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Geographical subdivision, demographic history and gene flow in two sympatric species of intertidal snails, Nerita scabricosta and Nerita funiculata, from the tropical eastern Pacific

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Abstract

The patchy distribution of rocky intertidal communities in the tropical eastern Pacific (TEP) may impose severe constraints on the genetic connectivity among populations of marine invertebrates associated with this habitat. In this study, we analyzed a portion of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene in two sympatric species of marine snails, Nerita scabricosta and Nerita funiculata, common inhabitants of the rocky intertidal from the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez) and outer Pacific coast of the southern Baja California (Baja) peninsula to northern South America, to assess genetic connectivity among populations of each species. One of our aims was to determine whether the morphological, behavioral, and ecological differences observed among populations of both species throughout their range in the TEP corresponded to population genetic differences. In addition, we were interested in elucidating the demographic history of both species. We found no evidence of genetic structure throughout the Gulf of California and outer coast of the Baja peninsula region for either species. Comparisons between Gulf of California/Baja and Panama populations, however, showed significant genetic differentiation for N. scabricosta, but not for N. funiculata. The genetic differences between Mexican and Panamanian populations of N. scabricosta were consistent with previously reported ecological and behavioral differences for this species between these two distant regions. However, previously reported size differences between northern and central/southern Gulf of California individuals of N. scabricosta do not correspond with our findings of genetic connectivity among these populations. Results from neutrality tests (Tajima’s D and Fu’s FS), the mismatch distribution, and Bayesian skyline analyses suggested that both species have experienced dramatic population expansions dating to the Pleistocene.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Mariana Mateos, Rick Grosberg, Geerat Vermeij, and Wain Evans for their helpful suggestions on the manuscript and/or study, and M. Mateos and Harilaos Lessios for collecting specimens. This study was supported by National Science Foundation grants HR-0123325, DEB-9510645 and DEB-0346773 to T.A. Markow and IBN-0416713 to R. Grosberg, and a grant of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to R. Grosberg.

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  1. L. A. Hurtado

    Present address: Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, 310 Biosciences West, Tucson, AZ, 85721-0088, USA

    L. A. Hurtado, P. Gaube & T. A. Markow

  2. Center for Population Biology, Section of Evolution and Ecology, University of California Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    M. Frey

  3. Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, A.C., Unidad Guaymas, Apartado Postal 284, Guaymas, Sonora, 85480, Mexico

    E. Pfeiler

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Correspondence to T. A. Markow.

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Communicated by P.W. Sammarco.

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Hurtado, L.A., Frey, M., Gaube, P. et al. Geographical subdivision, demographic history and gene flow in two sympatric species of intertidal snails, Nerita scabricosta and Nerita funiculata, from the tropical eastern Pacific. Mar Biol 151, 1863–1873 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-007-0620-5

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