The annelid Phragmatopoma caudata is a hermatypic species which lives on the rocky coast of the Atlantic Coasts from the Florida to southern Brazil.
Phylogenetic inference supported the interpretation of a single species of Phragmatopoma spanning the Brazilian and Caribbean Provinces of the western Atlantic Region.
Little population structure was observed across the species distribution, with the exception of the Florida population.
The baps analysis supported a 2-population model, with population differentiation being strong and significant between Florida and all other Atlantic populations for cox-1, and significant between Florida and most populations for ITS-1.
Differences in genetic diversity were not significant between Caribbean and Brazilian populations, although several populations in Brazil had low values for diversity indices.
Bayesian skyline plots indicate population expansion starting at c. 200 ka.
Phragmatopoma caudata is able to maintain genetic connectivity across most of its geographical range, with population differentiation being observed only between Florida and all other localities, possibly due to ecological speciation in the transition zone between tropical and subtropical environments.
Long-distance connectivity across much of the species range is likely the result of long-lived larvae that are tolerant to a wide range of environmental conditions.
Phylogeography of the reef-building polychaetes of the genus Phragmatopoma in the western Atlantic Region
Authors: Flavia L.D. Nunes, Alain Van Wormhoudt, Larisse Faroni-Perez, Jérôme Fournier - In : Journal of Biogeography (2017), doi: 10.1111/jbi.12938
Contact: Jérôme Fournier (fournier@mnhn.fr), Researcher CNRS, Team 1 of UMR BOREA
Bioconstruction de Phragmatopoma caudata sur un beach-rock dans le nordeste brésilien (Natal)