Cryptic diversity of marine gastropod Monodonta labio (Trochidae): did the early Pleistocene glacial isolation and sea surface temperature gradient jointly drive diversification of sister species and/or subspecies in the Northwestern Pacific?

Abstract

AbstractFormation of glacial refugia during the Pleistocene climatic oscillations has been put forward to elucidate the diversification of marine organisms in the north‐western Pacific. The marine gastropod Monodonta labio is one of the most common species in the Northwestern Pacific and possibly possesses cryptic diversity. Here, we investigate the phylogeographic pattern of this species to test the potential mechanisms driving its diversification in the Northwestern Pacific. Genetic information for two mitochondrial genes (Cytochrome oxidase subunit I and 16S rDNA) and one nuclear gene (internal transcribed spacer 1) was acquired to detect genetic structuring and to reconstruct the gastropod's phylogenetic history. Our results revealed that M. labio is comprised of five main clades, and divergence time estimates place their cladogenesis as corresponding to the initiation (c. 2.5 mya) and intensification (c. 0.9 mya) of large‐scale Northern Hemisphere ice sheets. The early and middle Pleistocene divergence times are consistent with the emergence times of the Dongshan land bridge, which would seperate the ancient East China Sea and the ancient South China Sea forming two potential refugia. In addition, the deep trough in the Qiongzhou Strait would possibly act as another potential refugium with the uplift of the Qiongzhou Strait at mid‐Pleistocene. This study suggests that the current genetic architecture of M. labio is probably correlated with glacial isolation and sea surface temperature gradient. We also put forward the possibility that these factors were probably an important driver for the diversification of sister species or subspecies of other taxa in the Northwestern Pacific.