Hidden introductions of freshwater red algae via the aquarium trade exposed by DNA barcodes

Abstract

The global aquarium trade can introduce non-native invasive freshwater organisms, which can impact local aquatic ecosystems and their biodiversity. It is unassessed whether the aquarium trade spreads freshwater red macroalgae that hitchhike on ornamental aquatic plants and animals. We investigated this via a broad biodiversity survey and genetic analysis of freshwater red algae in the field and aquarium shops in East Asia. Using rbcL-based DNA barcoding, we surveyed 125 samples from 46 field sites and 88 samples from 53 aquarium shops (213 samples in total) mostly across Taiwan—a key hub in the global aquarium trade—as well as in Hong Kong, Okinawa (Japan), the Philippines, and Thailand. We augmented our rbcL sequences with GenBank rbcL sequences that represent 40 additional countries globally. We found 26 molecular operational taxonomic units (mOTUs), some of which are cryptic, in Taiwan. Phylogeographical analysis revealed three potential introduced mOTUs, which exhibit no local genetic variation in Taiwan and are distributed across continents. Also, we posit that aquaria may serve as an unintentional ex situ conservation site for freshwater red algae that are vulnerable to water pollution due to anthropogenic disturbances. Collectively, these data suggest that freshwater red algae have been hitchhiking and dispersed via the aquarium trade, an important and overlooked mechanism of introduction of the organisms across the globe.