Phylogeography of a widespread Australian freshwater fish, western carp
gudgeon (Eleotridae: Hypseleotris klunzingeri): cryptic species, hybrid
zones and strong intra-specific divergences
Abstract
Despite belonging to the most abundant and widespread genus of
freshwater fishes in the region, the carp gudgeons of eastern Australia
(genus Hypseleotris) have proved taxonomically and ecologically
problematic to science since the 19th century. Several molecular studies
and a recent taxonomic revision have now shed light on the complex
biology and evolutionary history that underlies this group. These
studies have demonstrated that carp gudgeons include a sexual/unisexual
complex (five sexual species plus an assortment of hemiclonal lineages),
many members of which also co-occur with an independent sexual relative,
the western carp gudgeon (H. klunzingeri). Here we fill yet another
knowledge gap for this important group by presenting a detailed
molecular phylogeographic assessment of the western carp gudgeon across
its entire and extensive geographic range. We use a suite of nuclear
genetic markers (SNPs and allozymes) plus a matrilineal genealogy (cytb)
to demonstrate that H. klunzingeri s.l. also displays considerable
taxonomic and phylogeographic complexity. All molecular datasets concur
in recognizing the presence of multiple candidate species, two instances
of historic between-species admixture, and the existence of a natural
hybrid zone between two of the three candidate species found in the
Murray Darling Basin. We also discuss the major phylogeographic patterns
evident within each taxon. Together these analyses provide a robust
molecular, taxonomic, and distributional framework to underpin future
morphological and ecological investigations on this prominent member of
regional freshwater ecosystems in eastern Australia.