Abstract
Relationships among populations (southeast Atlantic and northern Gulf coast, USA) of a ubiquitous, estuarine, harpacticoid copepod (Microarthridion littorale Poppe) were estimated using sequence data from two loci: one mitochondrial [cytochrome b (Cyt b)] and one nuclear [first internal transcribed spacer of ribosomal DNA (ITS-1)]. Copepods were collected from seven estuaries in 1997/98. Allelic phylogenies based on both genes were generally concordant, and suggested that M. littorale populations are structured over large geographic scales (hundreds of kilometers). Three well-supported groups were found in both gene trees comprising clades of alleles sampled from South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana. Alleles from the Savannah, Georgia sample formed a monophyletic group using the Cyt b data, but this clade was not distinguishable with comparable ITS-1 data. A single specimen from Louisiana was classified in different clades depending on the locus assayed.
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Received: 11 June 1998 / Accepted: 29 April 1999
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Schizas, N., Street, G., Coull, B. et al. Molecular population structure of the marine benthic copepod Microarthridion littorale along the southeastern and Gulf coasts of the USA. Marine Biology 135, 399–405 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002270050640
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002270050640