Systematics and phylogeography of the genus Tigriopus (Copepoda, Harpacticoida, Harpacticidae) in the basin of the Mediterranean Sea

The copepod genus Tigriopus Norman, 1869 is distributed worldwide in coastal rock-pools and it is currently considered to include 15 valid species. Tigriopus fulvus (Fischer, 1860), with its subspecies Tigriopus fulvus adriaticus Van Douwe, 1913 and Tigriopus fulvus algiricus Monard, 1935, are currently reported to occur in the Mediterranean area, but the actual diversity of the genus is currently unknown. We aimed to assess the actual identity of Mediterranean Tigriopus populations and to elucidate their taxonomy and pattern of genetic diversity. In order to reach these goals, we use two different approaches. The first, based on morphology, where the possible morphological differences among topotypical samples of Tigriopus fulvus s.s. and topotypical samples of the two subspecies were investigated. A second, on a molecular basis, where fragments of two mitochondrial DNA genes (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, COI and small ribosomal RNA subunit, 12S) and a nuclear DNA gene (28S) were sequenced to be used as a reference marker. In this frame, molecular taxonomical approaches, such as Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery (ABGD), bPTP (bayesian Poisson Tree Processes) and K/Θ ratio, were used in order to investigate the existences of the alleged subspecies of Tigriopus through the identification of Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs). Our data suggest the presence of a single species characterized by a noteworthy geographically-based genetic structure in the whole study area. The observed diversity pattern is tentatively ascribed here to a strong monopolization of the rock pools by the first immigrants that reach them. However, such a monopolization is periodically disrupted by local extinction events, which are frequent in the intrinsically unstable rock pool habitats. We propose the name “clockwork monopolization” for this pattern.