Dominance of the coral Pocillopora acuta around Phuket Island in the Andaman Sea, Thailand
Abstract Pocillopora damicornis (Linnaeus, 1758), a species complex, consists of several genetic lineages, some of which likely represent reproductively isolated species, including the species Pocillopora acuta Lamarck, 1816. Pocillopora acuta can exhibit similar morphological characteristics as P....
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10724 |
| _version_ | 1797448619561844736 |
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| author | Anna Fiesinger Christoph Held Andrea L. Schmidt Lalita Putchim Frank Melzner Marlene Wall |
| author_facet | Anna Fiesinger Christoph Held Andrea L. Schmidt Lalita Putchim Frank Melzner Marlene Wall |
| author_sort | Anna Fiesinger |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Pocillopora damicornis (Linnaeus, 1758), a species complex, consists of several genetic lineages, some of which likely represent reproductively isolated species, including the species Pocillopora acuta Lamarck, 1816. Pocillopora acuta can exhibit similar morphological characteristics as P. damicornis, thus making it difficult to identify species‐level taxonomic units. To determine whether the P. damicornis‐like colonies on the reefs in the Andaman Sea (previously often identified as P. damicornis) consist of different species, we sampled individual colonies at five sites along a 50 km coastal stretch at Phuket Island and four island sites towards Krabi Province, Thailand. We sequenced 210 coral samples for the mitochondrial open reading frame and identified six distinct haplotypes, all belonging to P. acuta according to the literature. Recently, P. acuta was observed to efficiently recolonize heat‐damaged reefs in Thailand as well as globally, making it a potentially important coral species in future reefs. Specifically in the light of global change, this study underscores the importance of high‐resolution molecular species recognition, since taxonomic units are important factors for population genetic studies, and the latter are crucial for management and conservation efforts. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T14:14:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c07f8d7499bc4f44b571ea8698c17988 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T14:14:05Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-c07f8d7499bc4f44b571ea8698c179882023-11-29T05:44:08ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582023-11-011311n/an/a10.1002/ece3.10724Dominance of the coral Pocillopora acuta around Phuket Island in the Andaman Sea, ThailandAnna Fiesinger0Christoph Held1Andrea L. Schmidt2Lalita Putchim3Frank Melzner4Marlene Wall5GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel Kiel GermanyAlfred‐Wegener‐Institut Helmholtz‐Zentrum für Polar‐ und Meeresforschung Bremerhaven GermanyGEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel Kiel GermanyPhuket Marine Biological Centre Phuket ThailandGEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel Kiel GermanyGEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel Kiel GermanyAbstract Pocillopora damicornis (Linnaeus, 1758), a species complex, consists of several genetic lineages, some of which likely represent reproductively isolated species, including the species Pocillopora acuta Lamarck, 1816. Pocillopora acuta can exhibit similar morphological characteristics as P. damicornis, thus making it difficult to identify species‐level taxonomic units. To determine whether the P. damicornis‐like colonies on the reefs in the Andaman Sea (previously often identified as P. damicornis) consist of different species, we sampled individual colonies at five sites along a 50 km coastal stretch at Phuket Island and four island sites towards Krabi Province, Thailand. We sequenced 210 coral samples for the mitochondrial open reading frame and identified six distinct haplotypes, all belonging to P. acuta according to the literature. Recently, P. acuta was observed to efficiently recolonize heat‐damaged reefs in Thailand as well as globally, making it a potentially important coral species in future reefs. Specifically in the light of global change, this study underscores the importance of high‐resolution molecular species recognition, since taxonomic units are important factors for population genetic studies, and the latter are crucial for management and conservation efforts.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10724biodiversityhaplotypesIndian OceanPocilloporaspecies delimitationspecies diversity |
| spellingShingle | Anna Fiesinger Christoph Held Andrea L. Schmidt Lalita Putchim Frank Melzner Marlene Wall Dominance of the coral Pocillopora acuta around Phuket Island in the Andaman Sea, Thailand Ecology and Evolution biodiversity haplotypes Indian Ocean Pocillopora species delimitation species diversity |
| title | Dominance of the coral Pocillopora acuta around Phuket Island in the Andaman Sea, Thailand |
| title_full | Dominance of the coral Pocillopora acuta around Phuket Island in the Andaman Sea, Thailand |
| title_fullStr | Dominance of the coral Pocillopora acuta around Phuket Island in the Andaman Sea, Thailand |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dominance of the coral Pocillopora acuta around Phuket Island in the Andaman Sea, Thailand |
| title_short | Dominance of the coral Pocillopora acuta around Phuket Island in the Andaman Sea, Thailand |
| title_sort | dominance of the coral pocillopora acuta around phuket island in the andaman sea thailand |
| topic | biodiversity haplotypes Indian Ocean Pocillopora species delimitation species diversity |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10724 |
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