Cephalopoda: Octopodidae)
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
JKAU: Mar. Sci., Vol. 25. 2, pp: 23-40 (2014 A.D. / 1435 A.H.) DOI :10.4197/Mar. 25-2.2 Morphometric variations and genetic analysis of Lessepsian migrant Octopus aegina (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae) Inas H. Osman, Howaida R. Gabr, Salah G. El-Etreby and Saad Z. Mohammed Marine Science Department, Faculty of Science, Suez CanalUniversity, Ismailia, Egypt Abstract. The taxonomic status of Octopus aegina in Suez Canal, Gulf of Suez (north of the Red Sea) and Mediterranean Seawas elucidated by morphological analysis. Samples were collected seasonally from March 2009 till May 2010. Length weight relationships resulted in that O. aegina exhibits different growth pattern between the three studied sites. Twenty one morphometric indices were used to distinguish the three populations. Independent sample t-test revealed that in the three sites most of the indices are not significantly differed between males and females.While, one Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed that all measured morphometric indices of O. aegina are significantly differed between the three studied sites. The morphometric differences between the three populations are most probably due to differences in environmental conditions and resources availability. The genetic evidence indicates that Lessepsian migrant (Octopus sp.) is Octopus aegina. Keywords: Octopus aegina, morphometric variation, Lessepsian migration. Introduction Cephalopod species diversity in the Suez Canal is changing rapidly over the last decades due to the introduction of non-indigenous species of Indo-Pacific origin through Lessepsian migration (EastMed., 2010) . To our knowledge, the existence of any octopus has not previously been 23 24 Inas. Osman ,Howaida .Gabr , Salah. El-Etreby ,Saad. Mohammed reported in Suez Canal area. Octopodidea Octopus aegina is a Lessepsian migrant species (Galil, 2007; EastMed., 2010). However, a population of Octopus aegina, whose original distribution is Indian Ocean and Red Sea, was encountered and recorded for the first time in Suez Canal in March 2009. Generally, cephalopods are known to exhibit great morphological similarity among different species (Espineiraet al., 2009). Morphological variability within species and similarities between species often hamper precise identification (Warnkeet al., 2004). Some of this variability will be due to the fact that few body structures increase in size at the same relative rate (isometric growth) because of the geometric changes that are needed to maintain the function of the structure. Therefore, body structure and organs grow at different rates to maintain the functional and physiological equivalence (Gould, 1966). Also, environmental demands are highly reflected in the morphology of an organism, resulting in a similar form in even distantly related species (Brown et al., 1976). Therefore, relative growth of the same species from different locations has been studied widely by several authors (Sallam, 2000). Documenting the changes in body measurements within and between species may help to overcome difficulties of separating species and / or sexes, especially in the field. In addition, morphological studies help in an understanding of the systematic and phylogeny of a taxonomic group. Systematic knowledge of species and populations is important in understanding the biology, ecology, behavior and fisheries of these forms (Roper and Voss, 1983). Several morphometric (continuous) and meristic (discrete) measurements have been employed to characterize taxonomic groups of cephalopods (Witaker,1978) and to identify differences between species or subspecies (Sanchez et al., 1996) and between populations or stocks of a single species (Vega et al., 2001). A number of morphometric studies have been carried out in other parts of the world on various octopus species, showing that both species and sexes can be separated on a morphological basis (Norman and Hochberg, 2005). Few studies have been done on the morphometric characters of Octopoda in the Egyptian waters (Riad and Gabr, 2007; Riad, 2008). Nevertheless, nothing is known about morphometric Morphometric variations and genetic analysis of Lessepsian… 25 characters and morphological variations of O. aegina in its distribution through Suez Canal, Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea. Recently, there have been a significant utility of microsatellite DNA markers for examining the genetic structure of marine populations. Genetic markers have increasingly been used in the identification of finfish stocks (Imsiridouet al., 2009), others were related to the molecular phylogenetic state (Piertneyet al., 2003) and some studies were ecological (Moreno et al., 2002).The application of molecular systematic to cephalopods is a relatively young science. Nucleotide sequence data from mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene has been used for phylogenetic analysis of decapod cephalopods (Bonnaudet al., 1994) and octopods (Piertneyet al., 2003). The cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and 16S rRNA (16S) genes have also been used to examine the phylogeny of squids (Lindgren et al., 2005). The molecular evidence provides an approach to review the taxonomy based on morphological data. Few studies on cephalopods have used mitochondrial DNA to distinguish between species (Warnkeet al., 2004) This study aims to elucidate the morphometric relationships and morphometric variations of Octopus aegina in Suez Canal, Gulf of Suez and Mediterranean Se aand see if changing of habitats causes changes in morphometry. Also, it aims to determine which characters differ significantly between the sexes. Materials and methods Sampling and measurements Octopus aegina was collected from three populations along the coast of Suez Canal, the coast of Suez on Gulf of Suez and the coast of Mediterranean Sea (Figure 1). The samples were collected seasonally from March 2009 till May 2010. The samples were caught by local fishermen using artisanal beach seine and gill net in Suez Canal and industrial trawling nets in Gulf of Suez and Mediterranean. In total, 609 individuals were analyzed, 409 collected from Suez Canal, 152 from Gulf of Suez and 148 from Mediterranean. 26 Inas. Osman ,Howaida .Gabr , Salah. El-Etreby ,Saad. Mohammed All the specimens were stored at −20 °C immediately after collection to avoid contraction. Tissues from the mantle of five representative specimens from Suez Canal were preserved in 95% ethanol until DNA extraction. Fig. 1. Map showing the sampling sites at Suez Canal, Gulf of Suez and Mediterranean Sea. Morphometric characters: In the laboratory, the frozen specimens were thawed at room temperature, and then sexed according to presence or absence of the hectocotylized arm. Standard octopod measurements recommended by (Huffard and Hochberg, 2005) were the basis for this study. Twenty one characters were recorded and the relevant abbreviations are listed in Table (1). All characters were measured with a Varner Caliper to the nearest 0.01 mm and the wet body weight was measured to the nearest 0.1 g. To avoid the effect of size difference, most characters were analyzed in proportion to the dorsal mantle length (DML) (i.e. Body character/DML × 100). A total of eleven indices were calculated and used for analysis, they are namely: Mantle width index (MwdI), Head length index (HLI), Head width index (HwdI), Funnel length index (FLI), Palial opening length index (PaL I), Web 3 depth index (WbD3), Left arm length index for arms numbered from 1 to 4 (LAL1I, LAL2I, LAL3I, LAL4I) and Hectocotyle arm index (Hect.LI). Most of these Morphometric variations and genetic analysis of Lessepsian… 27 indices have been used routinely in previous morphometric studies of octopus (Huffard and Hochberg, 2005). Table 1.Abbreviations and definitions of the measured body characters. Abb Character Definition Twt Total wet weight Weight of the total body to the nearest gram. TL Total length The distance between the base of the mantle and the tip of the longest arm. DML Dorsal mantle length The distance from the base of the mantle to the middle of eyes. VML Ventral mantle length The distance from the base of the mantle to the palial aperture. Mwd Mantle width Measured dorsally at the widest distance across the mantle. HL Head length Measured along antero-postero axis of the head. Hwd Head width Measured as the greatest width of the head at level of eyes. FL Funnel length The total funnel length when normally positioned. FFL Free funnel length The length of the funnel when turned downward. PaL Pallial aperture Measured between the points of attachment of the mantle to the head along the ventral margin of the mantle. WbD Web depth The distance from the centre of the arms to the outer edge of the web. LAL 1 Left arm length for arm The distance from the terminal tip of the arm to its base. number 1 Hect. L Hectocotylezed arm length The distance from the terminal tip of the hectocotylezed arm to its base. LL Ligula length Measured from the most distal sucker to the tip of the ligula. CaL Calamus length Measured from last distal –most sucker to calamus distal tip. ScLA1 Number of suckers on left Count the number of suckers along the entire designated arm 1 arm (to arm tip). ScHect Number of suckers on Count the number of suckers along the entire hectocotyle arm hectocotyle arm. ESD Enlarged sucker diameter Measurement of the diameter of the enlarged sucker. NSD Normal sucker diameter Measurement of the diameter of the normal suckers (along the arms number 1 and 8). GC Gill lamellae count Number of lamellae on the outer demibranch. GL Gill length Measured across the length of the demibranch. Length weight relationship The relationship between total length (TL) and total wet weight (TWt)–as ln-transformed data- were analyzed for males and females of Octopus aegina at each studied site by the power regression method, 28 Inas. Osman ,Howaida .Gabr , Salah. El-Etreby ,Saad. Mohammed TWt= aTLb(Ricker, 1979) where (a) is a coefficient related to body form and (b) is an exponent indicating isometric growth when equal to 3; values significantly larger or smaller than 3.0 show allometric growth (Ricker, 1975). In order to verify if calculated b was significantly different from 3, the Student’s t-test was employed.