Genealogical concordance, comparative species delimitation, and the specific status of the Caspian pipefish Syngnathus caspius (Teleostei: Syngnathidae)

Abstract

To evaluate the specific validity of the Caspian pipefish Syngnathus caspius , we used a comparative molecular species delimitation method on a COI barcode library of Syngnathus , as well as principles of genealogical concordance. Comparative species delimitation allowed us to delineate putative species without a priori assignment of individuals to nominal species, while genealogical concordance extended our species delimitation results to multiple genes, multiple codistributed species, and comparisons with biogeographic evidence. All species delimitation analyses including two topology‐based, one network‐based, and one distance‐based analysis showed genetically isolated lineages of pipefish in the Black and Caspian Sea, corresponding to S. abaster and S. caspius , respectively. Mean evolutionary divergence between the two lineages (0.029) was within the range separating species of Syngnathus (0.024–0.217). The interclade/intraclade ratio of variation was comparable to the operational criterion of divergence between clades greater or equal to 10 × the level within clades to recognize separate species. Our argument on taxonomic validity of S. caspius is also supported by the principles of genealogical concordance as a conceptual basis for recognition of biological species. As a second objective, using a limited number of S. caspius specimens from two semi‐confined water bodies along the Caspian Sea south coastal zone (i.e., Anzali Wetland in the west and Gorgan Bay in the east), we searched for a possible matrilineal structure. The retrieved phylogeographic pattern was characterized by a shallow genealogy and lineage distributions varied, most probably caused by low to modest contemporary gene flow between populations of S. caspius across the southern Caspian Sea that are linked tightly through history.

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