Abstract
Gammarus roeselii Gervais, 1835 is a morphospecies with a wide distribution range in Europe. The Balkan Peninsula is known as an area of pre-Pleistocene cryptic diversification within this taxon, resulting in at least 13 Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs). The morphospecies diversified there during Neogene and has probably invaded other parts of the continent very recently, in postglacial or even historical times. Thus, the detailed goals of our study were to (1) identify which lineage(s) colonized Central-Western Europe (CWE), (2) determine their possible geographical origin, (3) verify, whether the colonisation was associated with demographic changes. In total, 663 individuals were sequenced for the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) barcoding fragment and 137 individuals for the internal transcribed spacer II (ITS2). We identified two MOTUs in the study area with contrasting Barcode Index Number and haplotype diversities. The Pannonian Basin (PB) appeared to be a potential ice age refugium for the species, while CWE was colonised by a single lineage (also present in PB), displaying low genetic diversity. Our results suggest that G. roeselii is a relatively recent coloniser in CWE, starting demographic expansion around 10 kya.
Highlights
Gammarus roeselii Gervais, 1835 is a morphospecies with a wide distribution range in Europe
The aim of our present study was to examine the phylogeography of G. roeselii in Pannonian Basin (PB) and Central-Western Europe (CWE) in relation to the 13 pre-Pleistocene Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs) recently identified by Grabowski et al.[11] in the Balkan Peninsula
Out of 711 individuals from the Pannonian Basin (PB) and the Central-Western Europe (CWE), 55 cytochrome oxidase I (COI) haplotypes were defined (Table 1; Fig. 2c) which were clustered in Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) into twelve Barcode Index Numbers (BINs) (Fig. 2a,c)
Summary
Gammarus roeselii Gervais, 1835 is a morphospecies with a wide distribution range in Europe. The last Pleistocene glacial period and the subsequent climate warming, has had severe effects on the genetic diversity and distribution of numerous species in E urope[2]. Recent phylogeographic studies have indicated high molecular cryptic diversity within several amphipod morphospecies, with numerous Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs) representing phylogenetic species of pre-Pleistocene d ivergence[13,34]. This is especially true for morphospecies with wide geographic distribution ranges, such as Gammarus balcanicus Schäferna, 192313 and Gammarus fossarum Koch, 183635.
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