Biomedical subjects

John D Zardus

Publications and source records attributed to John D Zardus.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Bathymetric and geographic population structure in the pan-Atlantic deep-sea bivalve Deminucula atacellana (Schenck, 1939).

The deep-sea soft-sediment environment hosts a diverse and highly endemic fauna of uncertain origin. We know little about how this fauna evolved because geographic patterns of genetic variation, the essential information for inferring patterns of population differentiation and speciation are poorly understood. Using formalin-fixed specimens from archival collections, we quantify patterns of genetic variation in the protobranch bivalve Deminucula atacellana, a species widespread throughout the Atlantic Ocean at bathyal and abyssal depths. Samples were taken from 18 localities in the North American, West European and Argentine basins. A hypervariable region of mitochondrial 16S rDNA was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequenced from 130 individuals revealing 21 haplotypes. Except for several important exceptions, haplotypes are unique to each basin. Overall gene diversity is high (h = 0.73) with pronounced population structure (Phi(ST) = 0.877) and highly significant geographic associations (P < 0.0001). Sequences cluster into four major clades corresponding to differences in geography and depth. Genetic divergence was much greater among populations at different depths within the same basin, than among those at similar depths but separated by thousands of kilometres. Isolation by distance probably explains much of the interbasin variation. Depth-related divergence may reflect historical patterns of colonization or strong environmental selective gradients. Broadly distributed deep-sea organisms can possess highly genetically divergent populations, despite the lack of any morphological divergence.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Multiple origins and incursions of the Atlantic barnacle Chthamalus proteus in the Pacific.

Chthamalus proteus, a barnacle native to the Caribbean and western Atlantic, was introduced to the Pacific within the last few decades. Using direct sequencing of mitochondrial DNA (COI), we characterized genetic variation in native and introduced populations and searched for genetic matches between regions to determine if there were multiple geographical sources and introduction points for this barnacle. In the native range, we found great genetic differences among populations (max. F(ST) = 0.613) encompassing four lineages: one endemic to Panama, one endemic to Brazil, and two occurring Caribbean-wide. All four lineages were represented in the Pacific, but not equally; the Brazilian lineage was most prevalent and the Panamanian least common. Twenty-one individuals spread among nearly every island from where the barnacle is known in the Pacific, exactly matched six haplotypes scattered among Curaçao, the Netherlands Antilles; St John, US Virgin Islands; Puerto Rico; and Brazil, confirming a multigeographical origin for the Pacific populations. Significant genetic differences were also found in introduced populations from the Hawaiian Islands (F(CT) = 0.043, P < 0.001), indicating introduction events have occurred at more than one locality. However, the sequence, timing and number of arrival events remains unknown. Possible reasons for limited transport of this barnacle through the Panama Canal are discussed. This and a preponderance of Brazilian-type individuals in the Pacific suggest an unexpected route of entry from around Cape Horn, South America. Unification in the Pacific of historically divergent lineages of this barnacle raises the possibility for selection of 'hybrids' with novel ecological adaptations in its new environment.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Protobranch bivalves.

The subclass Protobranchia comprises more than 600 species of bivalves that occur throughout the world ocean. Mostly deposit feeders in soft sediments, they are abundant in the deep sea. Apomorphies that unite them as a group include gill structure, hinge conformation, shell microstructure, larval development, foot morphology, respiratory pigments, trophic mode and digestion. They are relatively small and highly conserved in form, originating in the Cambrian era. They may represent an ancestral, derived or paraphylectic group of the Bivalvia. The protobranchs include two orders, the Nuculoida and Solemyoida, which previously were classified separately in the subclasses Paleotaxodonta and Cryptodonta, respectively. They are of ecological interest and have a unique functional morphology. They feed mostly under the surface of the sediment with highly modified labial palps, but the degree to which they are selective in diet remains difficult to determine. They are important bioturbators in many soft-sediment assemblages; their feeding and locomotion affects sediment structure and community development. Solemyoids are unusual in inhabiting reducing environments and hydrocarbon seeps and in deriving their nutrition from endosymbiotic chemosynthetic bacteria. A variety of species of protobranchs are found in oceanic trenches, near hydrothermal vents, and in submarine caves. Protobranchs produce a lecithotrophic larval stage, the pericalymma, making their development unique among bivalves. The pericalymma remains in the plankton for a short time and presumably has low dispersal ability. Recruitment may be intermittent. Growth is rapid in post-larvae but decreases with age, though rates may not necessarily be slow, especially in continental shelf species. Life spans are commonly 1 to 2 decades, but deep-sea representatives may grow more slowly and live longer. Bottom fish, seastars and gastropods are their major predators and a few parasites and commensals have been documented. The predominance of protobranchs in deep-sea sediments may be a result of deep-sea origin or displacement from shallow waters by lamellibranchs. Their ability to deposit-feed, digest food extracellularly, and develop by means of lecithotrophic larvae make them particularly well adapted to cold and oligotrophic habitats.

Animals↗