When morphology cannot identify species: high morphological diversity of Pocillopora corals (Anthozoa: Scleractinia) in the Eastern Tropical Pacific

Abstract Accurate species identification is fundamental to biological diversity assessments and critical for understanding ecological and evolutionary dynamics. Nonetheless, the high levels of morphological variation in many scleractinian corals have blurred the recognition of species boundaries. The genus Pocillopora is widely distributed and exhibits high levels of colony level phenotypic plasticity and polymorphism, leading to the description of over 40 species worldwide. In the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP), nine “morphospecies” have been recorded, but only four genetically distinct species are now recognized in the area, based initially on variation in mitochondrial DNA and then supported by genomic data. This study aimed to identify useful molecular and morphological traits to recognize and describe the Pocillopora diversity in the ETP. We found that Histone and mitochondrial markers could identify discrete lineages, while most of the nuclear genes analyzed offered little power for delineation. Neither colonial morphology nor corallite micro-morphology reliably corresponded to the lineages identified. Based on mitochondrial and nuclear genetic data, we found that at least four distinct lineages occur in the ETP. The species names associated with these mitochondrial haplotypes in other studies are most often P. cf. effusa , P. lacera , and two putative cryptic species: P. capitata and P. meandrina .

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Publication Details

Journal
Research Square
Published
2026-11-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-10796321/v1
Primary Topic
Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
Type
preprint
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preprint

When morphology cannot identify species: high morphological diversity of Pocillopora corals (Anthozoa: Scleractinia) in the Eastern Tropical Pacific

Antonio González‐Rodríguez, Francisco Javier García-De León, Fernando A. Zapata, Eduardo Francisco Balart et al.
Research Square
Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
preprint

When morphology cannot identify species: high morphological diversity of Pocillopora corals (Anthozoa: Scleractinia) in the Eastern Tropical Pacific

Antonio González‐Rodríguez, Francisco Javier García-De León, Fernando A. Zapata, Eduardo Francisco Balart, Yesenia Margarita Vega‐Sánchez, Johnny Alvarado, Andrés López‐Pérez, Michael E. Hellberg, Zac H. Forsman, Ana María Millán-Márquez, Evie A. Wieters, Hector Nava, Nina Yasuda, David A. Paz‐García, Yuko F. Kitano, Rebecca Albright, Jorge Cortés, Jean Francois Flot, P. Puig-Martí
preprint en

Abstract

Abstract Accurate species identification is fundamental to biological diversity assessments and critical for understanding ecological and evolutionary dynamics. Nonetheless, the high levels of morphological variation in many scleractinian corals have blurred the recognition of species boundaries. The genus Pocillopora is widely distributed and exhibits high levels of colony level phenotypic plasticity and polymorphism, leading to the description of over 40 species worldwide. In the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP), nine “morphospecies” have been recorded, but only four genetically distinct species are now recognized in the area, based initially on variation in mitochondrial DNA and then supported by genomic data. This study aimed to identify useful molecular and morphological traits to recognize and describe the Pocillopora diversity in the ETP. We found that Histone and mitochondrial markers could identify discrete lineages, while most of the nuclear genes analyzed offered little power for delineation. Neither colonial morphology nor corallite micro-morphology reliably corresponded to the lineages identified. Based on mitochondrial and nuclear genetic data, we found that at least four distinct lineages occur in the ETP. The species names associated with these mitochondrial haplotypes in other studies are most often P. cf. effusa , P. lacera , and two putative cryptic species: P. capitata and P. meandrina .

Research Square
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (US), University of Miyazaki (JP), Louisiana State University (US), Université Libre de Bruxelles (BE), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (CL), Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo (MX), Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (MX), California Academy of Sciences (US), Universidad de Costa Rica (CR), Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste S.C. (MX), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (MX), Universidad del Valle (CO)
Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
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