Location and disturbance affect population genetic structure in four coral species of the genus Acropora on the great Barrier Reef

Abstract

The impact of a mass bleaching event on temporal and spatial population genetic structure in 4 scleractinian coral species in the Acropora aspera group was studied around the Palm Islands in the central Great Barrier Reef. Species status of sympatric populations of 2 of the 4 species, A. millepora and A. spathulata, was confirmed by the population genetic data; these species have recently been separated based on morphological and breeding characters. Spatial analyses of population samples from 2004 detected differences in the level of gene flow among locations. No significant genetic differentiation was inferred between conspecific populations at Orpheus and Pelorus Islands, which are both l..