Meeting Abstract

62.6  Saturday, Jan. 5  Phylogeography of Moray Eels in the Indo-Pacific REECE, Joshua S; Washington University in Saint Louis jsreece@wustl.edu

Coral reef fish migration during the pelagic larval period has been shown to play a major role in determining regional population genetic structure. Moray eels (Muraenidae) have some of the longest larval durations among coral reef fish (upwards of 180 days), conferring huge dispersal capabilities. I investigated phylogeographic structure in five moray eel species that represent a gradient of depth capabilities. I addressed the hypotheses that moray eels have either a primarily open (non-indigenous larval recruitment) or closed (indigenous larval recruitment) population structure. Rather than being characterized as open or closed, mitochondrial and nuclear markers describe a semi-closed system of migration where local population structure has developed, but occasional long distance dispersal plays a major role in preventing geographic monophyly. Moreover, the degree to which long distance dispersal affects regional population genetic structure seems to be influenced by the species� depth range. Species found at a broader range of depths typically display greater levels of long distance migration than do species with more narrow depth ranges. These results are discussed in the light of current hypotheses on the role of dispersal in determining phylogeographic structure in coral reef fish.