Genetic seascape of the threatened Caribbean elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, on the Puerto Rico Shelf.

ABSTRACT: It has been proposed that the elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, is genetically separated into two distinct provinces in the Caribbean, an Eastern and a Western population admixing in western Puerto Rico and around the Mona Passage. In this study, the genetic structure of A. palmata sampled at 11 Puerto Rican localities and localities from Curaçao, the Bahamas and Guadeloupe were examined. Analyses using five microsatellite markers showed that 75% of sampled colonies had unique genotypes, the rest being clone mates. Genetic diversity among genets was high (H_E = 0.761) and consistent across localities (0.685 to 0.844). F_ST ranged from -0.011 to 0.047 supporting low but significant genetic differentiation between localities within the previously repor

SUBMITTER: Mege P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4465847 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature