Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Università di Bologna, UOS Ravenna, Ravenna, Italy.
Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca per le Scienze Ambientali, Università di Bologna, Via S. Alberto 163, I - 48123, Ravenna, Italy.
Sci Rep. 2018 Apr 11;8(1):5844. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-24247-9.
Conservation of coastal habitats is a global issue, yet biogenic reefs in temperate regions have received very little attention. They have a broad geographic distribution and are a key habitat in marine ecosystems impacted by human activities. In the Mediterranean Sea coralligenous reefs are biodiversity hot spots and are classified as sensitive habitats deserving conservation. Genetic diversity and structure influence demographic, ecological and evolutionary processes in populations and play a crucial role in conservation strategies. Nevertheless, a comprehensive view of population genetic structure of coralligenous species is lacking. Here, we reviewed the literature on the genetic structure of sessile and sedentary invertebrates of the Mediterranean coralligenous reefs. Linear regression models and meta-analytic approaches are used to assess the contributions of genetic markers, phylum, pelagic larval duration (PLD) and geographical distance to the population genetic structure. Our quantitative approach highlight that 1) most species show a significant genetic structure, 2) structuring differs between phyla, and 3) PLD does not appear to be a major driver of the structuring. We discuss the implication of these finding for the management and conservation, suggesting research areas that deserve attention, and providing recommendations for broad assessment and monitoring of genetic diversity in biogenic reefs species.
保护沿海生境是一个全球性问题，但温带地区的生物成因珊瑚礁却很少受到关注。它们具有广泛的地理分布，是受人类活动影响的海洋生态系统中的关键栖息地。在地中海，珊瑚礁是生物多样性热点地区，被列为需要保护的敏感栖息地。遗传多样性和结构影响种群的人口、生态和进化过程，并在保护策略中发挥着关键作用。然而，对于生物成因珊瑚礁物种的种群遗传结构，我们还缺乏全面的了解。在这里，我们回顾了关于地中海生物成因珊瑚礁中固着和固着无脊椎动物遗传结构的文献。我们使用线性回归模型和荟萃分析方法来评估遗传标记、门、浮游幼体持续时间（PLD）和地理距离对种群遗传结构的贡献。我们的定量方法强调了以下几点：1）大多数物种表现出显著的遗传结构；2）不同门类之间存在结构差异；3）PLD似乎不是结构的主要驱动因素。我们讨论了这些发现对管理和保护的影响，提出了值得关注的研究领域，并为生物成因珊瑚礁物种的遗传多样性进行广泛评估和监测提供了建议。
