Meeting Abstract
Chaetopterus longipes is an epifaunal mucus filter-feeding annelid, which inhabits straight tubes on hard substrates, usually in coral reef environments. The species was formerly synonymized under the putatively cosmopolitan species Chaetopterus variopedatus, however, it has a markedly unusual habitat and natural history compared to most Chaetopteridae. C. longipes was described from the Republic of Maldives, and has been reported in Japan, Easter Island, and the Galapagos Islands, spanning the Indo-Pacific basin. Despite its apparent wide range, genetic confirmation of the range of this species has not yet been undertaken. Here, we investigate whether cryptic species exist within this apparently widely distributed morphological species using genetics, and assess its potential as a biological invader through observation of reproductive modes, habit, and range. Specimens of C. longipes were observed and collected from several localities spanning the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific, including the type locality. Additional specimens were examined from collections at the Florida Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Genetic sequence data from COI, 28S, and 18S were collected to screen for cryptic diversity and to establish the extent of the geographic range of C. longipes. Our findings suggest that C. longipes constitutes a truly pantropical species exhibiting both asexual and sexual reproductive modes. C. longipes has strong potential for biological invasion in its capacity to colonize hard substrates in large numbers, flexible reproductive modes, and inferred broad thermal tolerances.
