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Consequences of a poecilogonous life history for genetic structure in coastal populations of the polychaete S treblospio benedicti
Author(s) -
Zakas Christina,
Wares John P.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
molecular ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.619
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1365-294X
pISSN - 0962-1083
DOI - 10.1111/mec.12040
Subject(s) - biology , biological dispersal , polychaete , genetic structure , gene flow , ecology , marine larval ecology , population , evolutionary biology , disruptive selection , marine invertebrates , natural selection , zoology , genetic variation , gene , genetics , larva , demography , sociology
Abstract In many species, alternative developmental pathways lead to the production of two distinct phenotypes, promoting the evolution of morphological novelty and diversification. Offspring type in marine invertebrates influences transport time by ocean currents, which dictate dispersal potential and gene flow, and thus has sweeping evolutionary effects on the potential for local adaptation and on rates of speciation, extinction and molecular evolution. Here, we use the polychaete S treblospio benedicti to investigate the effects of dimorphic offspring type on gene flow and genetic structure in coastal populations. We use 84 single nucleotide polymorphism ( SNP ) markers for this species to assay populations on the E ast and W est C oasts of the U nited S tates. Using these markers, we found that in their native E ast C oast distribution, populations of S . benedicti have high‐population genetic structure, but this structure is associated primarily with geographic separation rather than developmental differences. Interestingly, very little genetic differentiation is recovered between individuals of different development types when they occur in the same or nearby populations, further supporting that this is a true case of poecilogony. In addition, we were able to demonstrate that the recently introduced (~100 ya) W est C oast populations probably originated from a lecithotrophic population near D elaware.