Research Article |
Corresponding author: Anna M. Jażdżewska ( anna.jazdzewska@biol.uni.lodz.pl ) Academic editor: Jörundur Svavarsson
© 2018 Anna M. Jażdżewska, Laure Corbari, Amy Driskell, Inmaculada Frutos, Charlotte Havermans, Ed Hendrycks, Lauren Hughes, Anne-Nina Lörz, Bente Stransky, Anne Helene S. Tandberg, Wim Vader, Saskia Brix.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Jażdżewska AM, Corbari L, Driskell A, Frutos I, Havermans C, Hendrycks E, Hughes L, Lörz A-N, Stransky B, Tandberg AHS, Vader W, Brix S (2018) A genetic fingerprint of Amphipoda from Icelandic waters – the baseline for further biodiversity and biogeography studies. In: Brix S, Lörz A-N, Stransky B, Svavarsson J (Eds) Amphipoda from the IceAGE-project (Icelandic marine Animals: Genetics and Ecology). ZooKeys 731: 55–73. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.731.19931
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Amphipods constitute an abundant part of Icelandic deep-sea zoobenthos yet knowledge of the diversity of this fauna, particularly at the molecular level, is scarce. The present work aims to use molecular methods to investigate genetic variation of the Amphipoda sampled during two IceAGE collecting expeditions. The mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) of 167 individuals originally assigned to 75 morphospecies was analysed. These targeted morhospecies were readily identifiable by experts using light microscopy and representative of families where there is current ongoing taxonomic research. The study resulted in 81 Barcode Identity Numbers (BINs) (of which >90% were published for the first time), while Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery revealed the existence of 78 to 83 Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs). Six nominal species (Rhachotropis helleri, Arrhis phyllonyx, Deflexilodes tenuirostratus, Paroediceros propinquus, Metopa boeckii, Astyra abyssi) appeared to have a molecular variation higher than the 0.03 threshold of both p-distance and K2P usually used for amphipod species delineation. Conversely, two Oedicerotidae regarded as separate morphospecies clustered together with divergences in the order of intraspecific variation. The incongruence between the BINs associated with presently identified species and the publicly available data of the same taxa was observed in case of Paramphithoe hystrix and Amphilochus manudens. The findings from this research project highlight the necessity of supporting molecular studies with thorough morphology species analyses.
Amphipoda , COI barcoding, deep sea, North Atlantic
Within the Class Malacostraca, the Order Amphipoda is currently represented by around 9000 described species, among which 80% are marine (
Studies on the marine zoobenthos around Iceland started in the late 19th Century with the Danish Ingolf Expeditions of 1895 and 1896 (
As part of the greater North Atlantic and subarctic region, the special oceanographic conditions associated with the Iceland region and its adjacent waters are particularly interesting (
Since the proposal of the DNA barcoding concept by
Comparative studies on the Icelandic marine fauna have demonstrated a higher than expected molecular diversity for common and widely distributed isopod species (
The aim of the present study is to use molecular methods to investigate the genetic variation of Icelandic amphipods and understand if changes in molecular diversity reflect the known characteristics of the regional benthic topography and hydrological conditions. The results from this study are a baseline for further research of species diversity and distribution in Icelandic and adjacent waters.
The sampling area covered a wide depth range (from 117 to 2780 m) of the Denmark Strait, Irminger, Iceland and Norwegian basins, as well as the Faroe and Norwegian Channels (Figure
Samples were taken during IceAGE expeditions 1 and 2 with R/V Meteor (M85/3) and R/V Poseidon (POS456) in 2011 and 2013 using two types of epibenthic sleds (EBS,
During two “IceAGE amphipod determination workshops” held at the German Centre for Marine Biodiversity Research (DZMB) in Wilhelmshaven, Germany in July 2016 and in the field station of the University of Lodz in Spała, Poland in May 2017 representatives of recognized families/species were chosen for molecular analysis. Individuals were then determined to species level using Leica (MZ 6, 8 & 12.5) and Nikon (SMZ 800, 1500) dissecting microscopes. World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) systematic division was followed. Each specimen was separated from the sample and was given a voucher identification number (voucher ID) and will be registered in the
One hundred sixty-seven individuals from 27 stations initially assigned by amphipod taxonomists to 75 morphospecies (21 families) were used for molecular analysis (Suppl. material
Sequences were edited using Geneious 10.1.2 resulting in 167 sequences of length of 621-658 bp excluding primers. All sequences were deposited in GenBank with the accession numbers MG264740-MG264881, KY072917-KY072920 and MG521122-MG521157 (Suppl. material
The sequences were aligned with MAFFT v7.308 algorithm with default settings (
Two distance-based methods for species delimitation were applied in order to assess the number of MOTUs that could represent putative cryptic species. The first one, Barcode Index Number (BIN) System (
Among the 75 morphologically identified species, 81 Barcode Identity Numbers (BIN) were ascribed by BOLD (Figure
Neighbour-joining (NJ) tree of COI sequences (Suppl. material
The ABGD method allowed for recognition of 79 to 83 MOTUs when using K2P distance and 78–79 MOTUs for p-distance analysis. In the case of K2P the most stable division over a wide range of the prior maximum divergence values (P= 0.004-0.03) was 79 MOTUs and thus only this division is presented in Figure
The number of haplotypes for each BIN ranged from one to five, the latter being the case in Dulichiopsis cf. macera (G.O. Sars, 1879) (Table
The intraspecific variation within BINs obtained, calculated using uncorrected p-distance and Kimura 2-parameter (K2P). Taxa represented by a single sequence are not listed.
Family | Taxon | No. of ind. | No. of haplotypes | p-distance | K2P |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amathillopsidae | Cleonardopsis sp. | 5 | 2 | 0.001 | 0.001 |
Dulichiidae | Dulichiopsis cf. macera (G.O. Sars, 1879) | 6 | 5 | 0.005 | 0.005 |
Epimeriidae | Epimeria loricata G.O. Sars, 1879 | 6 | 4 | 0.006 | 0.006 |
Eusiridae | Eusirella elegans Chevreux, 1908 | 2 | 2 | 0.002 | 0.002 |
Eusiridae | Eusirus holmi Hansen, 1887 | 4 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Eusiridae | Rhachotropis aff. palporum Stebbing, 1908 | 2 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Eusiridae | Rhachotropis cf. proxima Chevreux, 1911 | 2 | 2 | 0.002 | 0.002 |
Eusiridae | Rhachotropis thordisae Thurston, 1980 | 4 | 2 | 0.010 | 0.010 |
Eusiridae | Rhachotropis helleri (2) (Boeck, 1971) | 3 | 2 | 0.001 | 0.001 |
Lepechinellidae | Lepechinella arctica Schellenberg, 1926/Lepechinellidae | 12 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Lepechinellidae | Lepechinelloides karii Thurston, 1980 | 2 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Oedicerotidae | Arrhis phyllonyx (1) M. Sars, 1858 | 4 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Oedicerotidae | Arrhis phyllonyx (2) M. Sars, 1858 | 4 | 2 | 0.001 | 0.001 |
Oedicerotidae | Bathymedon longimanus (Boeck, 1871) | 3 | 2 | 0.003 | 0.003 |
Oedicerotidae | Bathymedon sp. | 2 | 2 | 0.003 | 0.003 |
Oedicerotidae | Deflexilodes tenuirostratus (1) (Boeck, 1871) | 3 | 2 | 0.001 | 0.001 |
Oedicerotidae | Deflexilodes tenuirostratus (2) (Boeck, 1871) | 4 | 4 | 0.008 | 0.008 |
Oedicerotidae | Monoculodes packardi Boeck, 1871 | 2 | 2 | 0.003 | 0.003 |
Oedicerotidae | Oediceropsis brevicornis (Lilljeborg, 1865) | 2 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Oedicerotidae | Oediceropsis sp. 2 | 2 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Oedicerotidae | Paroediceros curvirostris (Hansen, 1888)/P. propinquus (Goës, 1866) | 6 | 2 | 0.001 | 0.001 |
Oedicerotidae | Pontocrates arcticus G.O. Sars, 1895 | 3 | 3 | 0.002 | 0.002 |
Oedicerotidae | Rostroculodes kroyeri (Boeck, 1870) | 2 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Oedicerotidae | Synchelidium intermedium (Grube, 1864) | 3 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Pardaliscidae | Halice sp. 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Podoceridae | Podoceridae | 2 | 2 | 0.002 | 0.002 |
Scopelocheiridae | Scopelocheirus sp. | 7 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Sicafodiidae | Sicafodia iceage (Campean & Coleman, 2017) | 4 | 2 | 0.001 | 0.001 |
Stilipedidae | Astyra abyssi (1) Boeck, 1871 | 2 | 2 | 0.002 | 0.002 |
Stilipedidae | Astyra abyssi (2) Boeck, 1871 | 3 | 3 | 0.006 | 0.006 |
Synopiidae | Austrosyrrhoe sp. | 2 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Synopiidae | Bruzelia cf. diodon K.H. Barnard, 1925 | 2 | 2 | 0.019 | 0.019 |
Synopiidae | Pseudotiron cf. longicaudatus Pirlot, 1934 | 2 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Synopiidae | Syrrhoites pusilla Enequist, 1949 | 2 | 2 | 0.002 | 0.002 |
Uristidae | Anonyx sp. | 4 | 2 | 0.002 | 0.002 |
Four species identified on the basis of morphology (Rhachotropis helleri (Boeck, 1871), Arrhis phyllonyx (M. Sars, 1858), Deflexilodes tenuirostratus (Boeck, 1871), Metopa boeckii G.O. Sars, 1892) showed intraspecific variation considerably exceeding the values commonly used for amphipod species delimitation (Table
The values of uncorrected p-distance, Kimura 2-parameter (K2P) and Barcode Identity Numbers (BINs) for nominal species presenting the highest intraspecific variation.
Family | Species | No of ind. | No of haplotypes | p-distance | K2P | BIN |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eusiridae | Rhachotropis helleri | 4 | 3 | 0.076 | 0.085 | ADE3179, ADE4377 |
Oedicerotidae | Arrhis phyllonyx | 8 | 3 | 0.093 | 0.106 | AAG7255, ADG9371 |
Oedicerotidae | Deflexilodes tenuirostratus | 7 | 6 | 0.118 | 0.139 | ADH2072, ADH2071 |
Oedicerotidae | Paroediceros propinquus | 3 | 2 | 0.056 | 0.060 | ADG8965, ACV0335 |
Stenothoidae | Metopa boeckii | 3 | 3 | 0.198 | 0.245 | ADH5455, ADH5456, ADH5457 |
Stilipedidae | Astyra abyssi | 5 | 5 | 0.032 | 0.033 | ADG9308, ADG9037 |
The NJ tree showed the existence of different lineages within the above-mentioned species (Figure
Incongruence between morphological species identification and different species delimitation methods was observed in the case of two representatives of Lysianassoidea (sp. 1 and sp. 2) (Figure
The present study gives a first “glimpse” into the molecular diversity of Icelandic Amphipoda and provides a baseline for future studies. Further research is needed for where molecular diversity in not congruent with morphological identification. Re-examination of material for characters in consideration of clear alignment of lineages with topology, hydrology and depth stratification is also required. In considering the number of more than 21500 amphipod specimens identified to family level during IceAGE determination workshops (see
Based on the material studied 81 BINs were recognized. Only five of the BINs are identified to the species level and publically available, while 94% are either unique, held in private datasets, or without detailed identification. That proportion indicates the extent to which knowledge of this important group of marine zoobenthos is still poorly known. In another barcoding study of Crustacea from Gulf of St. Lawrence (North Atlantic) new barcodes accounted for 75 percent of studied sequences (
The present study allowed for obtaining barcodes for species newly described from Icelandic waters: Sicafodia iceage Campean & Coleman, 2017 and Amphilochus anoculus Tandberg & Vader, 2018 (
It is important to point out that the taxonomic and molecular diversity that can be seen in the NJ tree does not reflect the complete amphipod family and species diversity of Icelandic and adjacent waters, but reflects only a small representation, less than 1% of processed samples, were investigated here for genetic analysis.
The molecular results are generally congruent with the morphological identification of studied species. The existence of potential cryptic (or pseudocryptic) species has been observed within three taxa of Oedicerotidae as well as one taxon in the families: Eusiridae, Stilipedidae and Stenothoidae.
Two clearly distinct clades have been observed within Rhachotropis helleri (Eusiridae). The specimens representing both lineages were collected at similar depths (ca. 300 m) but from very different localities: the Iceland-Faroe Ridge and the Iceland Basin. As the genus Rhachotropis is the subject of another publication in this issue (
In Arrhis phyllonyx (Oedicerotidae) two different lineages have been recognised for this study. Arrhis phyllonyx is a species commonly reported from North Atlantic waters with a wide depth range from 100 to 2680 m (
Two different clades of Deflexilodes tenuirostratus have been observed where genetic separation aligns with difference in sampling locality, with clade 1 sampled from the Iceland Basin and clade 2 sampled from the Iceland-Faroe Ridge. Given the clear geographic distinction between clades additional research is required to more closely investigate the morphology to assess if there could exist two cryptic species within this taxon.
Smaller yet consistent sequence differences were also noted in Paroediceros propinquus. All individuals sequenced were collected from similar depths at neighbouring stations on the Iceland-Faroe Ridge. Moreover, the sequences of P. propinquus forming clade 1 appeared to share haplotypes with another species in this genus, namely P. curvirostris indicating that the morphological characters require closer examination to see if these BINs can be supported with additional morphological character states.
The results for the family Oedicerotidae will be further studied using additional genes and material from other localities (Hughes pers. com.). It is worth noting that similar results were recently observed in the case of some other North Atlantic amphipod species reported as having wide distribution range for six out of the 68 identified morphospecies (
High genetic diversity was also observed in one species from the family Stenothoidae: Metopa boeckii. Depending on the species delimitation method, two (ABGD) or three (BINs) MOTUs have been revealed. Some morphological variability within this species has already been observed and further morphological studies could result in new species description. All individuals of this nominal species were collected in the same geographic area at similar depths, but on opposite sides of Iceland-Faroe Ridge: M. boeckii lineage 1 occurred south of the topographic barrier while lineages 2 and 3 were collected from the north side. The representatives of Stenothoidae are often known to occur in association with other invertebrates (
With the family Stilipedidae delimiting the species Astyra abyssi can be seen as either one or two species depending on the methodology applied. The values of p-distance and K2P are just over the threshold that is commonly used to discriminate species of arthropods and amphipods in particular (
These two deeper water stations, the Irminger and Iceland basins, are separated by the Reykjanes Ridge, a topological feature. However, these separated locations could be connected by the movement of water masses around Iceland, as this pattern is also seen in other deep-sea peracarids (
The present study assisted with delimiting specimens suspected to be juvenile forms to be evaluated to a species level along side congeneric BINs. Several juvenile lepechinellids initially identified only to the family level (Lepechinellidae) were able to be assigned to Lepechinella arctica. In this way molecular analyses was useful where ontogenic stage restricts morphological identification of individuals.
Molecular methods proved to be a useful tool in cryptic species recognition, and the existence of several amphipod species complexes has been already reported (
For Amphilochus manudens Spence Bate, 1862 it appears also, that the individual which was assigned to this species from IceAGE sampling represents a different BIN than the specimens collected from the North Sea and ascribed to the same taxon. The sequence divergence is large (0.228 p-distance and 0.278 K2P) much higher than the present concept for intraspecific variation. The two MOTUs observed within the nominal A. manudens have different geographic and bathymetric distributions. The specimen from IceAGE was collected in the area of the Iceland-Faroe Ridge at 500 m depth, while the previously reported material came from a shallow station (50 m) in southeast North Sea (
DNA barcoding can help considerably in recognition of species diversity in the deep sea by indicating the existence of cryptic or pseudocryptic species and allowing the taxonomists to focus on the novel morphological and genetic incongruence. However, the accuracy of the taxonomic identification of records in molecular databases is crucial to make those databases reliable for further users. The current study of Amphipoda from Icelandic and adjacent water in the North Atlantic strongly recognises that molecular methods need to be supplemented by comprehensive taxonomical analysis of species morphology in order to provide an expert certified baseline for further biodiversity studies.
We thank crew and captain of R/V Meteor and R/V Poseidon for their support the sampling during the IceAGE expeditions 2011 and 2013 in all weather and sea ice conditions. Sorting on higher taxon level took place at the DZMB in Hamburg. The material was sorted on family level during workshops organized with the financial support of the Volkswagenstiftung “Forschung in Museen” given to Saskia Brix, Anne-Nina Lörz and Bente Stransky. Without the enthusiasm of all workshop participants, obtaining the specimens for barcoding would not have been possible. Thanks especially go to Antje Fischer for her help in entering all soring results into our project database and producing the background data for proper BOLD entries.
Anna Jażdżewska received the support from internal funds of University of Lodz to visit DZMB in Hamburg and discuss the present work. Charlotte Havermans was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) with the project HA 7627/1-1 (Priority Programme 1158).
Thanks are also due to Rob Jennings for his native speaker improvements of this manuscript. We express our thanks to James Reimer and Christoph Held for reviewing our manuscript and valuable comments that allowed us to improve the quality of our work.
Table
Data type: molecular data
Explanation note: Amphipod and outgroup accession numbers in BOLD, GenBank and station data.