Data from: Seascape habitat patchiness and hydrodynamics explain genetic structuring of kelp populations

Macroalgae underpin most temperate inshore ecosystems, but increasing
macroalgal loss, fragmentation and range contractions are eroding
connectivity among populations. Understanding loss, and predicting the
likelihood of recovery, is dependent on knowledge of population
connectivity and how it is mediated by variability in local seascapes.
Although many studies of marine connectivity have focussed on influences
of geographic distance on genetic structure, the contribution of
intervening habitat is rarely considered. We tested the extent to which
geographic separation, intervening suitable habitat (reef versus sand and
open water) and local hydrodynamics (inferred from particle dispersal
models) explained structuring of genetic variation at microsatellite loci
in the habitat forming macroalga Lessonia corrugata. Genetic structuring
was best explained by the availability of suitable intervening habitat
(rocky reef) rather than by geographic separation, although biologically
realistic estimates of dispersal probability also became important at
smaller spatial scales. Our results indicate that ecological separation
can be more influential than geographic distance on population genetic
structuring, and this should be considered during the assessment of
connectivity and gene flow in marine species.