title: Genetic Diversity and Local Connectivity in the Mediterranean Red Gorgonian Coral after Mass Mortality Events.
abstract: Estimating the patterns of connectivity in marine taxa with planktonic dispersive stages is a challenging but crucial task because of its conservation implications. The red gorgonian Paramuricea clavata is a habitat forming species, characterized by short larval dispersal and high reproductive output, but low recruitment. In the recent past, the species was impacted by mass mortality events caused by increased water temperatures in summer. In the present study, we used 9 microsatellites to investigate the genetic structure and connectivity in the highly threatened populations from the Ligurian Sea (NW Mediterranean). No evidence for a recent bottleneck neither decreased genetic diversity in sites impacted by mass mortality events were found. Significant IBD pattern and high global FST confirmed low larval dispersal capability in the red gorgonian. The maximum dispersal distance was estimated at 20-60 km. Larval exchange between sites separated by hundreds of meters and between different depths was detected at each site, supporting the hypothesis that deeper subpopulations unaffected by surface warming peaks may provide larvae for shallower ones, enabling recovery after climatically induced mortality events.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia and CESAM - Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar, Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal.|Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pilczynska
authors.affiliation: ENEA, Marine Environment Research Centre, La Spezia, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cocito
authors.affiliation: CCMAR - Centro de Ciências do Mar, Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Joana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Boavida
authors.affiliation: CCMAR - Centro de Ciências do Mar, Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Ester
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Serrão
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia and CESAM - Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar, Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Henrique
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Queiroga
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000235:genetics; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008522:Mediterranean Sea; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics