Seaweed diversification driven by Taiwan’s emergence and the Kuroshio Current: insights from the cryptic diversity and phylogeography of Dichotomaria (Galaxauraceae, Rhodophyta)

Abstract

Ocean currents play a role in both facilitating and impeding connectivity of marine organisms’ populations, serving as key drivers and potential barriers. The emergence of Taiwan around five million years ago (Mya) impacted the Kuroshio Current which later shaped the distribution of marine organisms. In this study, we examined how the Kuroshio Current influenced the distribution and population divergence of the marine red alga Dichotomaria elegans (Galaxauraceae, Nemaliales). Through phylogenetic analysis, species delimitation, and morphological comparison of Taiwanese species, we determined its phylogenetic position relative to other species within the D. marginata complex of the genus Dichotomaria. We uncovered the hidden cryptic diversity within the D. marginata complex in Taiwan and proposed the new combinations D. elegans and D. latifolia based on Galaxaura elegans and G. latifolia. Genetic analysis based on three loci (mitochondrial cox2-3 and cox1, and plastid rbcL) from 32 locations across the Philippines, Taiwan, and Japan revealed three allopatric lineages within D. elegans. The first lineage is restricted to the northern Philippines and southern Taiwan, while the second has a broader latitudinal range along the Kuroshio Current. The third lineage is found in southeast Luzon, Philippines, close to the bifurcation of the North Equatorial Current, near the start of the Kuroshio Current. The divergence of the first two lineages during the mid-Pliocene (~3.7 Mya) coincided with the emergence of Taiwan, with the current dynamics accentuating their separation. The Kuroshio Current exhibited a dual impact on the biogeography of D. elegans: promoting the dispersal of the second lineage towards higher latitudes and preventing the first lineage from moving northward. Principal component analysis showed that habitat conditions and morphologies differed between the two D. elegans lineages. This study provides insights into the cryptic diversity of Dichotomaria in Taiwan, as well as the genetic divergence, biogeographical patterns, and ecological associations of D. elegans, highlighting the interplay of island formation and currents shaping the diversification of seaweeds in the Northwest Pacific Ocean.