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Abstract
Comparative phylogeography has become a powerful approach in exploring hidden or cryptic diversity within widespread species and understanding how historical and biogeographical factors shape the modern patterns of their distribution. Most comparative phylogeographic studies so far focus on terrestrial and vertebrate taxa, while aquatic invertebrates (and especially freshwater invertebrates) remain unstudied. In this article, we explore and compare the patterns of molecular diversity and phylogeographic structure of four widespread freshwater copepod crustaceans in European water bodies: the harpacticoids Attheyella crassa, Canthocamptus staphylinus and Nitokra hibernica, and the cyclopoid Eucyclops serrulatus, using sequence data from mtDNA COI and nuclear ITS/18S rRNA genes. The three taxa A. crassa, C. staphylinus and E. serrulatus each consist of deeply diverged clusters and are deemed to represent complexes of species with largely (but not completely) non-overlapping distributions, while in N. hibernica only little differentiation was found, which may however reflect the geographically more restricted sampling. However, the geographical patterns of subdivision differ. The divisions in A. crassa and E. serrulatus follow an east–west pattern in Northern Europe whereas that in C. staphylinus has more of a north–south pattern, with a distinct Fennoscandian clade. The deep mitochondrial splits among populations of A. crassa, C. staphylinus and E. serrulatus (model-corrected distances 26–36%) suggest that divergence of the lineages predate the Pleistocene glaciations. This study provides an insight into cryptic diversity and biogeographic distribution of freshwater copepods.
Highlights
Introduction published maps and institutional affilFreshwater animals generally comprise well-defined populations separated by unsuitable habitats and geographical barriers, and often manifest remarkable intraspecific diversity, facilitated by limited gene flow between populations [1]
This study provides an insight into cryptic diversity and biogeographic distribution of freshwater copepods
Apart from investigations of freshwater fishes [2] and other macroscopic taxa [3], studies on the phylogeny of smaller freshwater crustaceans, such as cladocerans [4,5,6], isopods [7], amphipods [8,9,10], and copepods [11] have demonstrated the presence of hidden genetic diversity and occurrence of cryptic species across presumed conspecific populations
Summary
Freshwater animals generally comprise well-defined populations separated by unsuitable habitats and geographical barriers, and often manifest remarkable intraspecific diversity, facilitated by limited gene flow between populations [1]. Studies on the genetic diversity of widespread freshwater taxa, largely applying DNA barcoding methods, are increasingly revealing complex patterns of cryptic variation. Apart from investigations of freshwater fishes [2] and other macroscopic taxa [3], studies on the phylogeny of smaller freshwater crustaceans, such as cladocerans [4,5,6], isopods [7], amphipods [8,9,10], and copepods [11] have demonstrated the presence of hidden genetic diversity and occurrence of cryptic species across presumed conspecific populations.
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