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Testing two contrasting evolutionary patterns in ancient lakes: species flock versus species scatter in valvatid gastropods of Lake Ohrid

  • SPECIATION IN ANCIENT LAKES
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Abstract

Ancient lakes have long been recognized as “hot spots of evolution” and “evolutionary theatres” and they have significantly contributed to a better understanding of speciation and radiation processes in space and time. Yet, phylogenetic relationships of many ancient lake taxa, particularly invertebrate groups, are still unresolved. Also, the lack of robust morphological, anatomical, and phylogeographical data has largely prevented a rigorous testing of evolutionary hypotheses. For the freshwater gastropod genus Valvata—a group with a high degree of endemism in several ancient lakes—different evolutionary scenarios are suggested for different ancient lakes. Lake Baikal, for example, is inhabited by several endemic Valvata taxa that presumably do not form a monophyletic group. For such an evolutionary pattern, the term ancient lake species scatter is introduced here. In contrast, for the Balkan Lake Ohrid, workers previously suggested the presence of a monophyletic group of endemic Valvata species, that is, an ancient lake species flock. Sequence data of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase c subunit I gene (COI) from worldwide taxa, with a strong emphasis on Balkan species, are here used to test whether the putative Ohrid Valvata endemics represent an ancient lake species flock and to study patterns of speciation both on the Ohrid and the Balkan scale. The study reveals three distinct clades of endemic Valvata in Lake Ohrid. Monophyly of these taxa, however, is rejected, and they therefore do not represent an ancient lake species flock, but rather an ancient lake species scatter. Also, in contrast to many other gastropod groups in Lake Ohrid, the valvatids apparently did not radiate. Many Valvata taxa in ancient lakes are characterized by enhanced levels of shell complexity. However, it remains unclear whether these patterns are associated with ancient lake environments per se. It is here suggested that similarities in shell structure between North American and Balkan taxa might simply be due to convergent evolution.

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Acknowledgments

We are very grateful to the colleagues of the HBI for their hospitality, immense support and interest in our joint project. B. Budzakoska, S. Trajanovski and S. Trajanovska provided valuable information and took part in field trips. D. Georgiev is gratefully acknowledged for providing us with vast local expertise, support, and equipment. M. Colling, C. Renker, A. Falniowski, C. Meier-Brook, S. Koşal Şahin, V. Pešić, and Z. Feher kindly provided important material for this study. D. Lohfink, R. Schultheiß, and T. Geertz were excellent field fellows. We thank S. Nachtigall for technical assistance in the lab and R. Schultheiß for help with the R-analysis. The comments of P. Glöer, T. Sitnikova, and an anonymous reviewer on an earlier version are also acknowledged.

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  1. Department of Animal Ecology and Systematics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26-32 (IFZ), 35392, Giessen, Germany

    Anne-Kathrin Hauswald, Christian Albrecht & Thomas Wilke

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  1. Anne-Kathrin Hauswald
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  2. Christian Albrecht
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  3. Thomas Wilke
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Correspondence to Christian Albrecht.

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Guest editors: T. Wilke, R. Väinölä & F. Riedel

Patterns and Processes of Speciation in Ancient Lakes: Proceedings of the Fourth Symposium on Speciation in Ancient Lakes, Berlin, Germany, September 4–8, 2006

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Hauswald, AK., Albrecht, C. & Wilke, T. Testing two contrasting evolutionary patterns in ancient lakes: species flock versus species scatter in valvatid gastropods of Lake Ohrid. Hydrobiologia 615, 169–179 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-008-9556-0

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