Seascape drivers of Macrocystis pyrifera population genetic structure in the northeast Pacific

Mattias L Johansson; Filipe Alberto; Daniel C Reed; Peter T Raimondi; Nelson C Coelho; Mary A Young; Patrick T Drake; Christopher A Edwards; Kyle Cavanaugh; Jorge Assis; Lydia B Ladah; Tom W Bell; James A Coyer; David A Siegel; Ester A Serrão

doi:10.1111/mec.13371

Seascape drivers of Macrocystis pyrifera population genetic structure in the northeast Pacific

Mol Ecol. 2015 Oct;24(19):4866-85. doi: 10.1111/mec.13371.

Authors

Mattias L Johansson^{1

2}, Filipe Alberto¹, Daniel C Reed³, Peter T Raimondi⁴, Nelson C Coelho¹, Mary A Young⁴, Patrick T Drake⁵, Christopher A Edwards⁵, Kyle Cavanaugh⁶, Jorge Assis⁷, Lydia B Ladah⁸, Tom W Bell⁹, James A Coyer¹⁰, David A Siegel⁹, Ester A Serrão⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, PO Box 413, Milwaukee, WI, 53201, USA.
² Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON N9B 3P4, Canada.
³ Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
⁴ Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA.
⁵ Ocean Sciences Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA.
⁶ Department of Geography, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
⁷ Center of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139, Faro, Portugal.
⁸ Department of Biological Oceanography, CISESE, Ensenada, C.P. 22860, Baja California, México.
⁹ Earth Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
¹⁰ Shoals Marine Laboratory, Cornell University, Portsmouth, NH, 03801, USA.

PMID: 26339775
DOI: 10.1111/mec.13371

Abstract

At small spatial and temporal scales, genetic differentiation is largely controlled by constraints on gene flow, while genetic diversity across a species' distribution is shaped on longer temporal and spatial scales. We assess the hypothesis that oceanographic transport and other seascape features explain different scales of genetic structure of giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera. We followed a hierarchical approach to perform a microsatellite-based analysis of genetic differentiation in Macrocystis across its distribution in the northeast Pacific. We used seascape genetic approaches to identify large-scale biogeographic population clusters and investigate whether they could be explained by oceanographic transport and other environmental drivers. We then modelled population genetic differentiation within clusters as a function of oceanographic transport and other environmental factors. Five geographic clusters were identified: Alaska/Canada, central California, continental Santa Barbara, California Channel Islands and mainland southern California/Baja California peninsula. The strongest break occurred between central and southern California, with mainland Santa Barbara sites forming a transition zone between the two. Breaks between clusters corresponded approximately to previously identified biogeographic breaks, but were not solely explained by oceanographic transport. An isolation-by-environment (IBE) pattern was observed where the northern and southern Channel Islands clustered together, but not with closer mainland sites, despite the greater distance between them. The strongest environmental association with this IBE pattern was observed with light extinction coefficient, which extends suitable habitat to deeper areas. Within clusters, we found support for previous results showing that oceanographic connectivity plays an important role in the population genetic structure of Macrocystis in the Northern hemisphere.

Keywords: Lagrangian particle simulation; giant kelp; landscape genetics; marine connectivity; microsatellites; spatial genetic structure.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Alaska
California
Canada
Ecosystem
Gene Flow
Genetics, Population*
Genotype
Macrocystis / genetics*
Mexico
Microsatellite Repeats
Models, Genetic
Pacific Ocean
Phylogeography
Water Movements