Molecular assessment of Pocillopora verrucosa (Scleractinia; Pocilloporidae) distribution along a depth gradient in Ludao, Taiwan

PeerJ

article

Stéphane De Palmas¹  Derek Soto¹  Vianney Denis⁴  Ming-Jay Ho²  Chaolun Allen Chen² 

[1] Biodiversity Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica and National Taiwan Normal University;Biodiversity Research Center;Department of Life Science, National Taiwan Normal University;Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University;Green Island Marine Research Station

关键词: Molecular ecology;    Deep reef refugia hypothesis;    Coral taxonomy;    Pocilloporids;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.5797

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

It can be challenging to identify scleractinian corals from the genus Pocillopora Lamarck 1816 in the field because of their large range of inter- and intra-specific morphological variation that co-occur with changes in the physical environment. This task is made more arduous in the context of a depth gradient, where light and water current could greatly affect the morphology of the corallum. Pocillopora verrucosa (Ellis & Solander 1786) in Taiwan was previously reported exclusively from shallow waters (40 m in depth) questions this bathymetric distribution. We used the mitochondrial open reading frame and the histone 3 molecular markers to investigate the vertical and horizontal spatial distribution of P. verrucosa around Ludao (Green Island), Taiwan. We genotyped 101 P. verrucosa-like colonies collected from four depth zones, ranging from 7 to 45 m, at three sites around the island. Of the 101 colonies sampled, 85 were genotyped as P. verrucosa, 15 as P. meandrina, and one specimen as an undescribed Pocillopora species. P. verrucosa was found at all depths, while P. meandrina and the undescribed Pocillopora specimen were limited to 15 m depth. P. verrucosa has a large bathymetric distribution around Ludao and could benefit from the refuge that the mesophotic zone offers. This study illustrates the difficulty of identifying Pocillopora corals in the field and emphasizes the relevance of molecular taxonomy as an important and complementary tool to traditional taxonomy for clarifying vertical and horizontal species distribution. Our results also illustrate the need in conservation biology to target species genetic diversity rather than just species diversity.

【 授权许可】

CC BY