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Systematics, phylogeny and biogeography
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Vicariance and cryptic diversity revealed by molecular phylogenetic analyses of estuarine Gammarus species (Crustacea: Amphipoda) due to formation of the Labrador Current

Liyah Smith A B , Richard A. Long https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2204-9951 A B , Andrew G. Cannizzaro https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1280-1131 C and Thomas R. Sawicki https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7087-3577 A B *
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Biological Sciences, Florida A&M University (FAMU), Tallahassee, FL 32307, USA.

B NOAA Center for Coastal and Marine Ecosystems, FAMU, Tallahassee, FL 32307, USA.

C Department of Biology, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA.

* Correspondence to: thomas.sawicki@famu.edu

Handling Editor: Jo Wolfe

Invertebrate Systematics 38, IS24003 https://doi.org/10.1071/IS24003
Submitted: 5 January 2024  Accepted: 13 March 2024  Published: 16 April 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing.

Abstract

The metapopulation of the estuarine species Gammarus tigrinus along the east coast of the United States has been hypothesised to represent two cryptic species divided biogeographically off the coast of North Carolina, USA. This divergence has been attributed to a strong temperature gradient created by the formation of the cold Labrador Current c. 3.0 million years ago. In addition, the northern phylogeographic clade of G. tigrinus has been demonstrated to be invasive in estuarine habitats across a large portion of northern Europe. Recent collections of G. tigrinus from Florida and Maryland, USA, allow for new approaches to test this hypothesis. Using the nuclear 18S and 28S rRNA, and mitochondrial 16S rRNA and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I genes, species delimitation models provide support that the genetic divergence of the northern and southern clades is equivalent to species level. In addition, molecular clock data demonstrate that this phylogeographic divergence coincides with the formation of the Labrador Current. Furthermore, the collections of G. daiberi from Florida, a species with biogeographical and ecological characteristics similar to those of G. tigrinus, provide independent support for the hypothesis. The potential for invasive species to be cryptic highlights the need for accurate identification of taxa to ensure that appropriate biogeographical assessment of potential source populations and mechanisms of dispersal can be made.

Keywords: biogeography, cryptic species, Gammaridae, Gammarus tigrinus, invasive species, Labrador Current, phylogenetics, vicariance.

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