Data from: A seascape genetic analysis of a stress-tolerant coral species along the Western Australian coast

Genetic diversity and connectivity are key factors in determining a population’s resilience to future disturbance. This is especially relevant to corals, which are in global decline due to increasing frequency and strength of thermal anomalies and severe tropical cyclones. While many studies have investigated genetic diversity and population structure in corals, they focused on species being removed at the greatest rate from coral reefs, Acroporids and Pocilloporids, and it is unclear whether the patterns observed in these species reflects those found in more resilient species. Here, we use microsatellite markers and two lagrangian models with differing resolutions, to investigate population structure in a stress-tolerant coral survivor Cyphastrea microphthalma, Family Merulinidae, along the north-western Australian coastline. We found evidence of four genetic clusters with some level of admixture among them. However, while there was evidence of population structure within the intensively sampled Pilbara region, the patterns of connectivity differed to those reported previously. WA populations of C. microphthalma were also characterised by lower levels of genetic diversity at higher latitudes. High- and moderate-resolution lagrangian models did not significantly predict regional-scale genetic connectivity across the Pilbara and Ningaloo (500 km). Although the high-resolution model explained an order of magnitude more genetic variation, suggesting model resolution and resolving coastal processes are important. Over broad spatial scales (nearly 2000 km), all moderate-resolution model particle release durations significantly predicted the genetic differentiation, although over water distance best predicted genetic distance across this spatial scale. This study improves the understanding of connectivity in this region by focusing on a stress tolerant species incorporating a spatially more intensive sampling effort than previous coral studies. It also shows that further development of lagrangian models is required, such as inclusion of multi-generational stepwise models and larval behaviour, to improve predictions of connectivity for this coral species in this region.,Data from: A seascape genetic analysis of a stress-tolerant coral species along the Western Australian coastMicrosatellite data for Cyphastrea microphthalmaC_microphthalma_for_Dryad.csv,

遗传多样性与连通性是决定种群对未来干扰恢复力的关键因素。这一点对珊瑚而言尤为关键——当前全球珊瑚种群因热异常事件频发且强度加剧、强热带气旋影响而持续衰退。既往诸多研究已探讨珊瑚的遗传多样性与种群结构，但多聚焦于珊瑚礁中受移除速率最快的类群：轴孔珊瑚科（Acroporidae）与杯形珊瑚科（Pocilloporidae），目前尚不清楚这些类群中观察到的模式是否适用于抗逆性更强的珊瑚物种。本研究利用微卫星标记（microsatellite markers）与两种分辨率不同的拉格朗日模型（lagrangian models），针对澳大利亚西北海岸的抗逆性珊瑚物种微环珊瑚（Cyphastrea microphthalma，隶属于裸肋珊瑚科（Merulinidae）），对其种群结构展开调查。研究结果显示存在四个遗传聚类，且类群间存在一定程度的遗传混合。尽管在采样密集的皮尔巴拉（Pilbara）区域内存在种群结构，但其连通性模式与既往报道有所不同。西澳大利亚海域的微环珊瑚种群还表现出：纬度越高，遗传多样性水平越低。高分辨率与中等分辨率的拉格朗日模型均未显著预测皮尔巴拉与宁格罗（Ningaloo，跨度达500公里）区域的局域尺度遗传连通性。不过高分辨率模型能多解释一个数量级的遗传变异，这表明模型分辨率与沿岸过程解析能力至关重要。在近2000公里的大空间尺度下，所有中等分辨率模型的粒子释放时长均能显著预测遗传分化，不过跨水域距离最能解释该空间尺度下的遗传距离。本研究聚焦于抗逆性珊瑚物种，且采样空间密度高于既往珊瑚研究，从而提升了对该区域连通性的认知。此外，研究表明仍需进一步优化拉格朗日模型，例如纳入多世代逐步模型与幼虫行为参数，以提升对该区域该珊瑚物种连通性的预测精度。数据来源：沿西澳大利亚海岸的抗逆性珊瑚物种海洋景观遗传学分析 微环珊瑚（Cyphastrea microphthalma）微卫星数据 C_microphthalma_for_Dryad.csv