Seasonal genetic variation associated with population dynamics of a poecilogonous polychaete worm.

ABSTRACT: Poecilogonous species show variation in developmental mode, with larvae that differ both morphologically and ecologically. The spionid polychaete Pygospio elegans shows variation in developmental mode not only between populations, but also seasonally within populations. We investigated the consequences of this developmental polymorphism on the spatial and seasonal genetic structure of P. elegans at four sites in the Danish Isefjord-Roskilde-Fjord estuary at six time points, from March 2014 until February 2015. We found genetic differentiation between our sampling sites as well as seasonal differentiation at two of the sites. The seasonal genetic shift correlated with the appearance of new size cohorts in the populations. Additionally, we found that the genetic composition of

SUBMITTER: Thonig A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5723597 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature