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Habitat continuity and geographic distance predict population genetic differentiation in giant kelp
Author(s) -
Alberto Filipe,
Raimondi Peter T.,
Reed Daniel C.,
Coelho Nelson C.,
Leblois Raphael,
Whitmer Allison,
Serrão Ester A.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.1890/09-0050.1
Subject(s) - biological dispersal , macrocystis pyrifera , ecology , isolation by distance , geographical distance , genetic structure , population , habitat , genetic distance , landscape connectivity , biology , geography , kelp , genetic variation , demography , sociology
Isolation by distance (IBD) models are widely used to predict levels of genetic connectivity as a function of Euclidean distance, and although recent studies have used GIS‐landscape ecological approaches to improve the predictability of spatial genetic structure, few if any have addressed the effect of habitat continuity on gene flow. Landscape effects on genetic connectivity are even less understood in marine populations, where habitat mapping is particularly challenging. In this study, we model spatial genetic structure of a habitat‐structuring species, the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera , using highly variable microsatellite markers. GIS mapping was used to characterize habitat continuity and distance between sampling sites along the mainland coast of the Santa Barbara Channel, and their roles as predictors of genetic differentiation were evaluated. Mean dispersal distance (σ) and effective population size ( N e ) were estimated by comparing our IBD slope with those from simulations incorporating habitat continuity and spore dispersal characteristics of the study area. We found an allelic richness of 7–50 alleles/locus, which to our knowledge is the highest reported for macroalgae. The best regression model relating genetic distance to habitat variables included both geographic distance and habitat continuity, which were respectively, positively and negatively related to genetic distance. Our results provide strong support for a dependence of gene flow on both distance and habitat continuity and elucidate the combination of N e and σ that explained genetic differentiation.