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Molecular and morphological analyses of the cuttlefish Sepia apama indicate a complex population structure

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Abstract

The giant Australian cuttlefish Sepia apama Gray, 1849 annually forms a massive and unique spawning aggregation in northern Spencer Gulf, South Australia, which has attracted commercial fishing interests in recent years. However, many basic life-history characteristics of S. apama are unknown, and anecdotal evidence suggests that there is more than one species. The present study assessed the population structure and species status of S. apama using data from allozyme electrophoresis, microsatellite loci, nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial COXIII gene, multivariate morphometrics and colour patterns. Analyses of allozyme and microsatellite allele frequencies revealed two very divergent but geographically separated populations consisting of specimens from the east coast and southern Australia. However, the presence of a heterozygote in a putative contact zone between the east coast and southern Australia suggested that these populations were not reproductively isolated. Mitochondrial haplotypes seem to have introgressed further north into the contact zone than have nuclear alleles. Differences in colour patterns that previously had been attributed anecdotally to different geographic populations were, in fact, correlated with sexual dimorphism. These data are most consistent with S. apama being one species the populations of which were geographically isolated in the past (historical vicariance) and have come into secondary contact. Comparison of microsatellite allele frequencies among four South Australian samples indicated significant deviations from panmixia. South Australian samples were also reliably diagnosed by means of multivariate morphometrics. Significant differences in mantle length were observed among populations.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the FRDC project number 98/151. We thank L. Triantafillos, R. Clementson, J. Brace, K. Rowling, H. Malcolm, J. North, J. Haddy, N. Kirby and E. Sporer for their assistance with the collection of samples, and K. Saint and T. Bertozzi for support with laboratory work. The experiments conducted in this project comply with Australian law.

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  1. K. C. Hall

    Present address: Department of Environmental Biology, University of Adelaide, North Terrace, 5005, Adelaide, SA, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Biology, University of Adelaide, North Terrace, 5005, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    K. S. Kassahn

  2. Evolutionary Biology Unit, South Australian Museum, North Terrace, 5000, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    S. C. Donnellan & M. Adams

  3. SARDI Aquatic Sciences, 2 Hamra Avenue, 5024, West Beach, SA, Australia

    A. J. Fowler & K. C. Hall

  4. Environmental and Evolutionary Biology Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of London, Royal Holloway, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, UK

    P. W. Shaw

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  1. K. S. Kassahn
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Correspondence to S. C. Donnellan.

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Communicated by M.S. Johnson, Crawley

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Kassahn, K.S., Donnellan, S.C., Fowler, A.J. et al. Molecular and morphological analyses of the cuttlefish Sepia apama indicate a complex population structure. Marine Biology 143, 947–962 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-003-1141-5

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