Meeting Abstract

P3.9  Jan. 6  Molecular tests of morphospecies in the reef-building coral Porites HEESTAND, E.N.*; CLAEREBOUDT, M.R.; DALY, M.; Ohio State University; Sultan Qaboos University; Ohio State University daly.66@osu.edu

The scleractinian coral Porites is an important contributor to coral reefs worldwide. Although the genus is distinctive, its species are notoriously difficult to differentiate because the polyps themselves are small, and colonies may vary widely in color, form, and branching pattern. The small size and variability of the corallites, and the diversity of macromorphological features complicates identification and assessment of evolutionary history. To test species identifications and groupings based on geography and morphology, we analyzed sequences from mitochondrial 12S and nuclear 28S rDNA form a diversity of species, spanning much of the geographic range of the genus and including several distinctive morphospecies. We find unusually low levels of genetic divergence across Porites, which complicates our ability to assess the affinities of species. Nonetheless, at least some of the groupings we see are consistent with some geographical and morphological distinctions.