Spatial and temporal patterns of larval dispersal in a coral-reef fish metapopulation: evidence of variable reproductive success

Many marine organisms can be transported hundreds of kilometers during their pelagic larval stage, yet little is known about spatial and temporal patterns of larval dispersal. Although traditional population-genetic tools can be applied to infer movement of larvae on an evolutionary time scale, large effective population sizes and high rates of gene-flow present serious challenges to documenting dispersal patterns over shorter, ecologically-relevant, time scales. Here, we address these challenges by combining direct parentage analysis and indirect genetic analyses over a four-year period to document spatial and temporal patterns of larval dispersal in a common coral-reef fish: the bicolor damselfish (Stegastes partitus). At four island locations surrounding Exuma Sound, Bahamas, including a long-established marine reserve, we collected 3,278 individuals and genotyped them at 10 microsatellite loci. Using Bayesian parentage analysis, we identified eight parent-offspring pairs, thereby di...

许多海洋生物在浮游幼体阶段可被输送数百公里，但学界对幼体扩散的时空格局仍知之甚少。尽管传统种群遗传学工具可用于推断进化时间尺度下的幼体移动情况，但较大的有效种群规模与高频基因流，为记录生态相关的短时间尺度下的扩散格局带来了严峻挑战。本研究通过结合四年间的直接亲本分析与间接遗传分析，破解上述难题，以阐明一种常见珊瑚礁鱼类——双带雀鲷（Stegastes partitus）的幼体扩散时空格局。我们在巴哈马埃克苏马湾周边的四个岛屿点位（包含一处长期设立的海洋保护区）采集了3278个个体，并对其10个微卫星位点进行基因分型。通过贝叶斯亲本分析，本研究共鉴定出8个亲子代对，由此...