Mitochondrial DNA‐inferred population structure and demographic history of the mitten crab (Eriocheir sensu stricto) found along the coast of mainland China

Abstract

The mitten crab, Eriocheir sensu stricto, is economically important in East Asia, although it is an invasive species in Europe and North America. Little is known about its population structure and historical demography in its native range, especially along the Pacific coast of China. We collected mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit II and cytochrome b sequences from 154 individuals distributed in the rivers along the Chinese coast and 15 individuals from Japan. Phylogenetic analysis resulted in three major monophyletic groups: northern China, southern China and Japan. Negligible migration was detected among those groups by coalescent analysis. Hence, we support the recognition of three species: Eriocheir hepuensis in southern China, Eriocheir sinensis in northern China and Eriocheir japonica in Japan. The populations in the middle (the Oujiang and Minjiang Rivers) possess a mixture of haplotypes similar to either the northern or the southern haplotypes. We believe that secondary intergradation as the most likely cause of the clinal variation based on examining the genetic variation in the latitudinal space. The estimated divergence time between E. sinensis and E. hepuensis is 2.24 million years ago (Ma), while the divergence time between E. japonica and E. sinensis is 1.83 Ma. Both are in the late Pliocene, suggesting that land bridges associated with low sea level during that time might have severed as vicariant barriers for speciation. The divergence of the northern population and the 'northern haplotypes' in the middle population was estimated at 0.12 Ma, while the time separating the southern population and the 'southern haplotypes' in the middle populations was estimated as 0.16 Ma, implicating possible secondary contact in the late Pleistocene.

Novel microsatellite markers for endangered Hepu mitten crab, Eriocheir hepuensis

“…E. hepuensis was recently described by Dai (1991) from Nanliu River drainage, in Hepu county, Guangxi province, on the South China Sea coast. A recent report has now indicated that the mitten crabs endemic to southern rivers in China (e.g., the Nanliu River and Pearl River in Guandong province) are either E. hepuensis (Wang et al 2008) or a separate taxonomic unit (Sui et al 2009). …”

“…The mitten crab is commonly considered to consist of three species (Guo et al 1997;Ng et al 1999;Wang et al 2008;Xu et al 2009) or subspecies (Tang et al 2003), including the Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis), the Japanese mitten crab (Eriocheir japonica), and the Hepu mitten crab (Eriocheir hepuensis). E. hepuensis was recently described by Dai (1991) from Nanliu River drainage, in Hepu county, Guangxi province, on the South China Sea coast.…”

Development of 20 microsatellite loci in the Japanese mitten crab Eriocheir japonica and cross-amplification in the Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis

“…The Japanese mitten crab has the widest distribution, covering Japan, the Russian and Korean coasts of the Sea of Japan, and southern China including the west coast of Taiwan and Hong Kong (Sakai 1935(Sakai , 1976Yamasaki et al 2006). The taxonomy of the three species of mitten crabs has been widely studied (Tang et al2003;Wang et al 2008;Xu et al 2009), but there are only a few studies on the population structure of the Japanese mitten crab (Yamasaki et al 2006;Wang et al 2008;Xu et al 2009). To date, no polymorphic novel microsatellite loci have been reported for E. japonica, while about 35 microsatellite markers have been developed for E. sinensis (Hänfling and Weetman 2003;Chang et al 2006;Zhu et al 2006).…”

“…The mitten crab is commonly comprised of three species (Guo et al 1997;Ng et al 1999;Wang et al 2008;Xu et al 2009) or subspecies (Tang et al 2003), which include the Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis), Japanese mitten crab (Eriocheir japonica), and Hepu mitten crab (Eriocheir hepuensis). The Japanese mitten crab has the widest distribution, covering Japan, the Russian and Korean coasts of the Sea of Japan, and southern China including the west coast of Taiwan and Hong Kong (Sakai 1935(Sakai , 1976Yamasaki et al 2006).…”

A comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of Grapsoidea crabs (Decapoda: Brachyura) based on mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) genes

“…However, some studies have treated these four subfamilies as families. Over the last 20 years, the topologies of the molecular trees published concerning Grapsoidea's phylogenetic relationships have been contradictory, especially for Eriocheir species (Eriocheir japonica sinensis, Eriocheir japonica hepuensis, and Eriocheir japonica japonica) (Chu et al, 2003;Tang et al, 2003;Wang et al, 2008).…”