Comparative phylogeography of bagrid catfishes in Taiwan

Abstract

A phylogeographic analysis of two bagrid catfi shes in Taiwan was conducted using sequence data from a portion of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region. For Pseudobagrus brevianalis, which is most probably endemic to Taiwan, a total of eight haplotypes were detected in 189 specimens from nine river systems covering its entire distribution range, from northern to central western areas of the island. Obvious genetic differentiation was observed among its populations (average F ST = 0.753); in particular, the northernmost Tamsui River population was fi xed for a single endemic haplotype. Nested clade phylogeographic analysis (NCPA) indicated that the dispersal center of mtDNA was the area around the Touchien River and Holong River, north to the Miaoli Plateau, in northwestern Taiwan, suggesting both northward and southward dispersal in this species. There was no evidence for the validity of P. taiwanensis, the nominal species described from Taiwan, morphologically similar to P. brevianalis. We confi rmed that P. adiposalis was distributed discontinuously in three river systems; analysis of 42 specimens from the rivers indicated a total of four haplotypes and population differentiation (average F ST = 0.876). Fixation into a largely differentiated haplotype in the northernmost Tamsui River population was also found in this species, but different processes for this phylogeographic pattern were implied for the two species. Comparison with P. ussuriensis, a widespread continental species morphologically similar to P. adiposalis, suggested the possibility that P. adiposalis is a group of local populations of P. ussuriensis in Taiwan. Two migration routes vs. random fi xation scenarios for the population structure of P. adiposalis are discussed with information on other fi shes and the geological history of the island.

Phylogeography of the freshwater catfish Hemibagrus guttatus (Siluriformes, Bagridae): Implications for South China biogeography and influence of sea-level changes

“…Similar phenomena were also found in the phylogeographic studies of many other freshwater fishes and other organisms in the drainages of Taiwan or on both sides of the Taiwan Strait (e.g. Wang et al, 2004;Watanabe et al, 2007). The transgression of the South China Sea during several inter-ice ages might have led to the colonization and divergence of some fishes or fish populations in the coastal rivers and streams of South China.…”

Annotated checklist and type catalog of fish genera and species described from Taiwan

“…This species was considered as a valid subspecies of P. brevianalis (sense Chen and Fang, 1999). Althought Ferraris (2007) considered this species to be valid at the species level, Watanabe et al (2007) argued that there was no evidence for the validity of the present species. Regan, 1908b:360 Syntype: BMNH 1909, Lake Candidius, Formosa, coll.…”

A New Phylogeographic Pattern of Endemic Bufo bankorensis in Taiwan Island Is Attributed to the Genetic Variation of Populations

“…This pattern of phylogeographic outliers suggests that these populations show a history of isolation from the populations in southern Taiwan and present a relatively high conservation value. In previous studies, two topological barriers, the Miaoli Plateau and Formosa Bank, have been found to represent significant barriers to gene flow in species from various taxa in western Taiwan, such as bagrid catfishes [92] , cyprinids [18] , [23] , [93] , frogs [20] , [22] , [94] , snakes [87] , [88] , and squirrels [89] . Despite the previously reported evidence of amphibian species divergence being caused by a combination of topological barriers and river systems, as for B. robusta [20] , such effects are not detected in B. bankorensis populations.…”