Genetic Variation of the Scleractinian Coral Stylophora pistillata, from Western Pacific Reefs

Authors

• M. Takabayashi, University of Sydney - Australia
• D. Carter, University of Sydney - Australia
• Jose V. Lopez, Harbor Branch Oceanographic InstitutionFollow
• O. Hoegh-Guldberg, University of Queensland - Australia

ORCID

0000-0002-1637-4125

ResearcherID

F-8809-2011

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Coral Reefs

ISSN

0722-4028

Publication Date

4-2003

Keywords

Scleratinian coral, Internal transcribed spacer, Population connectivity

Abstract

Most scleractinian coral species are widely distributed across the tropical and subtropical Indo-Pacific. However, the genetic connectivity between populations of corals separated by large distances (thousands of kilometers) is not well known. We analyzed variability in the nucleotide sequence of the internal transcribed spacer-1 (ITS-1) of the nuclear ribosomal gene unit in the ubiquitous coral Stylophora pistillata, across the western Pacific Ocean. Eight populations from Japan, Malaysia, and the northern and southern Great Barrier Reef (GBR) were studied. Phylogenetic analyses and analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) clearly revealed that there is panmixia among these coral populations. AMOVA showed that ITS-1 sequence variability was greater within populations (78.37%) than among populations (12.06%). These patterns strongly suggest high levels of connectivity across the species' latitudinal distribution range in the western Pacific, as is seen in many marine invertebrates.

DOI

10.1007/s00338-002-0272-3

Volume

22

Issue

1

First Page

17

Last Page

22

Comments

©Springer-Verlag 2003

NSUWorks Citation

Takabayashi, M.; D. Carter; Jose V. Lopez; and O. Hoegh-Guldberg. 2003. "Genetic Variation of the Scleractinian Coral Stylophora pistillata, from Western Pacific Reefs." Coral Reefs 22, (1): 17-22. doi:10.1007/s00338-002-0272-3.