School of Plant Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia.
UWA Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia.
Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2017 May;92(2):921-938. doi: 10.1111/brv.12261. Epub 2016 Mar 23.
Accurate estimation of connectivity among populations is fundamental for determining the drivers of population resilience, genetic diversity, adaptation and speciation. However the separation and quantification of contemporary versus historical connectivity remains a major challenge. This review focuses on marine angiosperms, seagrasses, that are fundamental to the health and productivity of temperate and tropical coastal marine environments globally. Our objective is to understand better the role of sexual reproduction and recruitment in influencing demographic and genetic connectivity among seagrass populations through an integrated multidisciplinary assessment of our present ecological, genetic, and demographic understanding, with hydrodynamic modelling of transport. We investigate (i) the demographic consequences of sexual reproduction, dispersal and recruitment in seagrasses, (ii) contemporary transport of seagrass pollen, fruits and seed, and vegetative fragments with a focus on hydrodynamic and particle transport models, and (iii) contemporary genetic connectivity among seagrass meadows as inferred through the application of genetic markers. New approaches are reviewed, followed by a summary outlining future directions for research: integrating seascape genetic approaches; incorporating hydrodynamic modelling for dispersal of pollen, seeds and vegetative fragments; integrating studies across broader geographic ranges; and incorporating non-equilibrium modelling. These approaches will lead to a more integrated understanding of the role of contemporary dispersal and recruitment in the persistence and evolution of seagrasses.
准确估计种群之间的连通性对于确定种群弹性、遗传多样性、适应和物种形成的驱动因素至关重要。然而，分离和量化当代和历史连通性仍然是一个主要挑战。
本篇综述专注于海洋被子植物，即海草，它们对全球温带和热带沿海海洋环境的健康和生产力至关重要。我们的目标是通过综合评估当前的生态、遗传和人口理解，结合水动力模型来研究有性繁殖和繁殖在影响海草种群的人口和遗传连通性方面的作用，从而更好地理解这一点。我们研究了（i）有性繁殖、扩散和繁殖在海草中的繁殖后果，（ii）海草花粉、果实和种子以及营养体片段的当代运输，重点是水动力和颗粒运输模型，以及（iii）通过应用遗传标记推断海草草地之间的当代遗传连通性。
我们回顾了新方法，然后概述了未来的研究方向：整合景观遗传学方法；将水动力模型纳入花粉、种子和营养体片段的扩散；在更广泛的地理范围内整合研究；以及纳入非平衡模型。这些方法将有助于更全面地了解当代扩散和繁殖在海草的持久性和进化中的作用。
