Data from: Population genetic structure between Yap and Palau for the coral Acropora hyacinthus

Information on connectivity is becoming increasingly in demand as marine protected areas are being designed as an integral part of a network to protect marine resources at the ecosystem level. Larval dispersal and population structure, however, remain very difficult to assess. Here, we tested the predictions of a detailed oceanographic connectivity model of larval dispersal and coral recruitment within Palau and between Palau and Yap, which was developed to support the review of the existing network of marine protected areas in Palau. We used high throughput microsatellite genotyping of the coral Acropora hyacinthus to characterize population genetic structure. Pairwise F′ST values between Palau and Yap (0.10), Palau and Ngulu (0.09) and Yap and Ngulu (0.09) were all significant and similar to pairwise F′ST values of sites within Palau (0.02–0.12) and within Yap (0.02–0.09) highlighting structure at island scale and indicating that recruitment may be even more localized than previously anticipated. A bottleneck test did not reveal any signs of a founder effect between Yap and Palau. Overall, the data supports the idea that recovery of A. hyacinthus in Palau did not come exclusively from a single source but most likely came from a combination of areas, including sites within Palau. In light of these results there seems to be very little connectivity around the barrier reef and management recommendation would be to increase the number or the size of MPAs within Palau.随着海洋保护区（Marine Protected Area，简称MPA）被设计为生态系统层级保护海洋资源的网络的有机组成部分，连通性相关信息的需求正日益攀升。然而，幼体扩散与种群结构的评估仍存在极大难度。本研究针对帕劳境内、帕劳与雅浦之间的珊瑚幼体扩散与珊瑚补充的精细化海洋学连通性模型的预测结果开展了验证，该模型的开发初衷为支撑帕劳现有海洋保护区网络的评估审查工作。我们采用高通量微卫星基因分型技术对鹿角杯形珊瑚（Acropora hyacinthus）进行分析，以表征其种群遗传结构特征。帕劳与雅浦间的成对F′ST值为0.10，帕劳与恩古卢间为0.09，雅浦与恩古卢间为0.09；上述数值均具有统计学显著性，且与帕劳境内各采样点间（0.02~0.12）、雅浦境内各采样点间（0.02~0.09）的成对F′ST值相近，这凸显了岛屿尺度下的种群遗传结构，并表明珊瑚补充的本地化程度或较此前预判更高。瓶颈效应检测未发现雅浦与帕劳之间存在奠基者效应的相关迹象。总体而言，本研究数据支持这一观点：帕劳境内鹿角杯形珊瑚的种群恢复并非仅依赖单一来源种群，而是极有可能源自包括帕劳境内各点位在内的多个区域的共同补给。综合上述研究结果，帕劳堡礁周边的连通性似乎极低，相应的管理建议应为增加帕劳境内海洋保护区的数量或扩大其保护范围。