Periwinkles (Gasteropoda, Littorinidae) as a model for studying patterns and dnamics of marine biodiversity
2001
Backeljau, T. | Winnepenninckx, B. | Wolf, H. de (Royal Belgian Inst. of Natural Sciences, Brussels (Belgium)) | Frias Martins, A. | Gosling, E. | Grahame, J. | Mill, P. | Brito, C. | Clarke, A. | Medeiros, R. | Small, M. | Wilding, C. | Wilson, I. | Clarke, R.
This paper presents a summary synthesis of an international European Community-funded research program in which periwinkles are used as a model group to study patterns and dynamics in marine biodiversity. In the first part of the paper, a number of techniques and markers to assess biodiversity in periwinkles are illustrated and evaluated, while protocols for DNA-cxtraction, Single-Strand Conformation Polymorphisms (SSCP) and PCR-amplification of a number of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA markers are provided. The second part of the paper presents a brief overview of the application of these techniques in the analysis of genetic diversity in two periwinkle taxa with contrasting developmental modes, viz. Littorina striata and the Littorina saxatilis complex. Finally, these results are discussed in the light of the implementation of the Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) and Management Unit (MU) concepts in (marine) conservation biology. It is concluded that, although these operational concepts are more appropriate than species level systematics for delineating relevant intraspecific diversity, they still may not adequately represent non-molecular evolutionarily relevant, diversity.
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