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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 22(2)

Subterranean archipelago: mitochondrial DNA phylogeography of stygobitic isopods (Oniscidea : Haloniscus) from the Yilgarn region of Western Australia

Steven J. B. Cooper A B F , Kathleen M. Saint A , Stefano Taiti C , Andrew D. Austin B D and William F. Humphreys E
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Evolutionary Biology Unit, South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia.

B Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, The University of Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia.

C Istituto per lo Studio degli Ecosistemi, CNR, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy.

D School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia.

E Western Australian Museum, Collections and Research Centre, Locked Bag 49, Welshpool DC, Western Australia 6986, Australia.

F Corresponding author. Email: cooper.steve@saugov.sa.gov.au

Invertebrate Systematics 22(2) 195-203 https://doi.org/10.1071/IS07039
Submitted: 27 July 2007  Accepted: 14 February 2008   Published: 12 May 2008

Abstract

The arid Yilgarn region of Western Australia contains numerous isolated calcrete aquifers, within which a diverse subterranean fauna has been discovered. Genetic and morphological studies of subterranean dytiscid beetles and amphipods have suggested that individual calcretes are equivalent to closed island habitats, which have been isolated for millions of years. Here we test this ‘subterranean island’ hypothesis further by phylogeographic analyses of subterranean oniscidean isopods (Haloniscus), using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence data derived from the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene. Phylogenetic and population genetic analyses provided evidence for significant phylogeographic structuring of isopod populations, with evidence for at least 24 divergent mtDNA lineages, each restricted in their distribution to a single calcrete aquifer. The high level of divergence among calcrete populations (generally >25%) and several mtDNA lineages within calcretes (>16%) suggests that each lineage is likely to represent a distinct species. These analyses, together with comparative phylogeographic data from dytiscid beetles and amphipods, provide strong support for the ‘subterranean island’ hypothesis, applying to both air-breathing and fully aquatic arthropod groups. The finding of several epigean lineages that grouped with stygobitic Haloniscus populations, and the overall phylogeographic structure of populations, suggests that the majority of stygobitic species evolved within individual calcretes following independent colonisation by epigean ancestors.

Additional keywords: cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), Isopoda, stygofauna.


Acknowledgements

We thank R. Leijs, C. Clay, S. Eberhard, H. Hahn, T. Karanovic, S. Hinze, J. Waldock and C. Watts for help in collecting stygofauna and the many pastoralists and mining officers, previously acknowledged in Watts and Humphreys (1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006), who gave us access to land. We are also grateful to J. Waldock for providing technical assistance, A. Pinder from the Department of Conservation and Environment who made available epigean material from the Salinity Action Plan Survey, Sam Lake (Monash University) for re-collecting H. searlei from the type locality and the Rottnest Island Board for access. This work was supported by Australian Research Council grants DP0663675 and LP0348753 and by Australian Biological Research Study grants to W.F.H. and C.H.S. Watts. We are also very grateful for the funding provided by our ARC Linkage partners, Newmont Australia, PlacerDome Asia Pacific, the South Australian Museum and Western Australian Museum.


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