Taxonomy and Genetic Diversity of Amphipods Living on Ulva lactuca L. from Gouqi Coast, China 1

Large-scale green tide disasters have been occurring for more than 10 years in China, with serious ecological consequences. However, limited research has focused on epiphytes that feed on macroalgae. In this study, amphipods were found living on the surface of Ulva lactuca, a green-tide-forming alga...

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Published inPacific science Vol. 74; no. 2; pp. 137 - 146
Main Authors Liu, Jinlin, Zhuang, Minmin, Zhao, Lijuan, Liu, Yikai, Wen, Qinlin, Fu, Meilin, Yu, Kefeng, Zhang, Jianheng, He, Peimin
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Honolulu University of Hawaii Press 01.04.2020
Subjects
Algae
Amphipoda
Aquatic crustaceans
Biodiversity
Biotechnology
Coastal states
Cytochrome-c oxidase
Cytochromes
Disasters
Ecological effects
Epiphytes
Evolution & development
Genetic diversity
Genetic variation
Green tides
Haplotypes
Herbivores
International cooperation
Mitochondrial DNA
Morphology
Nucleotide sequence
Phylogenetics
Phylogeny
Software
Taxonomy
Ulva lactuca
Canada
South Korea
United States > US
Pacific region
China
Japan
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Summary:Large-scale green tide disasters have been occurring for more than 10 years in China, with serious ecological consequences. However, limited research has focused on epiphytes that feed on macroalgae. In this study, amphipods were found living on the surface of Ulva lactuca, a green-tide-forming alga, around Gouqi Island, China. Through morphological and molecular methods, the amphipods were identified as Ampithoe lacertosa Bate, 1858, which has not previously been recorded in China. Sequence information about cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (mitochondrial COI) gene from China was compared to sequences reported from 5 coastal countries around the Pacific region. Network diagrams, phylogenetic trees and other methods ofanalysis revealed evidence of genetically distinct subspecies in the northeastern and northwestern Pacific. We believe that research on herbivorous amphipods will provide preventative strategies and control measures against green tide algae. International cooperation among Asian and North American biologists within the Pacific region will lead to a better understanding of the family Ampithoidae in the future.
ISSN:0030-8870
1534-6188
DOI:10.2984/74.2.3