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Zhan SH, Chen L, Liao CP, Chang WR, Li CC, Tang GY, Liou CY, Wang WL, Wang SW, Liu SL. Geographic distance, sedimentation, and substrate shape cryptic crustose coralline algal assemblages in the world's largest subtropical intertidal algal reef. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:3056-3071. [PMID: 35377521 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Algal reefs, concreted by crustose coralline algae (CCA), are the main biotic reefs in temperate waters but rare in the subtropics and tropics. The world's largest known intertidal algal reef in the subtropics is the Taoyuan Algal Reef (TAR) located in the northwestern coast of Taiwan. The biodiversity and ecology of the TAR are scarcely explored, and now the reef is imperiled by industrialization. Here, we document cryptic species of CCA in Taiwan, particularly the TAR, by sequencing the psbA genes of over 1,800 specimens collected across Taiwan. We also examine the ecological background of the TAR by surveying its benthic composition and measuring its environmental parameters. Our data reveal that the TAR harbors a high diversity of cryptic CCA species (27 molecular operational taxonomic units, or mOTUs), many of which are potentially new to science (18 mOTUs) and/or endemic to the TAR (9 mOTUs). Comparing the CCA species inventory of the TAR with the rest of Taiwan shows that the TAR represents a unique hotspot of CCA taxa in the waters of Taiwan. Our analyses show that variation in the CCA assemblages in the TAR is associated with geographic distance, sedimentation, and substrate type (for example, reef versus hermit crab shell), suggesting that dispersal limitation and contemporary environmental selection shape the CCA assemblages in the TAR. The data from this study can inform the monitoring of human impacts on the health of the TAR and contribute to our understanding of the ecological processes underlying algal reef development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shing Hei Zhan
- Department of Zoology & Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, BC, Canada
| | - Ling Chen
- Department of Life Science & Center for Ecology and Environment, Tunghai University, Taichung, 40704, Taiwan
| | - Chen-Pan Liao
- Department of Life Science & Center for Ecology and Environment, Tunghai University, Taichung, 40704, Taiwan.,Department of Biology, National Museum of Natural Science, Taichung, 404, Taiwan
| | - Wun-Ruei Chang
- Department of Life Science & Center for Ecology and Environment, Tunghai University, Taichung, 40704, Taiwan
| | - Cheng-Chin Li
- Department of Life Science & Center for Ecology and Environment, Tunghai University, Taichung, 40704, Taiwan
| | - Guang-You Tang
- Department of Life Science & Center for Ecology and Environment, Tunghai University, Taichung, 40704, Taiwan
| | - Ching-Yu Liou
- Endemic Species Research Institute, Jiji, Nantou, 552, Taiwan
| | - Wei-Lung Wang
- Department of Biology, National Changhua University of Education, Changhua, 500, Taiwan
| | - Shih-Wei Wang
- Department of Geology, National Museum of Natural Science, Taichung, 404, Taiwan
| | - Shao-Lun Liu
- Department of Life Science & Center for Ecology and Environment, Tunghai University, Taichung, 40704, Taiwan
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