Meeting Abstract

P2.214  Saturday, Jan. 5  Evolution of herbivory in the family Stichaeidae (Teleostei) SOSA, AE*; GERMAN, DP; Univ. of California, Irvine; Univ. of California, Irvine sosaae@uci.edu

The goal of this project was to generate a molecular phylogeny for fishes in the family Stichaeidae, which represent a vertebrate model for understanding the evolution of dietary specialization on the physiological level. Tissues (muscle or fin) from stichaeids were obtained either from museums, or directly from fishes in their natural habitats in California and Washington, and DNA was extracted. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) conditions were optimized for three genes, two mitochondrial (16s and cytb) and one nuclear (tmo4c4). The analysis included 154 individuals representing 46 species of the family Stichaeidae and adjacent families in the order Zoarciformes. Sequences were aligned using Codon Code alignment software and the Bayesian phylogenetic topology was generated using Mr. Bayes. The phylogenetic hypothesis for the Stichaeidae shows some agreement with a previously generated phylogenetic tree based on morphological characteristics, although some portions of the family (e.g., tribe Xiphisterini) are not monophyletic. This latter result suggests that herbivory evolved twice, independently within the Stichaeidae, not once as was previously assumed. The phylogenetic tree generated in this study will advance the field of nutritional physiology by providing the backdrop for rigorous, phylogenetically informed analyses in subsequent studies.