Journal article
Genetic diversity and differentiation among high-latitude broadcast-spawning coral populations disjunct from the core range
AME Noreen, MJH Van Oppen, PL Harrison
Marine Ecology Progress Series | INTER-RESEARCH | Published : 2013
DOI: 10.3354/meps10480
Abstract
Little is known regarding the maintenance of range-edge populations in the absence of gene flow from core populations. In this study, we used 7 microsatellite markers to investigate genetic diversity and differentiation of the broadcast-spawning coral species Acropora solitaryensis among range-edge populations that are disjunct from the core range, and cautiously infer what this means in terms of connectivity. Acropora solitaryensis in sub-tropical eastern Australia is effectively isolated from conspecifics thousands of kilometers away and cannot rely on immigration from core populations for population maintenance. The range-edge region in this study consists of nearshore (Solitary Island) a..
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Funding Acknowledgements
This project was funded by the International Society for Reef Studies/The Ocean Conservation Fellowship to A.M.E.N., who was supported during this project by a Southern Cross University Postgraduate Research Scholarship. We thank NSW Fisheries and NSW Marine Parks Authority for the necessary permits, and the Lord Howe Island Board for allowing this research. We thank Carden Wallace for diving and taxonomic assistance at Lord Howe Island, Greg Luker for creating the map, Lesa Peplow for laboratory assistance, and several anonymous reviewers for comments that significantly improved the manuscript.