Browsing by Author "Haguenauer, Anne"
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- Fuzzy species limits in Mediterranean gorgonians (Cnidaria, Octocorallia): inferences on speciation processesPublication . Aurelle, Didier; Pivotto, Isabelle D.; Malfant, Marine; Topcu, Nur E.; Masmoudi, Mauatassem B.; Chaoui, Lamya; Kara, Hichem M.; Coelho, Márcio; Castilho, Rita; Haguenauer, AnneThe study of the interplay between speciation and hybridization is of primary importance in evolutionary biology. Octocorals are ecologically important species whose shallow phylogenetic relationships often remain to be studied. In the Mediterranean Sea, three congeneric octocorals can be observed in sympatry: Eunicella verrucosa, Eunicella cavolini and Eunicella singularis. They display morphological differences and E.singularis hosts photosynthetic Symbiodinium, contrary to the two other species. Two nuclear sequence markers were used to study speciation and gene flow between these species, through network analysis and Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC). Shared sequences indicated the possibility of hybridization or incomplete lineage sorting. According to ABC, a scenario of gene flow through secondary contact was the best model to explain these results. At the intraspecific level, neither geographical nor ecological isolation corresponded to distinct genetic lineages in E.cavolini. These results are discussed in the light of the potential role of ecology and genetic incompatibilities in the persistence of species limits.
- On the specific status of eastern mediterranean dendrophyllia corals (Cnidaria, Anthozoa): genetic characterization and speciation scenariosPublication . Aurelle, Didier; Haguenauer, Anne; Blaise, Chloé; Reynes, Lauric; Arnaud‐Haond, Sophie; Boavida, Joana; Cabau, Cédric; Klopp, Christophe; Lundalv, Tomas; Noûs, Camille; Sartoretto, Stéphane; Wienberg, Claudia; Jiménez, Carlos E.; Orejas, CovadongaThe deep-sea corals Dendrophyllia ramea and Dendrophyllia cornigera occur in Mediterranean and Atlantic waters. Both species are found in different environmental conditions, and they can colonize hard and soft substrates. These species then display an important ecological plasticity along with morphological plasticity. Nevertheless, there is a large knowledge gap on the genetic characteristics of the two species, including on the relationships between them and the possibility of cryptic species along their range. The recent discovery of Dendrophyllia populations off Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean Sea raised new questions in this context. These corals were related to D. ramea but had some morphological differences with other known populations of this species. Here, we study the specific status of Dendrophyllia corals from Cyprus on the basis of morphology and genetics. The genetic data are interpreted by comparison with the same analysis performed on two Caryophyllia species. Both morphological and genetic data confirm that corals found off Cyprus belong to the D. ramea species. We further tested the speciation scenario using transcriptome data: the results indicate an absence of current gene flow between D. ramea and D. cornigera and that the divergence occurred more than 3 million years ago. We discuss the possible historical and ecological factors which may have shaped speciation in these species.