Meeting Abstract

97.1  Thursday, Jan. 7  Genetic diversity within Calliactis polypus (Cnidaria: Actiniaria), a widespread species of sea anemone symbiotic with hermit crabs GUSMAO, Luciana C.*; DALY, Marymegan; Ohio State University Gusmao.1@osu.edu

Originally described from the South Pacific Ocean, Calliactis polypus is the most widespread species of anemone symbiotic with hermit crabs. Its range spans the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and the Red Sea. This wide distribution is the result of difficulties in the assessment of species boundaries due to morphological plasticity and taxonomic synonimies of distant populations. The slow rate of molecular evolution in Anthozoa, the class to which anemones belongs, renders sequence-based studies less effective within and between populations, even those isolated by 3000 km or more. For this reason we amplified and cloned DNA sequence data from the ribosomal ITS/5.8S region as it has provided resolution at and below the species level in plants and animals. We evaluated levels of genetic diversity within and between four populations of C. polypus from Japan, Hawaii, Guam, and South Africa. We used this data to confirm the taxonomic status of morphologically based varieties of this species and to determine whether genetic structure follows geographical, bathymetric, or host-associated patterns.