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Limited gene flow in the brooding coral Favia fragum (Esper, 1797)

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Abstract

Understanding population connectivity in corals is particularly important as these organisms are increasingly threatened by abiotic and biotic factors. This study examined the population genetic structure of the brooding coral Favia fragum across four locations in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic using mitochondrial and nuclear markers. Morphological features were also compared to test whether genetic diversity corresponds with skeletal morphology. When comparing across distantly related Caribbean and Bermudian locations, F ST values were high and significant, indicating strong genetic structure. At a local scale, significant genetic structure was found among reefs in Panama, while no genetic structure was found among reefs within Barbados, Bermuda or Jamaica. Surprisingly, a single haplotype for each of the three markers examined was found in Bermuda, where samples varied significantly from all other locations in three out of four morphological features analyzed. These data indicate that gene flow of F. fragum may occur locally among reefs but is highly restricted at distant locations. Furthermore, isolated populations, such as that of Bermuda, must be self-seeding to maintain the observed genetic uniformity.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to J. Baker and J. Murienne for analytical advice, R. Clouse for help with maps, W. Gringley for assistance in field collections, and J. Wood for photographs of Favia fragum. We also thank the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Science, Bellairs Research Institute, Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory, and the Smithsonian Tropical Marine Institute for help with field collections and permits. This work was supported by the Museum of Comparative Zoology Putnam Expedition Grant, internal funds from Harvard University, and the PADI Project AWARE Foundation Fellowship.

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  1. Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA

    Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley, Robert M. Woollacott & Gonzalo Giribet

  2. Marine Science Center, Northeastern University, 430 Nahant Road, Nahant, MA, 01908, USA

    Steven V. Vollmer

  3. Mote Marine Laboratory, Tropical Research Laboratory, 24244 Overseas Highway, Summerland Key, FL, 33042, USA

    Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley

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  1. Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley
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  2. Steven V. Vollmer
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  3. Robert M. Woollacott
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  4. Gonzalo Giribet
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Correspondence to Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley.

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Communicated by C. Riginos.

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Goodbody-Gringley, G., Vollmer, S.V., Woollacott, R.M. et al. Limited gene flow in the brooding coral Favia fragum (Esper, 1797). Mar Biol 157, 2591–2602 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-010-1521-6

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