Journal
JOURNAL OF HEREDITY
Volume 109, Issue 2, Pages 162-175Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esx056
Keywords
Atlantic invasion; hybridization; marine speciation; Pterois lunulata; Pterois russelii; Pterois miles
Categories
Funding
- National Science Foundation [OCE-1558852]
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)
- National Geographic Society [9024-11]
- Sigma Xi
- PADI Foundation
- Achievement Rewards for College Scientists Honolulu Chapter
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI [JP26241027, 24370041, 23580259, 26450265]
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
- Coastal Area Capability Enhancement in Southeast Asia Project of the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan
- Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research [16J00047] Funding Source: KAKEN
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The lionfish is an iconic marine fish, and recently renowned for a disastrous introduction into the West Atlantic. Genetic surveys of the putative invaders (Pterois volitans and Pterois miles) in their natural Indo-Pacific range can illuminate both topics. Previous research indicated that P. volitans and P. miles are sister species that hybridize in the invasive range, but hybridization in the native range is unknown. Here, we apply mtDNA COI and 2 nuclear introns (S7 RP1 and Gpd2) from 229 lionfish including the 2 invaders and 2 closely-related taxa (44 P. miles, 91 P. volitans, 31 Pterois lunulata, and 63 Pterois russelii) from 10 locations in their native ranges. Genetic data are supplemented with key morphological characters: dorsal, anal, and pectoral fin ray counts. We observed 2 lineages (d = 4.07%, 0.89%, and 2.75% at COI, S7 RP1, and Gpd2, respectively) among the 4 putative species: an Indian Ocean lineage represented by P. miles, and a Pacific Ocean lineage represented by P. lunulata and P. russelii. All specimens of the invasive P. volitans appear to be hybrids between the Indian Ocean P. miles and a Pacific lineage encompassing P. lunulata/russelii, a conclusion supported by both genetics and morphology. The divergences between Indian and Pacific forms are within the range of species-level partitions in fishes, and we recommend retention of the names P. miles and P. russelii for Indian and Pacific forms. The hybrid origin of the Atlantic invasion invokes the possibility of heterosis as a contributing factor to invasion success.
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