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Resource-associated divergence in the arctic marine amphipod Paramphithoe hystrix

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Abstract

Host specialization has played an important role in the speciation of groups such as herbivorous insects and parasitic invertebrates. In this study, we provide evidence for its role in the diversification of the amphipod Paramphithoe hystrix Ross 1835 in Arctic marine waters. This species lives and feeds on the tissues of varied invertebrate hosts that are much larger than itself, including poriferans, hydrozoans and echinoderms, acting as a 'micropredator'. We examined the genetic structure of P. hystrix at sites in the Canadian Arctic where it is represented by a white form found on the light-coloured sea star Solaster endeca, a red form on the pink soft coral Gersemia rubriformis and by a spotted form with an unidentified host. These phenotypes occur in microallopatry, sometimes occupying alternate hosts just a few metres apart. Although their variation in host associates might have arisen from ingested host tissue, our results indicate that these morphs are genetically distinct. Mitochondrial (cytochrome c oxidase I) and nuclear (28S ribosomal RNA) gene sequences, as well as allozyme data all show strong genetic divergence between the three colour morphs, demonstrating their reproductive isolation. These results suggest that P. hystrix is a complex of at least three species, which may have arisen as a result of disruptive selection following host switches. Moreover, the depths of genetic divergence indicate that diversification of this complex was complete prior to the Pleistocene.

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Acknowledgements

Funding for this research was provided by grants from NSERC, the Canada Research Chairs Program, the Polar Continental Shelf Project and the Nunavut Science Institute to PDNH. We thank Jonathan Witt, Jeremy deWaard and David Hardie for assistance with collections and Angela Holliss for sequencing. Jonathan Witt, Melania Cristescu and Shelley Ball provided helpful comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript.

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  1. Kareen E. Schnabel

    Present address: Perry Institute for Marine Science, Caribbean Marine Research Center, Lee Stocking Island, The Bahamas

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada

    Kareen E. Schnabel & Paul D. N. Hebert

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  1. Kareen E. Schnabel
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  2. Paul D. N. Hebert
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Correspondence to Kareen E. Schnabel.

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Communicated by R.J. Thompson, St. John's

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Schnabel, K.E., Hebert, P.D.N. Resource-associated divergence in the arctic marine amphipod Paramphithoe hystrix . Marine Biology 143, 851–857 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-003-1126-4

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