Zoogeography and evolutionary ecology of the genus Platorchestia (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Talitridae)

ABSTRACT

Species of the genus Platorchestia occur both in the northern hemisphere (18 species) and southern hemisphere (three species plus a synanthropically introduced species in South America and South Africa). The greater number of endemic Platorchestia species in the North Pacific Ocean suggests that it could be the epicentre of evolution for this genus. North-western Pacific Platorchestia includes 15 species which occupy five ecotopes: wrack (seven species), terrestrial leaf litter (five species), freshwater (one species), marsh (one species) and tentatively present in caves (one species). North-eastern Pacific Platorchestia includes only one putative driftwood specialist, with no other species found in North American coastal habitats. This compares with three good endemic Platorchestia species (plus two putative additional species) and only two ecotopes: wrack (three species) and freshwater (two species) from the North Atlantic Ocean, inclusive of the Gulf of Mexico and Mediterranean Sea. Insufficient data is available to consider Platorchestia zoogeography for the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. Synanthropic dispersal involving Platorchestia in Polynesian outrigger canoes, or in solid ballast carried in the holds of wooden sailing ships has been identified as a potential complicating factor in the zoogeography of this genus. Platorchestia is proposed to have arisen on Laurasia and is therefore basically a northern hemisphere genus. Questions concerning Platorchestia zoogeography and evolutionary ecology are posed and two methods (more intensive field sampling and molecular genetics) are suggested to be the way to solve them.

KEYWORDS:

• Platorchestia ecotypes
• natural and synanthropic dispersal
• endemic species of Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
• evolutionary epicentre: north-west Pacific

Acknowledgements

Blythe Chang is thanked for producing two of the Figures. Two unnamed referees are thanked for improving an earlier version of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

DJW was partially funded by Fisheries & Oceans Canada. This paper contributes to the University of Guelph’s Food from Thought research program supported by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund.