Phylogeography of the reef fish Cephalopholis argus (Epinephelidae) indicates Pleistocene isolation across the Indo-Pacific Barrier with contemporary overlap in The Coral Triangle.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The Coral Triangle (CT), bounded by the Philippines, the Malay Peninsula, and New Guinea, is the epicenter of marine biodiversity. Hypotheses that explain the source of this rich biodiversity include 1) the center of origin, 2) the center of accumulation, and 3) the region of overlap. Here we contribute to the debate with a phylogeographic survey of a widely distributed reef fish, the Peacock Grouper (Cephalopholis argus; Epinephelidae) at 21 locations (N = 550) using DNA sequence data from mtDNA cytochrome b and two nuclear introns (gonadotropin-releasing hormone and S7 ribosomal protein).

Results

Population structure was significant (ΦST = 0.297, P < 0.001; FST = 0.078, P < 0.001; FST = 0.099, P < 0.001 for the three loci, respectively) among five regions: Frenc

SUBMITTER: Gaither MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3145601 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature