Abstract
Ocean circulation, geological history, geographic distance, and seascape heterogeneity play an important role in phylogeography of coral‐dependent fishes. Here, we investigate potential genetic population structure within the yellowbar angelfish (Pomacanthus maculosus) across the Northwestern Indian Ocean (NIO). We then discuss our results with respect to the above abiotic features in order to understand the contemporary distribution of genetic diversity of the species. To do so, restriction site‐associated DNA sequencing (RAD‐seq) was utilized to carry out population genetic analyses on P. maculosus sampled throughout the species’ distributional range. First, genetic data were correlated to geographic and environmental distances, and tested for isolation‐by‐distance and isolation‐by‐environment, respectively, by applying the Mantel test. Secondly, we used distance‐based and model‐based methods for clustering genetic data. Our results suggest the presence of two putative barriers to dispersal; one off the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula and the other off northern Somalia, which together create three genetic subdivisions of P. maculosus within the NIO. Around the Arabian Peninsula, one genetic cluster was associated with the Red Sea and the adjacent Gulf of Aden in the west, and another cluster was associated with the Arabian Gulf and the Sea of Oman in the east. Individuals sampled in Kenya represented a third genetic cluster. The geographic locations of genetic discontinuities observed between genetic subdivisions coincide with the presence of substantial upwelling systems, as well as habitat discontinuity. Our findings shed light on the origin and maintenance of genetic patterns in a common coral reef fish inhabiting the NIO, and reinforce the hypothesis that the evolution of marine fish species in this region has likely been shaped by multiple vicariance events.
Highlights
Coral‐dependent fishes occupy relatively discrete patches of habitat as adults that can be separated by areas of unsuitable habitat rang‐ ing in scale from few meters to thousands of kilometers (Morrison & Sandin, 2011; Planes, 2002)
We first examine whether intraspecific genetic variation has been driven by either IBD or IBE, and if not, we examine whether genetic variation within P. maculosus aligns with contemporary spe‐ cies distribution patterns by investigating the role of the putative marine barriers in the Northwestern Indian Ocean (NIO)
There seems to be no single explanation or vicariance event that shaped the evolutionary histories of fish species within the NIO
Summary
Coral‐dependent fishes occupy relatively discrete patches of habitat as adults that can be separated by areas of unsuitable habitat rang‐ ing in scale from few meters to thousands of kilometers (Morrison & Sandin, 2011; Planes, 2002). The geographic position and consequences of such barriers on reef fish distribution within the NIO have been previously in‐ vestigated, with such works relying predominantly on species occurrence data (Burt et al, 2011; DiBattista, Choat, et al, 2016; DiBattista, Roberts, et al, 2016; Kemp, 1998, 2000; Klausewitz, 1972, 1989) Increasing work about these barriers has focused on surveying the population genetic structure of conspecifics throughout their range, as genetic discontinuities may provide in‐ sight into past and present barriers and allow historical inferences on dispersal (Berumen et al, 2017). We first examine whether intraspecific genetic variation has been driven by either IBD or IBE, and if not, we examine whether genetic variation within P. maculosus aligns with contemporary spe‐ cies distribution patterns by investigating the role of the putative marine barriers in the NIO
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