Phylogeography of Hydropuntia cornea/Hydropuntia usneoides complex (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta) in the Yucatan Peninsula

Phylogeographic studies can contribute to our understanding of the evolutionary forces acting on the patterns of genetic variation and the evolutionary history of species. The Hydropuntia cornea/ Hydropuntia usneoides species complex consists of two common species of red algae in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. Both species exhibit high phenotypic plasticity and total overlap in morphological characters and are only distinguished genetically (group GI, assigned to H. usneoides and group GII, assigned to H. cornea). In the Yucatan Peninsula, where they are abundant, they have a sympatric distribution. In order to understand the historical events and their influence on the current distribution patterns of these species around the Yucatan Peninsula and compare them with some populations from Venezuela and Brazil, we analyzed variation in the plastid-encoded RuBisCo spacer. A total of 133 individuals collected from 14 sites were sequenced. The analyses revealed 12 haplotypes (R1-R12). The haplotype network revealed two major groups (GI and GII) separated by three mutational steps. Group I was found in almost all sampled sites (n = 13), while GII was found in six sites but was absent from the Gulf of Mexico (Campeche). Haplotype R1 was the most abundant in GI, and haplotype R4 was dominant in GII. Genetic variation was higher in GI than in GII. Mismatch distribution suggests that GI may be in a period of demographic equilibrium, and GII experienced a recent demographic expansion and may have come from the south when the northern portion of the peninsula emerged (2.8 million years ago). Our results revealed that the Yucatan Peninsula is a mix of southern and northern floristic influences, which can be explained by the geological events in the area.