Data from: The DNA of coral reef biodiversity: predicting and protecting genetic diversity of reef assemblages

Conservation of ecological communities requires deepening our
understanding of genetic diversity patterns and drivers at community-wide
scales. Here we use seascape genetic analysis of a diversity metric,
allelic richness, for 47 reef species sampled across 13 Hawaiian Islands
to empirically demonstrate that large reefs high in coral cover harbor the
greatest genetic diversity on average. We found that a species’ life
history (e.g., depth range and herbivory) mediates response of genetic
diversity to seascape drivers in logical ways. Further, a metric of
combined multi-species allelic richness showed strong coupling to species
richness and habitat area, quality and stability that few species showed
individually. We hypothesize that macroecological forces and species
interactions, by mediating species turnover and occupancy and thus a
site’s mean effective population size, influence the aggregate genetic
diversity a site, potentially allowing it to behave as an apparent
emergent trait that is shaped by the dominant seascape drivers. The
results highlight inherent feedbacks between ecology and genetics, raise
concern that genetic resilience of entire reef communities is compromised
by factors that reduce coral cover or available habitat, including thermal
stress, and provide a foundation for new strategies for monitoring and
preserving biodiversity of entire reef ecosystems.