Barcoding Techniques Help Tracking the Evolutionary History of the Introduced Species Pennaria disticha (Hydrozoa, Cnidaria).

ABSTRACT: The Christmas tree hydroid Pennaria disticha is listed as one of the most common introduced species in Hawaii. Firstly reported in Kaneohe Bay (Oahu) in 1928, it is now established throughout the entire archipelago, including the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, a U.S. National Monument and World Heritage site. The Hawaiian population of P. disticha has also been reported as being the source of further introductions to Palmyra Atoll in the U.S. Line Islands. Using a phylogenetic hypothesis based on a 611 base pair fragment of the mitochondrial 16S barcoding gene, we demonstrate that P. disticha is a complex of cryptic species, rather than one species with cosmopolitan distribution. We also show that in Hawaii there are three species of Pennaria, rather than one introduced species. Two of the

SUBMITTER: Miglietta MP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4687645 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature