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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Amassing diversity in an ancient lake: Evolution of a morphologically diverse parthenogenetic gastropod assemblage in Lake Malawi
Molecular Ecology, Volume 16, No. 3, Year 2007
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Description
Exceptional ecological niche diversity, clear waters and unique divergent selection pressures have often been invoked to explain high morphological and genetic diversity of taxa within ancient lakes. However, it is possible that in some ancient lake taxa high diversity has arisen because these historically stable environments have allowed accumulation of lineages over evolutionary timescales, a process impossible in neighbouring aquatic habitats undergoing desiccation and reflooding. Here we examined the evolution of a unique morphologically diverse assemblage of thiarid gastropods belonging to the Melanoides polymorpha 'complex' in Lake Malawi. Using mitochondrial DNA sequences, we found this Lake Malawi complex was not monophyletic, instead sharing common ancestry with Melanoides anomala and Melanoides mweruensis from the Congo Basin. Fossil calibrations of molecular divergence placed the origins of this complex to within the last 4 million years. Nuclear amplified fragment length polymorphism markers revealed sympatric M. polymorpha morphs to be strongly genetically differentiated lineages, and males were absent from our samples indicating that reproduction is predominantly parthenogenetic. These results imply the presence of Lake Malawi as a standing water body over the last million years or more has facilitated accumulation of clonal morphological diversity, a process that has not taken place in more transient freshwater habitats. As such, the historical stability of aquatic environments may have been critical in determining present spatial distributions of biodiversity. © 2006 The Authors.
Authors & Co-Authors
Genner, Martin J.
United Kingdom, Hull
University of Hull
Netherlands, Amsterdam
Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics - Amsterdam
Todd, Jonathan A.
United Kingdom, London
The Natural History Museum, London
Michel, Ellinor
United Kingdom, London
The Natural History Museum, London
Erpenbeck, Dirk
Australia, Brisbane
Queensland Museum
Jimoh, Abayomi Abdul Azeez
United Kingdom, Hull
University of Hull
Nigeria, Lagos
Lagos State University
Joyce, Domino A.
United Kingdom, Hull
University of Hull
Piechocki, Andrzej
Poland, Lodz
University of Lodz
Pointier, Jean Pierre
France, Paris
École Pratique Des Hautes Études
Statistics
Citations: 37
Authors: 8
Affiliations: 7
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1111/j.1365-294X.2006.03171.x
ISSN:
09621083
e-ISSN:
1365294X
Research Areas
Cancer
Environmental
Genetics And Genomics
Study Locations
Congo
Malawi