Genetic diversity of the NE Atlantic sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis unveils chaotic genetic patchiness possibly linked to local selective pressure.

ABSTRACT: We compared the genetic differentiation in the green sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis from discrete populations on the NE Atlantic coast. By using eight recently developed microsatellite markers, genetic structure was compared between populations from the Danish Strait in the south to the Barents Sea in the north (56-79°N). Urchins are spread by pelagic larvae and may be transported long distances by northwards-going ocean currents. Two main superimposed patterns were identified. The first showed a subtle but significant genetic differentiation from the southernmost to the northernmost of the studied populations and could be explained by an isolation by distance model. The second pattern included two coastal populations in mid-Norway (65°N), NH and NS, as well as the nor

SUBMITTER: Norderhaug KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4722066 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature