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Some rare Indo-Pacific coral species are probable hybrids.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Coral reefs worldwide face a variety of threats and many coral species are increasingly endangered. It is often assumed that rare coral species face higher risks of extinction because they have very small effective population sizes, a predicted consequence of which is decreased genetic diversity and adaptive potential. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:Here we show that some Indo-Pacific members of the coral genus Acropora have very small global population sizes and are likely to be unidirectional hybrids. Whether this reflects hybrid origins or secondary hybridization following speciation is unclear. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:The interspecific gene flow demonstrated here implies increased genetic diversity and adaptive potential in these coral species. Rare Acropora species may therefore be less vulnerable to extinction than has often been assumed because of their propensity for hybridization and introgression, which may increase their adaptive potential.

SUBMITTER: Richards ZT

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2531234 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Some rare Indo-Pacific coral species are probable hybrids.

Richards Zoe T ZT van Oppen Madeleine J H MJ Wallace Carden C CC Willis Bette L BL Miller David J DJ

PloS one 20080924 9

<h4>Background</h4>Coral reefs worldwide face a variety of threats and many coral species are increasingly endangered. It is often assumed that rare coral species face higher risks of extinction because they have very small effective population sizes, a predicted consequence of which is decreased genetic diversity and adaptive potential.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>Here we show that some Indo-Pacific members of the coral genus Acropora have very small global population sizes and are li ...[more]

PMID: 18813338

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Project description:Coral reefs of the North Indo-West Pacific provide important ecosystem services to the region but are subjected to multiple local and global threats. Strengthening management measures necessitate understanding the variability of larval connectivity and bridging global connectivity models to local scales. An individual-based Lagrangian biophysical model was used to simulate connectivity between coral reefs for three organisms with different early life history characteristics: a coral (Acropora millepora), a sea urchin (Tripneustes gratilla), and a reef fish (Epinephelus sp). Connectivity metrics and reef clusters were computed from the settlement probability matrices. Fitted power law functions derived from the dispersal kernels provided relative probabilities of connection given only the distance between reefs, and demonstrated that 95% of the larvae across organisms settled within a third of their maximum settlement distances. The magnitude of the connectivity metric values of reef cells were sensitive to differences both in the type of organism and temporal variability. Seasonal variability of connections was more dominant than interannual variability. However, despite these differences, the moderate to high correlation of metrics between organisms and seasonal matrices suggest that the spatial patterns are relatively similar between reefs. A cluster analysis based on the Bray-Curtis Dissimilarity of sink and source connections synthesized the inherent variability of these multiple large connectivity matrices. Through this, similarities in regional connectivity patterns were determined at various cluster sizes depending on the scale of interest. The validity of the model is supported by 1) the simulated dispersal kernels being within the range of reported parentage analysis estimates; and, 2) the clusters that emerged reflect the dispersal barriers implied by previously published population genetics studies. The tools presented here (dispersal kernels, temporal variability maps and reef clustering) can be used to include regional patterns of connectivity into the spatial management of coral reefs.

Dataset Information

Some rare Indo-Pacific coral species are probable hybrids.

Publications

Some rare Indo-Pacific coral species are probable hybrids.

Similar Datasets

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