Population structure and connectivity of the mountainous star coral, Orbicella faveolata, throughout the wider Caribbean region

As coral reefs continue to decline worldwide, it becomes ever more necessary to understand the connectivity between coral populations to develop efficient management strategies facilitating survival and adaptation of coral reefs in the future. Orbicella faveolata is one of the most important reef-building corals in the Caribbean and has recently experienced severe population reductions. Here, we utilize a panel of nine microsatellite loci to evaluate the genetic structure of O. faveolata and to infer connectivity across ten sites spanning the wider Caribbean region. Populations are generally well-mixed throughout the basin (FST = 0.038), although notable patterns of substructure arise at local and regional scales. Eastern and western populations appear segregated with a genetic break around the Mona Passage in the north, as has been shown previously in other species; however, we find evidence for significant connectivity between Curaçao and Mexico, suggesting that the southern margin of...

随着全球珊瑚礁持续衰退，阐明珊瑚种群间的连通性以制定高效管理策略、助力未来珊瑚礁的存续与适应，这一需求愈发迫切。扁平脑珊瑚（Orbicella faveolata）是加勒比海地区最重要的造礁珊瑚之一，近期其种群已出现严重缩减。本研究利用由9个微卫星位点（microsatellite loci）组成的标记面板，对该物种的遗传结构进行评估，并推断覆盖整个加勒比海区域的10个采样点间的种群连通性。整体而言，该海域的种群混合度较高（FST=0.038），但在局地与区域尺度上仍存在显著的亚群结构特征。此前已有研究在其他物种中观察到，东部与西部种群存在分化，北起莫纳通道附近出现遗传断裂；然而本研究发现库拉索岛与墨西哥之间存在显著的种群连通性证据，表明其南部边界……