Low clonal propagation in Atlantic and Mediterranean populations of the red gorgonian &lt;em&gt;Paramuricea clavata&lt;/em&gt; (Octocorallia)

Joanna Pilczynska,Joana Boavida,Andrea Peirano,Silvia Cocito,Henrique Queiroga,Chiara Lombardi

doi:10.3989/scimar.04473.05a

Low clonal propagation in Atlantic and Mediterranean populations of the red gorgonian <em>Paramuricea clavata</em> (Octocorallia)

Joanna Pilczynska, Joana Boavida + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.04473.05a

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Journal: Scientia Marina	Publication Date: Mar 27, 2017
Citations: 2	License type: CC BY 3.0

Affiliation: University of Algarve, University of Aveiro

Abstract

Clonal propagation is a common feature of benthic marine organisms. In the present study, we investigated the contribution of clonal reproduction in the red gorgonian Paramuricea clavata. Mediterranean populations of P. clavata were severely affected by mass mortality events caused by increased water temperature in 1999 and 2003. The populations are characterized by slow growth and episodic recruitment, but after the observed mortalities, an unexpectedly high recovery rate was observed in the severely affected populations from the Ligurian Sea, NW Mediterranean. Ten years after the last mortality event, we investigated the contribution of clonal propagation in populations from the Ligurian Sea, where some populations were highly affected by mass mortality events, and from the Atlantic, where mortality was never observed. All individuals were genotyped for nine microsatellite loci. The contribution of clonal reproduction varied from 0% to 13% and did not differ significantly between affected and unaffected populations. We confirm by using genetic markers that clonal propagation in P. clavata is not common, and that the contribution of clones is too low to play an important role in red gorgonian reproduction and cannot contribute to population recovery at sites that have been affected by mass mortality events.

Highlights

Clonal propagation is widespread among marine invertebrates and a number of studies have attempted to explain its evolutionary importance and adaptive significance (Coffroth and Lasker 1998, McFadden 1991)
We confirm by using genetic markers that clonal propagation in P. clavata is not common, and that the contribution of clones is too low to play an important role in red gorgonian reproduction and cannot contribute to population recovery at sites that have been affected by mass mortality events
We investigated whether clonal propagation plays an important role in P. clavata reproduction at sites that have been affected by mass mortality in the recent past

Summary

Introduction

Clonal propagation is widespread among marine invertebrates and a number of studies have attempted to explain its evolutionary importance and adaptive significance (Coffroth and Lasker 1998, McFadden 1991). In species with frequent vegetative propagation and low recruitment of larvae produced through sexual reproduction, a few successful clones may dominate the population (McFadden 1991, 1997). Populations (Brazeau and Lasker 1989) This species reveals an extremely low contribution of males, but reproductive output is high, suggesting that eggs develop parthenogenetically. If this is the case, Plexuara sp. As reported in Coffroth and Lasker (1998), the lowest genotypic diversity, meaning the highest contribution of clones, may be related to wave action, as in the gorgonian Plexuara kuna populations from the Caribbean (Lasker et al 1998). Detached coral fragments may reattach to the substratum and create a new colony (e.g. Smith and Hughes 1999)

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