Highly contrasted population genetic structures in a host-parasite pair in the Caribbean Sea.

Bruno David,Mathieu Bauwens,Sébastien Motreuil,Thierry Rigaud,Harilaos A. Lessios,Rémi A. Wattier,Chantal De Ridder,Quentin Jossart

doi:10.1002/ece3.3413

Abstract

Evolution and population genetic structure of marine species across the Caribbean Sea are shaped by two complex factors: the geological history and the present pattern of marine currents. Characterizing and comparing the genetic structures of codistributed species, such as host–parasite associations, allow discriminating the relative importance of environmental factors and life history traits that influenced gene flow and demographic events. Using microsatellite and Cytochrome Oxidase I markers, we investigated if a host–parasite pair (the heart urchin Meoma ventricosa and its parasitic pea crab Dissodactylus primitivus) exhibits comparable population genetic structures in the Caribbean Sea and how the observed patterns match connectivity regions from predictive models and other taxa. Highly contrasting patterns were found: the host showed genetic homogeneity across the whole studied area, whereas the parasite displayed significant differentiation at regional and local scales. The genetic diversity of the parasitic crabs (both in microsatellites and COI) was distributed in two main groups, Panama–Jamaica–St Croix on the one hand, and the South‐Eastern Caribbean on the other. At a smaller geographical scale, Panamanian and Jamaican parasite populations were genetically more similar, while more genetic differentiation was found within the Lesser Antilles. Both species showed a signature of population expansion during the Quaternary. Some results match predictive models or data from previous studies (e.g., the Western‐Eastern dichotomy in the parasite) while others do not (e.g., genetic differentiation within the Lesser Antilles). The sharp dissimilarity of genetic structure of these codistributed species outlines the importance of population expansion events and/or contrasted patterns of gene flow. This might be linked to differences in several life history traits such as fecundity (higher for the host), swimming capacity of larval stages (higher for the parasite), and habitat availability (higher for the host).

Highlights

The history and dynamics of marine populations living in the Caribbean Sea have been shaped both by patterns of ocean circulation and geological events
We investigated the genetic variation of this host–parasite association to determine how past and recent ecological contexts shape the population structure of M. ventricosa and D. primitivus
Using partial sequences of Cytochrome Oxidase subunit I (COI) and microsatellites, we addressed the following questions: (1) Do host and parasite exhibit comparable genetic structures? (2) Do these structures correspond to the connectivity regions from predictive models in the Caribbean area? (3) What are the respective contributions of Quaternary sea levels fluctuations (Clark et al, 2009), of present pattern of marine currents, and of differences in life-h istory traits in explaining the crab and sea urchin demographic history or gene flow patterns?

Summary

| INTRODUCTION

The history and dynamics of marine populations living in the Caribbean Sea have been shaped both by patterns of ocean circulation and geological events. The association is rather obligatory (the adult crabs live both on the sea urchin body and in the sediment just beneath, De Bruyn et al, 2016), it is specific (only two host species are used, and M. ventricosa is the only host harboring juvenile crabs, De Bruyn, David, De Ridder, & Rigaud, 2010) and nonpermanent (larval stages are free) Both M. ventricosa and D. primitivus have pelagic larvae and are prone to dispersal by marine currents (Emlet, McEdward, & Strathmann, 1987; Pohle & Telford, 1983). Using partial sequences of Cytochrome Oxidase subunit I (COI) and microsatellites, we addressed the following questions: (1) Do host and parasite exhibit comparable genetic structures? (2) Do these structures correspond to the connectivity regions from predictive models in the Caribbean area? (3) What are the respective contributions of Quaternary sea levels fluctuations (Clark et al, 2009), of present pattern of marine currents, and of differences in life-h istory traits in explaining the crab and sea urchin demographic history or gene flow patterns?

| MATERIALS AND METHODS

Findings

| DISCUSSION