Species ecology explains the various spatial components of genetic diversity in tropical reef fishes

ABSTRACT Intraspecific genetic diversity should be dependent on species ecology, but the influence of ecological traits on interspecific differences in genetic variation is yet to be explored. Generating sequenced data for 20 tropical reef fish species of the Western Indian Ocean, we investigate how...

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Published inbioRxiv
Main Authors Giulia Francesca Azzurra Donati, Zemp, Niklaus, Manel, Stéphanie, Poirier, Maude, Claverie, Thomas, Ferraton, Franck, Gaboriau, Théo, Govinden, Rodney, Hagen, Oskar, Ibrahim, Shameel, Mouillot, David, Leblond, Julien, Pagu Julius, Velez, Laure, Zareer, Irthisham, Adam, Ziyad, Leprieur, Fabien, Albouy, Camille, Pellissier, Loïc
Format Paper
LanguageEnglish
Published Cold Spring Harbor Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press 21.01.2021
Subjects
Breeding success
Dispersal
Ecology
Genetic diversity
Interspecific
Molecular evolution
Species
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Summary:ABSTRACT Intraspecific genetic diversity should be dependent on species ecology, but the influence of ecological traits on interspecific differences in genetic variation is yet to be explored. Generating sequenced data for 20 tropical reef fish species of the Western Indian Ocean, we investigate how species ecology influences genetic diversity patterns from local to regional scales. We distinguish between the α, β and γ components of genetic diversity, which we subsequently link to six ecological traits. In contrast to what is expected by the neutral theory of molecular evolution, we find that the α and γ components of genetic diversity are negatively associated with species abundance, which can be explained by larger variance in reproductive success in large populations and/or higher introgression in less frequent species. Pelagic larval duration, an important dispersal trait in marine fishes, is found to be negatively related to genetic β diversity, as expected by theory. We conclude that the neutral theory of molecular evolution may not be sufficient to explain genetic diversity in tropical reef fishes and that additional processes influence those relationships. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Footnotes * ↵† authors share senior authorship of this article
DOI:10.1101/2021.01.21.427590