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"Nested" cryptic diversity in a widespread marine ecosystem engineer: a challenge for detecting biological invasions

"Nested" cryptic diversity in a widespread marine ecosystem engineer: a challenge for detecting biological invasions
"Nested" cryptic diversity in a widespread marine ecosystem engineer: a challenge for detecting biological invasions
Background
Ecosystem engineers facilitate habitat formation and enhance biodiversity, but when they become invasive, they present a critical threat to native communities because they can drastically alter the receiving habitat. Management of such species thus needs to be a priority, but the poorly resolved taxonomy of many ecosystem engineers represents a major obstacle to correctly identifying them as being either native or introduced. We address this dilemma by studying the sea squirt Pyura stolonifera, an important ecosystem engineer that dominates coastal communities particularly in the southern hemisphere. Using DNA sequence data from four independently evolving loci, we aimed to determine levels of cryptic diversity, the invasive or native status of each regional population, and the most appropriate sampling design for identifying the geographic ranges of each evolutionary unit.

Results
Extensive sampling in Africa, Australasia and South America revealed the existence of "nested" levels of cryptic diversity, in which at least five distinct species can be further subdivided into smaller-scale genetic lineages. The ranges of several evolutionary units are limited by well-documented biogeographic disjunctions. Evidence for both cryptic native diversity and the existence of invasive populations allows us to considerably refine our view of the native versus introduced status of the evolutionary units within Pyura stolonifera in the different coastal communities they dominate.

Conclusions
This study illustrates the degree of taxonomic complexity that can exist within widespread species for which there is little taxonomic expertise, and it highlights the challenges involved in distinguishing between indigenous and introduced populations. The fact that multiple genetic lineages can be native to a single geographic region indicates that it is imperative to obtain samples from as many different habitat types and biotic zones as possible when attempting to identify the source region of a putative invader. "Nested" cryptic diversity, and the difficulties in correctly identifying invasive species that arise from it, represent a major challenge for managing biodiversity.
1471-2148
176
Teske, Peter R.
a85ccc74-7aa3-424c-bf48-2caaecbe0e70
Rius, Marc
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McQuaid, Christopher D.
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Styan, Craig A.
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Piggott, Maxine P.
4a6873b6-63d2-4015-92ed-031db8ecc58b
Benhissoune, Saïd
9b843dde-de83-43d1-96f3-4d8407772b3c
Fuentes-Grünewald, Claudio
66ef9a59-7797-47d6-9f87-f998f028e03b
Walls, Kathy
2651bb36-a553-4b98-982c-e79bf0d1f9b4
Page, Mike
65f0e22f-fa5f-400b-9d9f-439958c48873
Attard, Catherine R.M.
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Cooke, Georgina M.
a40e1ed5-a87f-44d3-a4c6-b59bf607b53f
McClusky, Claire F.
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Banks, Sam C.
d2aa3c65-6ea6-4aca-9185-41158dfdef59
Barker, Nigel P.
4f0d1658-4de9-45e9-ab57-ef67ebb41550
Beheregaray, Luciano B.
71880bc5-03e5-4635-9f14-1c04b79b60d3
Teske, Peter R.
a85ccc74-7aa3-424c-bf48-2caaecbe0e70
Rius, Marc
c4e88345-4b4e-4428-b4b2-37229155f68d
McQuaid, Christopher D.
97f8c217-f30c-405c-8cf3-f616208b5008
Styan, Craig A.
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Piggott, Maxine P.
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Benhissoune, Saïd
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Fuentes-Grünewald, Claudio
66ef9a59-7797-47d6-9f87-f998f028e03b
Walls, Kathy
2651bb36-a553-4b98-982c-e79bf0d1f9b4
Page, Mike
65f0e22f-fa5f-400b-9d9f-439958c48873
Attard, Catherine R.M.
be923669-0ba1-440c-ba96-71700dc44aab
Cooke, Georgina M.
a40e1ed5-a87f-44d3-a4c6-b59bf607b53f
McClusky, Claire F.
70d6f86c-2870-44c1-8cbb-46406a5c86d1
Banks, Sam C.
d2aa3c65-6ea6-4aca-9185-41158dfdef59
Barker, Nigel P.
4f0d1658-4de9-45e9-ab57-ef67ebb41550
Beheregaray, Luciano B.
71880bc5-03e5-4635-9f14-1c04b79b60d3

Teske, Peter R., Rius, Marc, McQuaid, Christopher D., Styan, Craig A., Piggott, Maxine P., Benhissoune, Saïd, Fuentes-Grünewald, Claudio, Walls, Kathy, Page, Mike, Attard, Catherine R.M., Cooke, Georgina M., McClusky, Claire F., Banks, Sam C., Barker, Nigel P. and Beheregaray, Luciano B. (2011) "Nested" cryptic diversity in a widespread marine ecosystem engineer: a challenge for detecting biological invasions. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 11 (1), 176. (doi:10.1186/1471-2148-11-176).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Background
Ecosystem engineers facilitate habitat formation and enhance biodiversity, but when they become invasive, they present a critical threat to native communities because they can drastically alter the receiving habitat. Management of such species thus needs to be a priority, but the poorly resolved taxonomy of many ecosystem engineers represents a major obstacle to correctly identifying them as being either native or introduced. We address this dilemma by studying the sea squirt Pyura stolonifera, an important ecosystem engineer that dominates coastal communities particularly in the southern hemisphere. Using DNA sequence data from four independently evolving loci, we aimed to determine levels of cryptic diversity, the invasive or native status of each regional population, and the most appropriate sampling design for identifying the geographic ranges of each evolutionary unit.

Results
Extensive sampling in Africa, Australasia and South America revealed the existence of "nested" levels of cryptic diversity, in which at least five distinct species can be further subdivided into smaller-scale genetic lineages. The ranges of several evolutionary units are limited by well-documented biogeographic disjunctions. Evidence for both cryptic native diversity and the existence of invasive populations allows us to considerably refine our view of the native versus introduced status of the evolutionary units within Pyura stolonifera in the different coastal communities they dominate.

Conclusions
This study illustrates the degree of taxonomic complexity that can exist within widespread species for which there is little taxonomic expertise, and it highlights the challenges involved in distinguishing between indigenous and introduced populations. The fact that multiple genetic lineages can be native to a single geographic region indicates that it is imperative to obtain samples from as many different habitat types and biotic zones as possible when attempting to identify the source region of a putative invader. "Nested" cryptic diversity, and the difficulties in correctly identifying invasive species that arise from it, represent a major challenge for managing biodiversity.

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More information

Published date: June 2011
Organisations: Ocean Biochemistry & Ecosystems

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 354673
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/354673
ISSN: 1471-2148
PURE UUID: 03e3d899-d9b2-457d-abfe-9f8ee1041b65

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Date deposited: 17 Jul 2013 10:56
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 14:22

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Contributors

Author: Peter R. Teske
Author: Marc Rius
Author: Christopher D. McQuaid
Author: Craig A. Styan
Author: Maxine P. Piggott
Author: Saïd Benhissoune
Author: Claudio Fuentes-Grünewald
Author: Kathy Walls
Author: Mike Page
Author: Catherine R.M. Attard
Author: Georgina M. Cooke
Author: Claire F. McClusky
Author: Sam C. Banks
Author: Nigel P. Barker
Author: Luciano B. Beheregaray

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