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Local and regional scale habitat heterogeneity contribute to genetic adaptation in a commercially important marine mollusc (Haliotis rubra) from southeastern Australia

journal contribution
posted on 2019-06-01, 00:00 authored by Adam MillerAdam Miller, Ary A Hoffmann, Mun Hua Tan, Mary YoungMary Young, Collin Ahrens, Michael Cocomazzo, Alex RattrayAlex Rattray, Daniel IerodiaconouDaniel Ierodiaconou, Eric Treml, Craig ShermanCraig Sherman
Characterising adaptive genetic divergence among conspecific populations is often achieved by studying genetic variation across defined environmental gradients. In marine systems this is challenging due to a paucity of information on habitat heterogeneity at local and regional scales and a dependency on sampling regimes that are typically limited to broad longitudinal and latitudinal environmental gradients. As a result, the spatial scales at which selection processes operate and the environmental factors that contribute to genetic adaptation in marine systems are likely to be unclear. In this study we explore patterns of adaptive genetic structuring in a commercially- harvested abalone species (Haliotis rubra) from southeastern Australia, using a panel of genome-wide SNP markers (5,239 SNPs), and a sampling regime informed by marine LiDAR bathymetric imagery and 20-year hindcasted oceanographic models. Despite a lack of overall genetic structure across the sampling distribution, significant genotype associations with heterogeneous habitat features were observed at local and regional spatial scales, including associations with wave energy, ocean current, sea surface temperature, and geology. These findings provide insights into the potential resilience of the species to changing marine climates and the role of migration and selection on recruitment processes, with implications for conservation and fisheries management. This study points to the spatial scales at which selection processes operate in marine systems and highlights the benefits of geospatially-informed sampling regimes for overcoming limitations associated with marine population genomic research.

History

Journal

Molecular ecology

Volume

28

Issue

12

Pagination

3053 - 3072

Publisher

Wiley

Location

Chichester, Eng.

ISSN

0962-1083

eISSN

1365-294X

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2019, John Wiley & Sons Ltd