Mitochondrial diversity in Gonionemus (Trachylina:Hydrozoa) and its implications for understanding the origins of clinging jellyfish in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean
Determining whether a population is introduced or native to a region can be challenging due to inadequate taxonomy, the presence of cryptic lineages, and poor historical documentation. For taxa with resting stages that bloom episodically, determining origin can be especially challenging as an enviro...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PeerJ Inc.
2017-04-01
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/3205.pdf |
| _version_ | 1827606609504763904 |
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| author | Annette F. Govindarajan Mary R. Carman Marat R. Khaidarov Alexander Semenchenko John P. Wares |
| author_facet | Annette F. Govindarajan Mary R. Carman Marat R. Khaidarov Alexander Semenchenko John P. Wares |
| author_sort | Annette F. Govindarajan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Determining whether a population is introduced or native to a region can be challenging due to inadequate taxonomy, the presence of cryptic lineages, and poor historical documentation. For taxa with resting stages that bloom episodically, determining origin can be especially challenging as an environmentally-triggered abrupt appearance of the taxa may be confused with an anthropogenic introduction. Here, we assess diversity in mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I sequences obtained from multiple Atlantic and Pacific locations, and discuss the implications of our findings for understanding the origin of clinging jellyfish Gonionemus in the Northwest Atlantic. Clinging jellyfish are known for clinging to seagrasses and seaweeds, and have complex life cycles that include resting stages. They are especially notorious as some, although not all, populations are associated with severe sting reactions. The worldwide distribution of Gonionemus has been aptly called a “zoogeographic puzzle” and our results refine rather than resolve the puzzle. We find a relatively deep divergence that may indicate cryptic speciation between Gonionemus from the Northeast Pacific and Northwest Pacific/Northwest Atlantic. Within the Northwest Pacific/Northwest Atlantic clade, we find haplotypes unique to each region. We also find one haplotype that is shared between highly toxic Vladivostok-area populations and some Northwest Atlantic populations. Our results are consistent with multiple scenarios that involve both native and anthropogenic processes. We evaluate each scenario and discuss critical directions for future research, including improving the resolution of population genetic structure, identifying possible lineage admixture, and better characterizing and quantifying the toxicity phenotype. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:40:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4f1394d3aaaf4b58b999db3c632c05eb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:40:08Z |
| publishDate | 2017-04-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-4f1394d3aaaf4b58b999db3c632c05eb2023-12-03T10:51:38ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592017-04-015e320510.7717/peerj.3205Mitochondrial diversity in Gonionemus (Trachylina:Hydrozoa) and its implications for understanding the origins of clinging jellyfish in the Northwest Atlantic OceanAnnette F. Govindarajan0Mary R. Carman1Marat R. Khaidarov2Alexander Semenchenko3John P. Wares4Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, United StatesBiology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, United StatesA.V. Zhirmunsky Institute of Marine Biology, National Scientific Center of Marine Biology Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, RussiaFar Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, RussiaDepartment of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, United StatesDetermining whether a population is introduced or native to a region can be challenging due to inadequate taxonomy, the presence of cryptic lineages, and poor historical documentation. For taxa with resting stages that bloom episodically, determining origin can be especially challenging as an environmentally-triggered abrupt appearance of the taxa may be confused with an anthropogenic introduction. Here, we assess diversity in mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I sequences obtained from multiple Atlantic and Pacific locations, and discuss the implications of our findings for understanding the origin of clinging jellyfish Gonionemus in the Northwest Atlantic. Clinging jellyfish are known for clinging to seagrasses and seaweeds, and have complex life cycles that include resting stages. They are especially notorious as some, although not all, populations are associated with severe sting reactions. The worldwide distribution of Gonionemus has been aptly called a “zoogeographic puzzle” and our results refine rather than resolve the puzzle. We find a relatively deep divergence that may indicate cryptic speciation between Gonionemus from the Northeast Pacific and Northwest Pacific/Northwest Atlantic. Within the Northwest Pacific/Northwest Atlantic clade, we find haplotypes unique to each region. We also find one haplotype that is shared between highly toxic Vladivostok-area populations and some Northwest Atlantic populations. Our results are consistent with multiple scenarios that involve both native and anthropogenic processes. We evaluate each scenario and discuss critical directions for future research, including improving the resolution of population genetic structure, identifying possible lineage admixture, and better characterizing and quantifying the toxicity phenotype.https://peerj.com/articles/3205.pdfClinging jellyfishCryptic marine invasionGonionemusHydrozoa |
| spellingShingle | Annette F. Govindarajan Mary R. Carman Marat R. Khaidarov Alexander Semenchenko John P. Wares Mitochondrial diversity in Gonionemus (Trachylina:Hydrozoa) and its implications for understanding the origins of clinging jellyfish in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean PeerJ Clinging jellyfish Cryptic marine invasion Gonionemus Hydrozoa |
| title | Mitochondrial diversity in Gonionemus (Trachylina:Hydrozoa) and its implications for understanding the origins of clinging jellyfish in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean |
| title_full | Mitochondrial diversity in Gonionemus (Trachylina:Hydrozoa) and its implications for understanding the origins of clinging jellyfish in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean |
| title_fullStr | Mitochondrial diversity in Gonionemus (Trachylina:Hydrozoa) and its implications for understanding the origins of clinging jellyfish in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mitochondrial diversity in Gonionemus (Trachylina:Hydrozoa) and its implications for understanding the origins of clinging jellyfish in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean |
| title_short | Mitochondrial diversity in Gonionemus (Trachylina:Hydrozoa) and its implications for understanding the origins of clinging jellyfish in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean |
| title_sort | mitochondrial diversity in gonionemus trachylina hydrozoa and its implications for understanding the origins of clinging jellyfish in the northwest atlantic ocean |
| topic | Clinging jellyfish Cryptic marine invasion Gonionemus Hydrozoa |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/3205.pdf |
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