"Population genetics and distribution of Typhlatya species," by Gabrielle Vaughn (Pres 13: 5ISAE)
This presentation was a part of the 5th International Symposium on Anchialine Ecosystems (5ISAE), held in Kailua-Kona November 3-5, 2022.
Presentation 13: "Insights into subterranean connectivity within the aquifer of the Yucatan Peninsula: Population genetics and distribution of Typhlatya species (Atyidae)"
Session 3: Mexico & Caribbean - Biological & Earth Sciences
Gabrielle Vaughn (1), Lauren Ballou (2), David Brankovits (3), Efrain Chavez-Solis (4), Fernando Calderón-Gutiérrez (5), Tom Iliffe, Nuno Simões (7), Elizabeth Borda (1)
Affiliations: (1) Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University-San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA; (2) Department of Biology, Florida International University-Biscayne Bay Campus, North Miami, Florida, USA; (3) Molecular Ecology Group, Water Research Institute, National Research Council of Italy, Pallanza, Italy; (4) Instituto de Investigaciones Oceanológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico; (5) Department of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University-Galveston, Galveston, Texas, USA; (7) Unidad Multidisciplinaria de Docencia e Investigación, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Puerto de Abrigo S/N, Sisal, Yucatán, Mexico
Presentation Abstract: Species of the anchialine cave dwelling shrimp genus Typhlatya (Atyidae) are broadly distributed among karst subterranean estuaries (KSEs) worldwide and commonly observed throughout the aquifer of the Yucatan Peninsula. Typhlatya species draw great attention from researchers in that they are of conservation concern and potentially play a key role in carbon cycling within cave systems. Recent phylogenetic work has shown the presence of at least five species, of which four (T. pearsei, T. mitchelli, Typhlatya sp. A, Typhlatya sp. B) were associated with the meteoric lens (less than 5 psu) of inland and coastal caves, and one (T. dzilamensis) was identified as a salinity generalist (~2-37 psu) and restricted to coastal caves. All five species were also observed as syntopic within the Ox Bel Ha cave system along a ~7 km transect inland from the coast. This study will assess the population genetic diversity and structure, via deeper within species sampling, of Typhlatya from ~30 inland and coastal caves of the Yucatan Peninsula, including marine caves in Belize. Analyses of mitochondrial (COI and 16S rRNA) and nuclear (ITS and 28S rRNA) gene data will yield a better understanding of species distributions and insights into subterranean connectivity among cave systems across the Peninsula (and beyond).