Phylogeography of marine mutualists: parallel patterns of genetic structure between obligate goby and shrimp partners

The survival of many organisms depends on interspecific, mutualistic interactions. Hence, it is important to assess the phylogeography of multiple mutualistic species simultaneously to gain insight into how their metapopulations persist, spread and recover from disturbance. Consequently, we sequenced mitochondrial DNA (cytochrome b ) from a gobiid fish ( Ctenogobiops feroculus ) and its mutualistic partner, an alpheid snapping shrimp ( Alpheus djeddensis ). These obligate mutualists are common in shallow coral reef lagoons, and we collected individuals from 11 Indo‐Pacific islands that were likely exposed to different disturbance histories due to sea level fluctuations associated with glaciation events [geological studies indicate that eastern oceanic islands (Cook Islands, French Polynesia) were more disturbed than western continental plate islands that have deeper, more extensive lagoons (Okinawa, Fiji)]. Both phylogenetic and population genetic analyses indicated that gobies from Okinawa and Fiji were genetically distinct both from each other and those in the Cook Islands and French Polynesia. Shrimp, by contrast, grouped into two distinct genetic groups that showed no geographic structure. Restricting the analysis to one clade of shrimp, which contained two‐thirds of the individuals, showed that these shrimp had very similar phylogeographical structure to the gobies. Mismatch distributions demonstrated that both gobies and shrimp experienced a recent, rapid population expansion into French Polynesia. Finally, nucleotide and haplotype diversities per sample location were significantly correlated between mutualists and tended to be higher on western continental than eastern oceanic islands. Our results suggest that these mutualists recovered from a major disturbance by colonizing South Pacific islands in synchrony.