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Past and present drivers of population structure in a small coastal fish, the European long snouted seahorse Hippocampus guttulatus

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Abstract

The effective design of species conservation programs is reliant on information such as extant geographic distribution, taxon-specific life-history characteristics, and the relative influence of historic processes and contemporary environmental parameters in shaping population genetic diversity. Seahorses are weak swimmers and have a brooded young, limiting their dispersal potential. They live in sheltered locations, which are physically isolated from each other. Therefore panmixia across their geographic range is unlikely. Hippocampus guttulatus, a seahorse inhabiting European waters, has a geographic range spanning a number of contemporary oceanographic features that are proposed barriers to gene flow. Thus this fish is well-placed to test the contributions of environment and life-history factors in shaping population structuring. This study found that mitochondrial DNA and nuclear DNA (microsatellite) genotype data are concordant in suggesting that, like many other small fishes in European waters, H. guttulatus extant populations expanded from at least one southern European refugial population. Subsequent population differentiation of four geographic lineages reflects contemporary oceanographic barriers to gene flow. Demographic analyses suggest a northward, and long-term isolation between Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea populations. Moreover H. guttulatus contemporary population distribution and population structure are predominately explained by historic and oceanographic influences. These findings suggest that conservation of genetic diversity in H. guttulatus may be aided by a network of marine protected areas (MPAs), implemented to conserve coastal habitats, but the species’ unusual life history and gamete retaining behaviours should be considered as part of management decisions including MPA design and fisheries management plans.

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Acknowledgments

This is a contribution from Project Seahorse. We gratefully acknowledge France: C. L. Milinaire, P. Moriniere, S. Auffret, X. De Montandouin, P. Louisy, J-B Senegas, P. LeLong, Spain: J.A. Rodriguez, Scubadoo, A.Martinez de Murguia, B. Moya, Greece: F. Vilanikis, Y. Issaris, M. Salomidi, Tethys dive club, Thalassa, Portugal, Parque Natural da Ria Formosa, M. Gaspar, F. Gil, Italy: A. Tavaglini, S. Repetto, L. Castellano, Bulgaria: A. Seaman, T. Gallati, Gallati Divecenter, Volunteers: J. Marcus, V. Santos, D. Mason, M. Naud, T-T. Ang and S. DeAmicis for support with field work and providing samples. We also express thanks to J. Curtis and N. McKeown for enlightening discussion and technical assistance. Finally we wish to thank reviewers for their useful comments.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Funding

This project was funded by Chocolaterie Guylian and a Natural Environment Research Council Industrial Case studentship (NER/S/C/2005/13461) to LCW.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, UK

    L. C. Woodall & P. W. Shaw

  2. Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK

    L. C. Woodall

  3. Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, London, NW1 4RY, UK

    H. J. Koldewey

  4. City College of New York, New York, NY, 10031, USA

    J. T. Boehm

  5. Aberystwyth University, Penglais Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 3DA, UK

    P. W. Shaw

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  1. L. C. Woodall
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Correspondence to L. C. Woodall.

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Woodall, L.C., Koldewey, H.J., Boehm, J.T. et al. Past and present drivers of population structure in a small coastal fish, the European long snouted seahorse Hippocampus guttulatus . Conserv Genet 16, 1139–1153 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-015-0728-y

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