Meeting Abstract
Nudibranchs are a group of shell-less, marine gastropod molluscs, with over 2,300 named species. The presence of many pseudocryptic and cryptic species often complicates our understanding of true patterns of diversity. For the nudibranch family Goniodorididae, there has been no comprehensive phylogenetic analysis using molecular data. This study investigates the molecular phylogenetics of this family’s four major genera: Goniodoridella, Goniodoris, Okenia and Trapania. Some morphological phylogenies have been proposed for Okenia and Trapania, and these results provide an opportunity to test the monophyly of these groups and look for hidden diversity. We used a three gene approach with the molecular markers COI, 16S, and H3, each of which have been shown to be successful in identifying phylogenetic relationships between and within nudibranch genera within a single family. The results clearly demonstrate the uniqueness of many of the lineages that were suspected to represent new species, as well as previously undetected diversity of psuedocryptic species. Preliminary results also support the monophyly of each of the genera studied thus far. The molecular phylogeny confirms the result from morphological data that Hopkinsia rosacea must be maintained as a junior synonym to Okenia in order to conserve the monophyly of Okenia. Within the genus Trapania, there is strong support for biogeographically based clades within the Indo-Pacific, Eastern Pacific, and Atlantic; however, these biogeographical patterns are not as clearly represented within Okenia. Our results will help elucidate fundamental evolutionary relationships in the family Goniodorididae and lay a foundation for future evolutionary, ecological and conservation biology research.
