Data from: Emergent patterns of population genetic structure for a coral reef community

What shapes variation in genetic structure within a community of co-distributed species is a central but difficult question for the field of population genetics. With a focus on the isolated coral reef ecosystem of the Hawaiian Archipelago, we assessed how life history traits influence population genetic structure for 35 reef animals. Despite the archipelago's stepping stone configuration, isolation by distance was the least common type of genetic structure, detected in 4 species. Regional structuring (i.e., division of sites into genetically and spatially distinct regions) was most common, detected in 20 species, and nearly all endemics and habitat specialists. Seven species displayed chaotic (spatially unordered) structuring, and all were non-endemic generalist species. Chaotic structure also associated with relatively high global FST. Pelagic larval duration (PLD) was not a strong predictor of variation in population structure (R2= 0.22), but accounting for higher FST values of chaotic and invertebrate species, compared to regional structuring and fish species, doubled the power of PLD to explain variation in global FST (adjusted R2=0.50). Multivariate correlation of eight species traits to six genetic traits highlighted dispersal ability, taxonomy (i.e., fish vs. invertebrate) and habitat specialization as strongest influences on genetics, but otherwise left much variation in genetic traits unexplained. Considering that the study design controlled for many sampling and geographical factors, the extreme interspecific variation in spatial genetic patterns observed for Hawai'i marine species may be generated by demographic variability due to species-specific abundance and migration patterns and/or seascape and historical factors.解析共分布物种种群内遗传结构的变异驱动机制，是种群遗传学（population genetics）领域核心且极具挑战性的科学命题。本研究以夏威夷群岛孤立珊瑚礁生态系统为研究对象，针对35种礁栖动物，探讨生活史性状（life history traits）对其种群遗传结构的影响。尽管该群岛呈现踏脚石式地理构型（stepping stone configuration），但距离隔离型遗传结构（isolation by distance）最为少见，仅在4个物种中被检出。区域遗传结构（regional structuring，即依据遗传与空间特征将采样位点划分为不同遗传与空间分区的结构类型）最为普遍，在20个物种中被检出，且几乎涵盖所有特有种（endemic species）与生境专性物种（habitat specialist）。另有7个物种呈现混沌型（spatially unordered）遗传结构，且均为非特有广适物种（non-endemic generalist species）。混沌型遗传结构同时对应较高的整体群体分化系数（FST）。浮游幼虫期（Pelagic larval duration, PLD）并非种群结构变异的强预测因子（决定系数R²=0.22）；但相较于区域结构类物种与鱼类，混沌型结构类物种及无脊椎动物的FST值更高，若将该因素纳入考量，PLD对整体FST变异的解释力提升一倍（校正决定系数adjusted R²=0.50）。对8个物种性状与6个遗传性状开展多变量关联分析后发现，扩散能力、分类学类群（即鱼类与无脊椎动物的差异）以及生境特化程度是影响种群遗传特征的最主要因素，但仍有大量遗传性状变异未能得到合理解释。鉴于本研究设计已控制多项采样与地理混淆因素，夏威夷海域海洋物种空间遗传模式所呈现的极端种间差异，可能源于物种特异性丰度与迁移模式导致的种群动态变异，亦或是受海洋景观格局（seascape）与历史演化因素的共同影响。