Title : The estimate seagrass (Zostera marina) population genetics in Isles of Scilly and South of Coast, UK
Abstract:
Seagrass is a group of flowering plants that live in shallow sheltered areas along the UK coastline where they form dense green meadows under the sea. It is one of the most significant sources of coastal primary production and it provides a critical habitat for juvenile reef fish and commercial fisheries.
Ongoing pollution of coastal waters and changes in water movement and climate may lead to declining populations and viability may be compromised further by loss of genetic diversity. Therefore, it is important to estimate the population genetic structure and genetic exchange in populations. Using an existing panel of 15 microsatellites, we estimated genetic variation in eelgrass, Zostera marina, at five sites around the Isles of Scilly and eighteen sites around south coast of the UK mainland. The over-arching goal of this study is to gain an understanding of the spatial population genetics of eelgrass, Zostera marina. Allelic richness was unexpectedly low within the Isles of Scilly, compared to the UK mainland. However, most sites were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. To test the hypothesis of isolation by distance, we performed a Mantel test on the correlation between genetic distance (Fst) and geographic distance (m). There was no support for the hypothesis that pairwise genetic divergence correlates with distance in the Isles of Scilly. However, there was isolation by distance across the south coast.
Connectivity between populations is vital to the survival of extinction-prone plants, including those at risk from local environmental change, with globally important implications for applied plant ecology. The genetic information for Z. marina allows investigation of the genetic basis of physiological adaptation to extreme natural environments such as tidal flats.
