Data from: A population genomics insight by 2b-RAD reveals populations’ uniqueness along the Italian coastline in Leptopsammia pruvoti (Scleractinia, Dendrophylliidae).

Aim: Marine bioconstructions such as coralligenous formations are hot spot
of biodiversity and play a relevant ecological role in the preservation of
biodiversity by providing carbon regulation, protection and nursery areas
for several marine species. For this reason, the European Union Habitat
Directive included them among priority habitats to be preserved. Despite
their ecological role is well-established, connectivity patterns are still
poorly investigated, representing a limit in conservation planning. The
present study pioneers a novel approach for the analysis of connectivity
in marine bioconstructor species, which often lack suitable genetic
markers, by taking advantage of next generation sequencing techniques. We
assess the geographical patterns of genomic variation of the sunset cup
coral Leptopsammia pruvoti Lacaze-Duthiers, 1897, an ahermatypic,
non-zooxanthellate and solitary scleractinian coral species common in
coralligenous habitats and distributed across the Mediterranean Sea.
Location: The Italian coastline (Western and Central Mediterranean).
Methods: We applied the restriction site associated 2b-RAD approach to
genotype over 1,000 high quality and filtered Single Nucleotide
Polymorphisms in 10 population samples. Results: The results revealed the
existence of a strongly supported genetic structure, with highly
significant pairwise FST values between all the population samples,
including those collected about 5 kilometers apart from each other.
Moreover, genomic data indicates that the strongest barriers to gene flow
are between the western (Ligurian-Tyrrhenian Sea) and the eastern side
(Adriatic Sea) of the Italian peninsula. Main conclusions: The strong
differentiation found in L. pruvoti, is similar to that found in other
species of marine bioconstructors investigated in this area, but it
strongly contrasts with the small differences found in many fish and
invertebrates at the same geographic scale. All in one, our results
highlight the importance of assessing connectivity in species belonging to
coralligenous habitats as, due to their limited dispersal ability, they
might require specific spatial conservation measures.