Ecomorph or endangered coral? DNA and microstructure reveal hawaiian species complexes: Montipora dilatata/flabellata/turgescens & M. patula/verrilli.

ABSTRACT: M. dilatata, M. flabellata, and M. patula and 80 other scleractinian corals were petitioned to be listed under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA), which would have major conservation implications. One of the difficulties with this evaluation is that reproductive boundaries between morphologically defined coral species are often permeable, and morphology can be wildly variable. We examined genetic and morphological variation in Hawaiian Montipora with a suite of molecular markers (mitochondrial: COI, CR, Cyt-B, 16S, ATP6; nuclear: ATPsβ, ITS) and microscopic skeletal measurements. Mitochondrial markers and the ITS region revealed four distinct clades: I) M. patula/M. verrilli, II) M. cf. incrassata, III) M. capitata, IV) M. dilatata/M. flabellata/M. cf. turgescens. These clades are likely

SUBMITTER: Forsman ZH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2996308 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature