From Seawater to Sequences: Environmental DNA Reveals Hidden Diversity of the Agariciidae Corals in Hawai‘i
Date
2024
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Abstract
Knowledge of coral species diversity, community structure, and function has traditionallyrelied on morphological variation to differentiate species. Yet, coral morphology and its
relationship to species boundaries are notoriously difficult to understand, leading to both underand
over- estimates of diversity. However, better molecular data have transformed our
understanding of coral species boundaries. In the Agariciidae coral family, recent molecular
research revealed numerous cryptic taxa within single widespread nominal species across the
Indo-Pacific. This high diversity of morphologically cryptic taxa, combined with the ecologically
cryptic nature of many agariciids, provides an ideal opportunity to test an environmental DNA
(eDNA) approach to assess diversity in taxa that are both difficult to visually identify and sample.
In the present study, the mitochondrial cox1-1-rRNA spacer was sequenced from water samples
to evaluate agariciid distribution and diversity across 32 sites on four Main Hawaiian Islands. A
total of 9 distinct clades of agariciids were detected, including several cryptic lineages within the
nominal Pavona varians. This eDNA approach identified more taxa than are known from visual
surveys conducted on shallow Hawaiian reefs. Significant differences in species richness and
diversity were observed across islands and sites. Analysis of the effect of environmental
variation on community composition identified three key factors shaping agariciid communities
(rugosity, sedimentation, and temperature). Overall, this study demonstrates the power of eDNA
to uncover hidden coral diversity and elucidate patterns and of species diversity and community
composition among agariciids across the Hawaiian Islands.
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Zoology, Agariciidae, coral, cryptic diversity, environmental DNA, molecular ecology
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53 pages
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