Molecular and morphological analyses reveal cryptic crayfish invasions in the Appalachian Mountains

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-62
Author(s):  
Raymond A. Kessler ◽  
Tyler R. Black ◽  
Stephen J. Fraley ◽  
Michael M. Gangloff

Abstract The crayfish genus Orconectes is widespread in North America and includes both regional endemics and several aggressively invasive species. Orconectes rusticus was recently discovered in three western North Carolina streams. We examined specimens from these localities as well as individuals from across the region using molecular and morphological analyses to verify diagnoses. We sequenced and analyzed a portion of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit (COI) gene and compared reads to GenBank reference sequences. We used mtDNA diagnoses to evaluate the utility of quantitative morphological analyses to correctly classify specimens. Comparisons with reference sequences revealed cryptic diversity among introduced populations. The population previously identified as O. rusticus in the Little Tennessee River is genetically most similar to O. juvenilis. Moreover, the putative un-described Cheoah Crayfish appears to be an introduced O. juvenilis population. Comparisons with topotypic and introduced O. juvenilis populations suggest the Little Tennessee River population originated in the lower Ohio Valley and that populations of this cryptic invader may be more widespread than previously believed. Additionally, these results demonstrate the susceptibility of reservoir fisheries to crayfish invasions. Future studies of invasive crayfish and putative new species should use molecular data to verify morphological diagnoses.

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 222-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. V. Yakovlev ◽  
N. A. Shapoval ◽  
G. N. Kuftina ◽  
A. V. Kulak ◽  
S. V. Kovalev

The Proclossiana eunomia (Esper, 1799) complex is currently composed of the several subspecies distributed throughout Palaearсtic region and North America. Despite the fact that some of the taxa have differences in wing pattern and body size, previous assumptions on taxonomy not supported by molecular data. Therefore, the identity of certain populations of this complex has remained unclear and the taxonomic status of several recently described taxa is debated. Here, we provide insights into systematics of some Palaearctic members of this group using molecular approach, based on the analysis of the barcoding fragment of the COI gene taking into account known morphological differences.


Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 290
Author(s):  
Hua-Yan Chen ◽  
Hong-Liang Li ◽  
Hong Pang ◽  
Chao-Dong Zhu ◽  
Yan-Zhou Zhang

The cotton mealybug Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), is an emerging invasive insect pest in China. Hymenopteran parasitoids are the key organisms for suppressing populations of P. solenopsis in the field, and therefore could be used as biological agents. Accurate identification of the associated parasitoids is the critical step to assess their potential role in biological control. In this study, we facilitated the identification of the parasitoid composition of P. solenopsis using an integrated approach of species delimitation, combining morphology with molecular data. Eighteen Hymenoptera parasitoid species belonging to 11 genera of four families are recognized based on morphological examination and molecular species delimitation of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 (COI) gene and the 28S rDNA using the automatic barcode gap discovery (ABGD) and the Bayesian Poisson tree processes model (bPTP). Among these species, eight species are primary parasitoids with Aenasius arizonensis (Girault) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) being the dominant taxon, while the other 10 species are probably hyperparasitoids, with a prevalence of Cheiloneurus nankingensis Li & Xu (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae). These results indicate that parasitoid wasps associated with P. solenopsis from China are diverse and the integrated taxonomic approach applied in this study could enhance the accurate identification of these parasitoids that should be assessed in future biological control programs.


1972 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duane H. King ◽  
Danny E. Olinger

AbstractIn the spring of 1783, Oconastota, the Great Warrior and principal chief of the Overhill Cherokees, died and was buried at his beloved town of Chota on the Little Tennessee River in present day Monroe County, Tennessee. In the fall of 1969, the Department of Anthropology of the University of Tennessee, while conducting archaeological investigations at this site, disinterred a burial which exhibits striking correlations with the historic accounts of Oconastota and his inhumation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 467
Author(s):  
Mahran Zeity ◽  
Nagappa Srinivas ◽  
Chinnamade Channegowde Gowda

Study of morphological characters of Tetranychus macfarlanei Baker & Pritchard and Tetranychus malaysiensis Ehara revealed high similarity by comparing all the important characters in addition to the characters pointed out by Ehara to separate those two species. Molecular phylogeny of seven Indian populations of T. macfarlanei and one population of T. malaysiensis from Philippines along with few distantly related species of Tetranychus was attempted. High degree of similarity between these two species at mitochondrial COI gene (96%) as well as ITS2 (rDNA) (96–99%) region was evident. Based on both morphological features and molecular data, T. malaysiensis is proposed as a junior synonym of T. macfarlanei based on ICZN’s law of priority. Also more female characters are prompted in this study to distinctly discriminate T. macfarlanei from its most resembling species, Tetranychus ludeni Zacher. Tetranychus macfarlanei has emerged as a pest of several cultivated crop plants in India. 


Zootaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4286 (1) ◽  
pp. 93 ◽  
Author(s):  
OLGA KLISHKO ◽  
MANUEL LOPES-LIMA ◽  
ELSA FROUFE ◽  
ARTHUR BOGAN ◽  
LYUDMILA VASILIEV ◽  
...  

The taxonomy of species within the genus Unio (Bivalvia: Unionidae: Unioninae) in Russia and Ukraine has been contentious due to the lack of correspondence between three concurrent yet divergent classifications. In order to clarify which classification system best reflects the evolutionary relationships among these taxa, we performed detailed morphological analyses on 720 Ukrainian and Russian specimens, complemented with molecular data (COI) from a selected number of specimens. The morphological character data set shows the existence of only three widespread species with slight eco-morphological variations. Statistical analyses of shell morphometric parameters and molecular analyses based on mtDNA COI gene fragment sequences confirm the existence of the same three species within a single genus, Unio, in Russia and Ukraine, that is U. pictorum, U. tumidus and U. crassus. Results from molecular analyses suggest the existence of an additional subgroup within the U. crassus lineage, U. crassus cf. courtilieri that deserves further research. The present integrated approach confirms the validity of the classification by Zhadin (1952) and rejects the complex classifications of Starobogatov et al. (2004) and Bogatov & Kijashko (2016). 


2021 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 44
Author(s):  
M. Javidkar ◽  
A. Abdoli ◽  
F. Ahmadzadeh ◽  
Z. Nahavandi ◽  
M. Yari

The presence of exotic earthworms has recently become a major concern and drawn significant attention to their potential effects on ecosystems and native invertebrate fauna. Although the occurrence of invasive annelids has been well recorded, their settlement in Iran is poorly documented. To investigate the biodiversity of aquatic Oligochaeta and to assess the presence of possible exotic species, DNA barcoding using the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene was conducted in two major protected rivers (Jajroud, Karaj) of the southern Alborz Mountains. As a result, new lineages of Tubifex, Haplotaxis and Lumbriculus were identified from Iran. Moreover, a semiaquatic lumbricid species, Eiseniella tetraedra, was unexpectedly found to be the most abundant species. The analyses showed the presence of six divergent lineages of E. tetraedra occurring in individual rivers. The presence of identical haplotypes shared between European, North American, Australian and Iranian localities, the sympatric accumulation of several distinct intraspecific lineages in the same rivers and the lack of a phylogeographic pattern reinforce the hypothesis of a possible inadvertent anthropogenic introduction. The relative abundance of lineages indicates a significant decline in the abundance of native oligochaetes, which may be linked to the preponderance of recently introduced European populations of E. tetraedra, probably mediated through human activities.


Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4717 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
SAMUEL GEREMIAS DOS SANTOS COSTA ◽  
HANS KLOMPEN ◽  
LEOPOLDO FERREIRA DE OLIVEIRA BERNARDI ◽  
LUCIANA CARDOSO GONÇALVES ◽  
DANTE BATISTA RIBEIRO ◽  
...  

The life cycle of Parasitengona includes major morphological changes precluding an instar association based only on the morphology. This makes rearing and/or molecular data necessary to associate the heteromorphic instars. Most of the described species are known from either post larval instars or larva. Following a previous study on Palearctic Erythraeidae, in the present study the instar association was made through an integrative approach including rearing trials and molecular analysis of the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene with the Bayesian Generalized Mixed Yule Coalescent (bGMYC) algorithm for species delimitation. Two new cave dwelling Erythraeidae (Trombidiformes: Parasitengona) species are described Lasioerythraeus jessicae sp. nov. and Leptus sidorchukae sp. nov. including all active instars. Additionally, a complete description of the previously unknown adults of Charletonia rocciai Treat & Flechtmann, 1979 is provided with notes on the larva and deutonymph. We also demonstrate experimentally that Ch. rocciai larvae are not attached to the same individual host during the entire feeding stage. We discuss the presence of troglomorphisms in Le. sidorchukae sp. nov.; and the distribution of the species. 


Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4695 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
JOHN W. SHORT ◽  
TIMOTHY J. PAGE ◽  
CHRISTOPHER L. HUMPHREY

Caridina biyiga sp. nov. is described from Leichhardt Springs, Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia, based on morphological and molecular data. The new species is highly distinctive among its congeners in having the dactylus of pereiopod 5 similar to the dactyli of pereiopods 3–4 and lacking the comb-like row of spiniform setae typical of the genus. The branchial formula is also distinctive for the genus in lacking an arthrobranch at the base of pereiopod 1 and in having a vestigial epipod on maxilliped 1.                Despite the distinctive morphology of the new species, the molecular data did not provide strong support for the recognition of a new genus. Phylogenetic analyses of Australian Caridina using the mitochondrial 16S rDNA gene fragment placed the new species in a well-supported clade containing at least one typical species of Caridina. Within this clade, referred to as the ‘thermophila’ group, Kimura 2-parameter (K2P) genetic distances of 16S rDNA between the new species and sister taxa ranged from 5.1–6.0%. Analyses using the mitochondrial 3’ COI gene fragment from species of the ‘thermophila’ group yielded K2P genetic distances between the new species and its sister taxa ranging from 10.4–15.1%.                A preliminary illustrated key to Northern Territory Caridina is provided. The conservation significance of Leichhardt Springs and its aquatic fauna are also briefly discussed. 


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