Phylogeography of the ocean quahog (Arctica islandica): influences of paleoclimate on genetic diversity and species range

The ocean quahog, Arctica islandica (Linnaeus, 1767), is a commercially imp ortant bivalve found on continental shelves throughout much of the North At lantic. To assess genetic subdivision in this species. we sequenced 385 nuc leotides of the mitochondrial cytochrome b (cyt b) gene from 83 specimens c ollected from 12 localities between September 1998 and July 1999 (based on preliminary data, the Internal Transcribed Spacers, ITS, of the nuclear rib osomal repeat were not useful). The cyt b data delimited 11 haplotypes with 0.26 to 8.1% nucleotide difference (coded by 36 variable nucleotide positi ons) among them. Only three haplotypes were detected in 39 specimens collec ted along the USA coastline, compared to five haplotypes from nine Icelandi c individuals. The western Atlantic populations ranging from Penobscot Bay (Maine, USA) to southern Virginia showed relatively low diversity and appea red genetically similar in that region. Based on the presence of shared hap lotypes, AMOVA analyses, and phylogenetic reconstructions, Icelandic popula tions appear to be more genetically similar to western Atlantic populations than eastern Atlantic populations. Specimens from the Faroe Islands (II = 4) show mixed affinities. These data are consistent with the hypothesis tha t a warm Holocene climatic optimum (ca. 7,500 years BP), and not glacial re fugia, shaped the present-day genetic structure in A. islandica.