Avda Diagonal 643, E-08028, Barcelona, Spain

    Miguel Alonso

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  1. Ilias Kappas
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  2. Graziella Mura
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  3. Dimitra Synefiaridou
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  4. Federico Marrone
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  5. Giuseppe Alfonso
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  6. Miguel Alonso
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  7. Theodore J. Abatzopoulos
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Correspondence to Ilias Kappas.

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Guest editors: Federico Marrone, D. Christopher Rogers, Paola Zarattini & Luigi Naselli-Flores / New Challenges in Anostracan Research: a Tribute to Graziella Mura

Graziella Mura—Deceased March 23 2016.

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10750_2017_3203_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Measurements of body length and 16 morphological characters of the male second antenna (biometry_S.torv_males.pdf) (PDF 37 kb)

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Kappas, I., Mura, G., Synefiaridou, D. et al. Molecular and morphological data suggest weak phylogeographic structure in the fairy shrimp Streptocephalus torvicornis (Branchiopoda, Anostraca). Hydrobiologia 801, 21–32 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-017-3203-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-017-3203-6

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