Dataset Information

Strong horizontal and vertical connectivity in the coral Pocillopora verrucosa from Ludao, Taiwan, a small oceanic island.

ABSTRACT: Mesophotic habitats could be sheltered from natural and anthropogenic disturbances and act as reproductive refuges, providing propagules to replenish shallower populations. Molecular markers can be used as proxies evaluating the connectivity and inferring population structure and larval dispersal. This study characterizes population structure as well as horizontal and vertical genetic connectivity of the broadcasting coral Pocillopora verrucosa from Ludao, a small oceanic island off the eastern coast of Taiwan. We genotyped 75 P. verrucosa specimens from three sites (Gongguan, Dabaisha, and Guiwan) at three depth ranges (Shallow: 7-15 m, Mid-depth: 23-30 m, and Deep: 38-45 m), spanning shallow to upper mesophotic coral reefs, with eight microsatellite markers. F-statistics showed a moderate differentiation (FST = 0.106, p<0.05) between two adjacent locations (Dabaisha 23-30 and Dabaisha 38-45 m), but no differentiation elsewhere, suggesting high levels of connectivity among sites and depths. STRUCTURE analysis showed no genetic clustering among sites or depths, indicating that all Pocillopora individuals could be drawn from a single panmictic population. Simulations of recent migration assigned 30 individuals (40%) to a different location from where they were collected. Among them, 1/3 were assigned to deeper locations, 1/3 to shallower populations and 1/3 were assigned to the right depth but a different site. These results suggest high levels of vertical and horizontal connectivity, which could enhance the recovery of P. verrucosa following disturbances around Ludao, a feature that agrees with demographic studies portraying this species as an opportunistic scleractinian.

SUBMITTER: de Palmas S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8504772 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:Pocillopora verrucosa is a widely distributed depth-generalist coral that presents plasticity in its skeletal macro- and microstructure in response to environmental gradients. Light and water movement, which covary with depth, are the main environmental drivers of morphological plasticity in this genus; however, assessing environmentally-induced plasticity may be confounded by the extent of interspecific variation in Pocillopora. We examine the morphology of 8 typed P. verrucosa specimens collected along a depth gradient ranging from 7 to 45 meters and comprising 3 sites throughout Ludao, Taiwan. We measured 36 morphological characters, 14 which are novel, in 3 regions on the corallum-the apex, branch and base-in order to quantify their relationship to site and depth. We found significant correlation between depth and 19 morphological characters, notably branch verruca area, branch verruca height, base verruca spacing, base spinule length, and branch corallite area. 60% of microstructural characters and 25% of macrostructural characters showed a correlative relation to depth, suggesting that depth acclimatization is manifested primarily at the microstructural level. Canonical discriminant analysis of all morphometric characters by depth supports clustering into 3 groups: an overlapping 7m and 15m group, a 23-30m group, and a 38-45m group. Canonical discriminant analysis by site supports clustering into low- and high-current sites, differentiated primarily by branch septa width, base septa width, pre-terminal branch width, terminal branch maximum length, and terminal branch minimum length. We conclude that distinctive patterns of morphological variation in mesophotic specimens of P. verrucosa could reflect the effects of abiotic parameters such as light and water flow. Elucidating the mechanisms behind the morphological changes that occur in response to environmental gradients can help clarify the role that physiological plasticity plays in the acclimatization of corals to the unique environmental settings of mesophotic coral ecosystems.

Project description:Researchers expect a high quality of biospecimens/data and value-added services from biobanks. Therefore, the concept of "biobank 3.0" was introduced so that biobanks could better meet the needs of stakeholders and maintain sustainable operations. Theoretically, the Taiwan Biobank (TWB) has already gone through the concepts of biobank 1.0 and 2.0. However, three challenges still need to be addressed before it can be transformed into a new generation of the TWB (namely, the TWB 3.0): (1) the difficulty of integrating other biobanks' resources, (2) the efficiency and effectiveness of the release and use of biospecimens/data, and (3) the development of income and revenue models of sustainability. To address these issues, this paper proposes a framework for the TWB 3.0 transformation based on a dual-pillar approach composed of a "physically" vertical integration driven by the TWB and a "virtually" horizontal network led by the National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) of Taiwan. Using prominent biobanks such as the Biobanking and BioMolecular Resources Research Infrastructure-European Research Infrastructure Consortium (BBMRI-ERIC), the UK Biobank, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH)'s All of Us Research Program as models, the TWB can strengthen its on-going TWB 2.0 operations in regional and/or international collaboration, increase the value of data collected and develop closer relationships with biobank participants and users. To these ends, the authors highlight key issues that include, but are not limited to, the harmonization of relevant ELSI standards for various biobanks' integrations; the value-added services and the efficiency of Big Data Era related research and/or precision medicine development, and financial concerns related to biobank sustainability. This paper concludes by discussing how greater participant engagement and the uptake of Information Technology (IT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications can be used in partnership with vertical and horizontal integration as part of a four-pronged approach to promote biobank sustainability, and facilitate the TWB 3.0 transformation.

Dataset Information

Strong horizontal and vertical connectivity in the coral Pocillopora verrucosa from Ludao, Taiwan, a small oceanic island.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets