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Long-term coexistence of rotifer cryptic species

Montero-Pau, Javier; Ramos-Rodríguez, Eloisa; Serra, Manuel; Gómez, Africa

Authors

Javier Montero-Pau

Eloisa Ramos-Rodríguez

Manuel Serra



Contributors

Dirk Steinke
Editor

Abstract

Despite their high morphological similarity, cryptic species often coexist in aquatic habitats presenting a challenge in the framework of niche differentiation theory and coexistence mechanisms. Here we use a rotifer species complex inhabiting highly unpredictable and fluctuating salt lakes to gain insights into the mechanisms involved in stable coexistence in cryptic species. We combined molecular barcoding surveys of planktonic populations and paleogenetic analysis of diapausing eggs to reconstruct the current and historical coexistence dynamics of two highly morphologically similar rotifer species, B. plicatilis and B. manjavacas. In addition, we carried out laboratory experiments using clones isolated from eight lakes where both species coexist to explore their clonal growth responses to salinity, a challenging, highly variable and unpredictable condition in Mediterranean salt lakes. We show that both species have co-occurred in a stable way in one lake, with population fluctuations in which no species was permanently excluded. The seasonal occurrence patterns of the plankton in two lakes agree with laboratory experiments showing that both species differ in their optimal salinity. These results suggest that stable species coexistence is mediated by differential responses to salinity and its fluctuating regime. We discuss the role of fluctuating salinity and a persistent diapausing egg banks as a mechanism for species coexistence in accordance with the 'storage effect'.

Citation

Montero-Pau, J., Ramos-Rodríguez, E., Serra, M., & Gómez, A. (2011). Long-term coexistence of rotifer cryptic species. PLoS ONE, 6(6), Article ARTN e21530. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0021530

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 31, 2011
Online Publication Date Jun 28, 2011
Publication Date May 28, 2011
Deposit Date Nov 13, 2014
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal PLoS ONE
Print ISSN 1932-6203
Electronic ISSN 1932-6203
Publisher Public Library of Science
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 6
Issue 6
Article Number ARTN e21530
DOI https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0021530
Keywords Diapausing egg banks, Brachionus plicatilis, Morphological stasis, Resource competition, Iberian Peninsula, Species complex, Rotifera, Central Spain, Speciation, DNA
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/462442
Publisher URL http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0021530
Additional Information Copy of article first published in PLoS ONE, 2011, v.6, issue 6

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Copyright Statement
© 2011 Montero-Pau et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.





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