Spinicaudata Catalogus (Crustacea: Branchiopoda)

Phylogenetic Signal Dissection of Heterogeneous 28S and 16S rRNA Genes in Spinicaudata (Branchiopoda, Diplostraca)

It is still a challenge to reconstruct the deep phylogenetic relationships within spinicaudatans, and there are several different competing hypotheses regarding the interrelationships among Eocyzicidae, Cyzicidae s. s., Leptestheriidae, and Limnadiidae of the Suborder Spinicaudata. In order to explore the source of the inconsistencies, we focus on the sequence variation and the structure model of two rRNA genes based on extensive taxa sampling. The comparative sequence analysis revealed heterogeneity across species and the existence of conserved motifs in all spinicaudatan species. The level of intraspecific heterogeneity differed among species, which suggested that some species might have undergone a relaxed concerted evolution with respect to the 28S rRNA gene. The Bayesian analyses were performed on nuclear (28S rRNA, EF1α) and mitochondrial (16S rRNA, COI) genes. Further, we investigated compositional heterogeneity between lineages and assessed the potential for phylogenetic noise compared to signal in the combined data set. Reducing the non-phylogenetic signals and application of optimal rRNA model recovered a topology congruent with inference from the transcriptome data, whereby Limnadiidae was placed as a sister group to Leptestheriidae + Eocyzicidae with high support (topology I). Tests of alternative hypotheses provided implicit support for four competing topologies, and topology I was the best.

Preliminary Study of Temperature Effects on Size and Shape in the Modern Spinicaudatan Eulimnadia texana (Crustacea: Branchiopoda)

Studies of temperature effects on morphology in Spinicaudata have focused on length, with no data on shape. To fill this gap, size and shape variability in response to temperature fluctuations was investigated by rearing the modern spinicaudatan Eulimnadia texana. Two days after hydration, juvenile individuals were separated into four different temperature treatments: 20°C, 23°C, 26°C, and 29°C. Hermaphrodite size and shape were analysed by looking at linear combinations of size variables and using Fourier shape analysis; methods that are also used to describe fossil size and shape for better comparison. Size differences were considerable, with reduced growth at low and high temperatures and accelerated growth at the optimum temperature of 26°C, revealing that the reaction of size to increasing temperature is non-linear. The height of the dorsal margin, which is associated with space for egg production in Eulimnadia texana, accounts for a high amount of size variability in this species and, presumably, in most of the Limnadiidae. Hermaphrodite shapes reared under temperatures of 20°C and 29°C are statistically distinct, while intermediate temperatures yield intermediate shapes. The rate of shape change along temperature is comparatively low between 23°C and 26°C and accelerated at lower and higher temperatures. With increasing temperature, the highest point of the dorsal margin is shifted towards the anterior of the carapace, while it assumes a median position at 20°C. Our result that temperature has strong effects on carapace size and shape implies considerable ecophenotypic variability in Spinicaudata.