Open AccessDeep, hierarchical divergence of mitochondrial DNA in Amplirhagada land snails (Gastropoda: Camaenidae) from the Bonaparte Archipelago, Western Australia
Author(s) -
JOHNSON MICHAEL S.,
O'BRIEN ELEANOR K.,
FITZPATRICK JEREMY J.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
biological journal of the linnean society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.906
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1095-8312
pISSN - 0024-4066
DOI - 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2010.01407.x
Subject(s) - biology , archipelago , gastropoda , mitochondrial dna , ecology , biogeography , land snail , species complex , clade , land bridge , genetic divergence , zoology , phylogenetic tree , biological dispersal , genetics , genetic diversity , gene , population , demography , sociology
Continental islands have experienced cycles of isolation and connection. Although complex genetic patterns have been described for mainland species affected by glacial cycles of isolation, island biotas have received little attention. We examined mitochondrial DNA in Amplirhagada land snails from 16 islands and two adjacent mainland areas of the Bonaparte Archipelago, in the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia. Four major clades, with sequence divergence of 16–27% in the 16S ribosomal RNA gene, correspond to the major geographic groupings, separated by 10–160 km. Distinct lineages also characterize islands that are only a few kilometres apart. The large differences indicate that the lineages are much older than the islands themselves, and show no evidence of geologically recent connection. Three of the major clades match the morphological description of Amplirhagada alta . Either this named species comprises several morphologically cryptic species, or it is a single, genetically very diverse species, distributed over much of the Bonaparte Archipelago. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2010, 100 , 141–153.