DEMAINTENON, M.J.; MUIR, C.C.; EBLE, J.; University of Hawaii at Hilo; University of Hawaii at Hilo; University of Hawaii at Hilo: Phylogeography of the Hawaiian direct-developing marine gastropod Peristernia chlorostoma (Neogastropoda: Fasciolariidae)

Marine species, regardless of their larval ecology, are often dispersed over wide distances, and are traditionally considered panmictic across large parts of their range. The Hawaiian Archipelago, an isolated linear hot spot island chain, provides a unique setting for investigating patterns of population structure in effectively nondispersing marine species. The fasciolariid species Peristernia chlorostoma (Sowerby, 1825) is a common small marine snail found in rocky nearshore areas throughout the Hawaiian Archipelago. We obtained 600 bp sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase c subunit I from 30 specimens of P. chlorostoma, collected from sites on four main islands and one site in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Populations from different islands were genetically distinct, with all island populations represented by single clades and no haplotypes shared between populations. Overall pairwise distances between individuals are generally geographically consistent; more genetic distance exists between more distant populations. Older islands house greater maximum pairwise distance as expected for older populations. A notable exception is the populations in East and West Hawai`i, which are separated by genetic distances comparable to those between populations on separate islands.