Abstract
Barnacles in the genus Chelonibia are commensal with a variety of motile marine animals including sea turtles, crustaceans, and sirenians. We conducted a worldwide molecular phylogenetic survey of Chelonibia collected from nearly all known hosts to assess species relationships, host-fidelity, and phylogeographic structure. Using DNA sequences from a protein-coding mitochondrial gene (COI), a mitochondrial rRNA gene (12S), and one nuclear rRNA gene (28S), we found that of four species, three (C. testudinaria, C. patula, and C. manati) are genetically indistinguishable. In addition, we show each utilizes a rare androdioecious mode of reproduction involving complemental males. In contrast, the fourth species (C. caretta), which is hermaphroditic and specializes on turtles, is genetically distinct—leading to the conclusion that the three former taxa are morphotypes of the same species and should be synonymized under C. testudinaria. Phylogenetic analysis resulted in three geographic clades (Atlantic, Indian Ocean/western Pacific, and eastern Pacific) with haplotype parsimony networks revealing no shared haplotypes among geographic regions. Analysis of molecular variance detected significant differences among sequences by region (p < 0.005); conversely, there were no significant differences among sequences when grouped by host or taxonomic designation. Average pairwise genetic distances were lower between the eastern Pacific and Atlantic clades (0.053 ± 0.006) than between the eastern Pacific and Indian Ocean/western Pacific clades (0.073 ± 0.008), suggesting Atlantic and eastern Pacific populations were connected more recently, perhaps until the rise of the Isthmus of Panama. Host use by Chelonibia morphotypes is discussed along with speculation on possible ancestral hosts and support for a “turtle-first” hypothesis.
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Acknowledgments
We are grateful for the cooperation and assistance of state, federal, and international entities in allowing collection of barnacles from sea turtles and manatees including the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the South Carolina Aquarium, the US Fish and Wildlife Service/Savannah Coastal Refuges, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service, the Queensland Government’s Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, and the Museum of Tropical Queensland. We are also indebted to numerous people who assisted with or made collecting possible or generously provided specimens, including the following: David Addison, Mike Arendt, Ellen Ariel, George Balazs, Ellen Beaumont, Ian Bell, Bob Bonde, Shane Boylan, Joanne Braun-McNeill, Simon Chan, I-Jiunn Cheng, Martine de Wit, Mark Dodd, Marina Fastigi, Allen Foley, Liza Gomez Daglio, April Goodman, DuBose Griffin, Ben Higgins, George Hughes, Martha Keller, David Knott, Kathy LaFauce, Colin Limpus, Dimitris Margaritoulis, Yoshimasa Matsuzawa, Adam McKinnon, Peter Meylan, Antonio Mignucci-Giannoni, Tom Murphy, Terry Norton, Joseph Pfaller, Tony Pizzillo, Robert Prescott, Joshua Reece, ALan Rees, Michelle Schärer, Al Segars, Hiroyuki Suganuma, Kelly Thorvalson, Christina Trapani, David Veljacic, Thane Wibbels, Kristina L. Williams, Minami Yamaguchi, and Patricia Zárate. We thank two anonymous reviewers whose insights and recommendations provided improvements to this paper. Support for this study in the form of sabbatical leave and funding (to JDZ) was generously provided by The Citadel Foundation.
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Zardus, J.D., Lake, D.T., Frick, M.G. et al. Deconstructing an assemblage of “turtle” barnacles: species assignments and fickle fidelity in Chelonibia . Mar Biol 161, 45–59 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-013-2312-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-013-2312-7