Phylogeography and phenotypic diversification in the Patagonian fish Percichthys trucha: The roles of Quaternary glacial cycles and natural selection

Current patterns of genetic and morphological diversity are the product of historical climatic and geomorphological events, and of contemporary selection processes acting upon this diversity. Here we examine the phylogeographic and phenotypic patterns of diversity within Percichthys trucha, a widely distributed Patagonian fish species complex that inhabits Andean and steppe freshwater environments. Molecular analysis (mtDNA control region) of 21 populations distributed throughout its latitudinal range revealed little evidence of phylogeographic structure and no evidence of species-level genetic divergence east of the Andes. The complex, however, exhibits high levels of intra- and interpopulation phenotypic variation. Patterns of among-population divergence in morphology were most easily explained by differences in predation pressure among populations; dorsal fin spines (commonly a defensive characteristic) were longer in environments with greater densities of potentially piscivorous fish. Trophic characters were highly variable within populations, suggesting an important role for resources in generating within-population morphological variation. The very shallow levels of divergence shown by the molecular data most likely reflect the historical mixing of populations as a result of the climatic and landscape changes that affected Patagonia throughout the Quaternary. The phenotypic divergences, in contrast, are probably the result of differing contemporary selection regimes acting on currently disjoint populations.