Dear poecilogonites,
Those of you who attended the Evolution meetings in Madison,
Wisconsin this summer may have seen Stefan Schulze present his thesis
work on the biogeography and molecular genetics of Streblospio. He
sampled populations on the east coast, west coast, and Gulf of Mexico
including both species of Streblospio (benedicti and gynobranchiata).
Gene sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1
(CO1) were determined for each population along with morphological and
reproductive data. The manuscript from this work will be submitted later
this summer and the Master's Thesis should be on file in the library at the
University of South Florida, Tampa.
I don't want to spoil the fun of the publication, but the bottom line is that
the CO1 sequences have proven useful in detecting recent speciation
events in spionids. The division of Streblospio into two North American
species appears to be substantiated by the molecular data (fortunately
for me!). The North Carolina populations of Streblospio that exhibit
different modes of larval development as described by Lisa Levin appear
to be the same species based upon CO1 sequences.
We are collecting similar information on Polydora cornuta (ligni) this
summer and hope to have a story to tell by next summer's Evolution
meeting. Stay tuned for further announcements.
Stan Rice
Department of Biology
University of Tampa
Tampa, FL 33606
(813) 253-3333
srice at alpha.utampa.edu
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