Coral Reef Genetics Research Papers

Here we report a highly variable nuclear marker that can be used for both soft and stony corals. Primers that amplify a ~177 bp fragment from the nuclear gene encoding the 54kDa subunit of the signal recognition particle (SRP54) were... more

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- by Rob Toonen
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- 5
  Population Genetics, Biological invasions, Coral Reef Genetics, Coral

There is an ongoing debate on the scale of pelagic larval dispersal in promoting connectivity among populations of shallow, benthic marine organisms. The linearly arranged Hawaiian Islands are uniquely suited to study scales of population... more

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- by Rob Toonen
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- 10
  Phylogeography, Phylogenetics, Corals, Population Connectivity

Coral populations at distributional margins frequently experience suboptimal and variable conditions. Recurrent El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) warming events have caused extensive mortality of reef-building corals in the Eastern... more

Genetic connectivity was studied in two scleractinian corals, Pocillopora damicornis ( branching and broadcast spawner) and Porites panamensis (massive and brooding type), along the Pacific coast of Mexico. Allelic diversity between... more

Specimen collection is time consuming and expensive, yet few laboratories test preservation methods before setting out on field expeditions. The most common preservation buffer used for coral specimens is [70% EtOH. However, alternatives... more

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- by Rob Toonen
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- 9
  Phylogeography, Phylogenetics, Corals, Coral Reef Genetics

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- by Carly J Randall and +1
  Leon Peshkin
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- 4
  Coral Reefs, Coral Reef Genetics, Thermal Biology of Animals, Coral Reproduction

Here, we report the successful cross-species amplification of previously published acroporid microsatellite markers in the coral Acropora austera from the south-western Indian Ocean. This fast-growing species is a major reef-building... more

The first published report of the invasive snowflake coral in Hawai‘i comes from Pearl Harbor in 1972; subsequent identification as the Caribbean octocoral Carijoa riisei led to the general conclusion that it was introduced to Hawai‘i via... more

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- by Rob Toonen
- •
- 5
  Population Genetics, Biological invasions, Corals, Coral Reef Genetics

This study addressed the relative contribution of sexual and asexual reproduction to the genetic composition of populations of two scleractinian corals, Pocillopora damicornis and Porites panamensis, off the west coast of mainland... more

In this study we tested the cross-amplification of 33 microsatellite loci previously developed for two closely related Neotropical orchid genera (Epidendrum and Laelia). A set of ten loci were polymorphic across five examined species (20... more

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- by Fábio Pinheiro
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- 21
  Genetics, Molecular Biology, Polymorphism, Population Genetics

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- by Fabio Pinheiro
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- 21
  Genetics, Molecular Biology, Polymorphism, Population Genetics

Background Corals are notoriously difficult to identify at the species-level due to few diagnostic characters and variable skeletal morphology. This ‘coral species problem’ is an impediment to understanding the evolution and biodiversity... more

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- by Rob Toonen
- •
- 5
  Taxonomy, Corals, Coral Reef Genetics, Coral

This study reports on the cross-species amplification of 23 microsatellite markers previously developed for Theobroma cacao L. (Sterculiaceae), source of chocolate in three economically important Amazonian species of Theobroma (T.... more

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- by Rogério Gribel
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- 21
  Genetics, Molecular Biology, Polymorphism, Population Genetics

The coral fauna of the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) is depauperate and peripheral; hence, it has drawn attention to the factors allowing its survival. Here, we use a genetic seascape approach and ecological niche modeling to unravel the... more

The coral fauna of the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) is depauperate and peripheral; hence, it has drawn attention to the factors allowing its survival. Here, we use a genetic seascape approach and ecological niche modeling to unravel the environmental factors correlating with the genetic variation of Porites panamensis, a hermatypic coral endemic to the ETP. Specifically, we test if levels of diversity and connectivity are higher among abundant than among depauperate populations, as expected by a geographically relaxed version of the Abundant Center Hypothesis (rel-ACH). Unlike the original ACH, referring to a geographical center of distribution of maximal abundance, the rel-ACH refers only to a center of maximum abundance, irrespective of its geographic position. The patterns of relative abundance of P. panamensis in the Mexican Pacific revealed that northern populations from Baja California represent its center of abundance; and southern depauperate populations along the continental margin are peripheral relative to it. Genetic patterns of diversity and structure of nuclear DNA sequences (ribosomal DNA and a single copy open reading frame) and five alloenzymatic loci partially agreed with rel-ACH predictions. We found higher diversity levels in peninsular populations and significant differentiation between peninsular and continental colonies. In addition, conti- nental populations showed higher levels of differentiation and lower connectiv- ity than peninsular populations in the absence of isolation by distance in each region. Some discrepancies with model expectations may relate to the influence of significant habitat discontinuities in the face of limited dispersal potential. Environmental data analyses and niche modeling allowed us to identify temper- ature, water clarity, and substrate availability as the main factors correlating with patterns of abundance, genetic diversity, and structure, which may hold the key to the survival of P. panamensis in the face of widespread environmen- tal degradation

Coral Reef Genetics

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