Abstract
ABSTRACT Due to the high plasticity of coralline algae, identification based on morphology alone can be extremely difficult, so studies increasingly use a combination of morphology and genetics in species delimitation. A DNA barcoding study was carried out on maerl-forming coralline algae using the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 gene, CO1, and the plastid gene, psbA, on field specimens from Falmouth and Oban together with herbarium specimens from the Natural History Museum, UK, and the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, USA. Results revealed the presence in the north of Britain of a new species, Lithothamnion erinaceum Melbourne & J. Brodie, sp. nov., which was previously misidentified as Lithothamnion glaciale. The results also indicated that Lithothamnion lemoineae, which had earlier been recorded from Britain, was not present. One of the biggest concerns at present is how organisms will respond to climate change and ocean acidification, and it is imperative that investigations are put on a firm taxonomic basis. Our study has highlighted the importance of using molecular techniques to aid in the elucidation of cryptic diversity.
Highlights
Non-geniculate coralline algae are a morphologically diverse group with red pigmentation and calcified cell walls (Cabioch & Giraud, 1986), currently placed in various orders of the subclass Corallinophycidae (Le Gall & Saunders, 2007)
Analysis of CO1 and psbA sequence data of contemporary and historical specimens from Oban and Berwick revealed the presence of both Lithothamnion glaciale and an unidentified species of Lithothamnion, while specimens from Falmouth were identified as either L. corallioides or Phymatolithon calcareum
For psbA, L. corallioides differed from L. glaciale by 34–40 bp and from Lithothamnion sp. and L. lemoineae by 33 and 37 bp respectively (Table 3)
Summary
Non-geniculate coralline algae are a morphologically diverse group with red pigmentation and calcified cell walls (Cabioch & Giraud, 1986), currently placed in various orders of the subclass Corallinophycidae (Le Gall & Saunders, 2007). Non-geniculate coralline algae exist as crusts or free-living thalli (rhodoliths and maerl). Maerl beds are found from high to low latitudes and in the low intertidal zones to 150 m depth (Foster, 2001). With their sensitivity to physical disturbances and slow growth rates (average 1 mm yr– 1) (Freiwald & Henrich, 1994; Blake & Maggs, 2003; Wilson et al, 2004), maerl beds are seen to be ecologically fragile and a non-renewable resource. With the added stressor of climate change these organisms will be under mounting pressure
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