Dataset Information

Ecological traits, genetic diversity and regional distribution of the macroalga Treptacantha elegans along the Catalan coast (NW Mediterranean Sea).

ABSTRACT: The widespread decline of canopy-forming macroalgal assemblages has been documented in many regions during the last decades. This pattern is often followed by the replacement of structurally complex algal canopies by more simplified habitats (e.g., turfs or sea urchin barren grounds). Against all odds, the fucoid Treptacantha elegans, a large Mediterranean brown macroalga, broadened its depth range to deeper and exposed environments and displayed an unexpected range expansion along the northern coast of Catalonia over the last two decades. Here, we reconstruct the spread of T. elegans in time and space and unravel ecological and demographic traits such as population dynamics and genetic patterns to provide a comprehensive and integrated view of the current status and geographical expansion for this species. Fast-growing dynamics, early fertile maturity, and high turnover rate are the main competitive advantages that allow the exposed populations of T. elegans to colonize available substrata and maintain dense and patchy populations. We also provided evidence that the deeper and exposed populations of T. elegans constitute a single group across the Catalan coast, with little genetic differentiation among populations. This seems to support the hypothesis of a unique source of spread in the last decades from the Medes Islands No-Take Zone towards both southern and northern waters.

SUBMITTER: Medrano A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7644675 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Ecological traits, genetic diversity and regional distribution of the macroalga Treptacantha elegans along the Catalan coast (NW Mediterranean Sea).

Medrano Alba A Hereu Bernat B Mariani Simone S Neiva João J Pagès-Escolà Marta M Paulino Cristina C Rovira Graciel la G Serrão Ester A EA Linares Cristina C

Scientific reports 20201105 1

The widespread decline of canopy-forming macroalgal assemblages has been documented in many regions during the last decades. This pattern is often followed by the replacement of structurally complex algal canopies by more simplified habitats (e.g., turfs or sea urchin barren grounds). Against all odds, the fucoid Treptacantha elegans, a large Mediterranean brown macroalga, broadened its depth range to deeper and exposed environments and displayed an unexpected range expansion along the northern ...[more]

PMID: 33154466

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Project description:The spatial subdivision of species often plays a pivotal role in speciation. Across their entire range, species are rarely panmictic and crucial consequences of spatial subdivision are (1) random genetic drift including historical factors, (2) uniform selection, and (3) divergent selection. Each of these consequences may result in geographic variation and eventually reproductive isolation, but their relative importance in speciation is still unclear. In this study, we used a combination of genetic, morphological, and climatic data to obtain a comprehensive picture of differentiation among three closely related, parapatrically distributed taxa of the land snail genus Theba occurring along the Atlantic coasts of South Morocco and Western Sahara. We conducted Mantel and partial Mantel tests to relate phenotypic and genotypic variation of these species to geography and/or climate. As null hypothesis for an evolutionary scenario, we assumed nonadaptive speciation and expected a pattern of isolation by distance among taxa. Rejection of the null hypothesis would indicate isolation by environment due to adaptation. Generally, genetic drift plays an important role but is rarely considered as sole driver of speciation. It is the combination of drift and selection that predominantly drives speciation. This study, however, provides a potential example, in which nonadaptive speciation, that is, genetic drift, is apparently the main driver of shaping the diversity of Theba in NW Africa. Restriction of gene flow between populations caused by geographic isolation probably has played an important role. Climate oscillations during the Plio- and Pleistocene may have led to repeated ecological changes in NW Africa and disruptions of habitats promoting differentiation by geographic isolation. The inferred evolutionary scenario, however, did not fully explain the incongruence between the AFLP- and mtDNA-tree topologies. This incongruence might indicate past hybridization among the studied Theba forms.

Dataset Information

Ecological traits, genetic diversity and regional distribution of the macroalga Treptacantha elegans along the Catalan coast (NW Mediterranean Sea).

Publications

Ecological traits, genetic diversity and regional distribution of the macroalga Treptacantha elegans along the Catalan coast (NW Mediterranean Sea).

Similar Datasets

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