RAD sequencing of common whelk, Buccinum undatum, reveals fine‐scale population structuring in Europe and cryptic speciation within the North Atlantic

• Published in: Ecology and Evolution
• Main Authors: Jake Goodall, Kristen Marie Westfall, Hildur Magnúsdóttir, Snæbjörn Pálsson, Erla Björk Örnólfsdóttir, Zophonías O. Jónsson
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2021
• Subjects: divergence; F ST; genetics; phylogeography; speciation; Ecology; QH540-549.5; Faroe Islands; Iceland; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7219; https://doaj.org/article/3330179ef0eb4c8f9936dc6efbdd5358

Abstract Buccinum undatum is a subtidal gastropod that exhibits clear spatial variation in several phenotypic shell traits (color, shape, and thickness) across its North Atlantic distribution. Studies of spatial phenotypic variation exist for the species; however, population genetic studies have thus far relied on a limited set of mitochondrial and microsatellite markers. Here, we greatly expand on previous work by characterizing population genetic structure in B. undatum across the North Atlantic from SNP variation obtained by RAD sequencing. There was a high degree of genetic differentiation between Canadian and European populations (Iceland, Faroe Islands, and England) consistent with the divergence of populations in allopatry (FST > 0.57 for all pairwise comparisons). In addition, B. undatum populations within Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and England are typified by weak but significant genetic structuring following an isolation‐by‐distance model. Finally, we established a significant correlation between genetic structuring in Iceland and two phenotypic traits: shell shape and color frequency. The works detailed here enhance our understanding of genetic structuring in B. undatum and establish the species as an intriguing model for future genome‐wide association studies.