Oceanic currents, not land masses, maintain the genetic structure of the mangrove Rhizophora mucronata Lam. (Rhizophoraceae) in Southeast Asia. (7th January 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wee, Alison K. S.; Takayama, Koji; Asakawa, Takeshi; Thompson, Bijoy; Onrizal, ; Sungkaew, Sarawood; Tung, Nguyen Xuan; Nazre, M.; Soe, Khin Khin; Tan, Hugh T. W.; Watano, Yasuyuki; Baba, Shigeyuki; Kajita, Tadashi; Webb, Edward L.; Maggs, Christine
• Is Part Of: Journal of biogeography. Volume 41:Number 5(2014:May)
• Page Start: 954
• Page End: 964
• Publication Date: 2014-01-07
• Subjects: Biogeography -- Periodicals; 578.09
• DOI: 10.1111/jbi.12263
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0305-0270

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="jbi12263-abs-0001"> <title>Abstract</title> <sec id="jbi12263-sec-0001" sec-type="section"> <title>Aim</title> <p>Mangroves are intertidal plants with sea‐dispersed propagules, hence their population structure can offer valuable insights into the biogeographical processes driving population subdivision in coastal species. In this study, we used molecular markers and ocean circulation simulations to examine the effects of ocean currents and land masses on the genetic structure of the major mangrove species <italic>Rhizophora mucronata</italic>.</p> </sec> <sec id="jbi12263-sec-0002" sec-type="section"> <title>Location</title> <p>Southeast Asia.</p> </sec> <sec id="jbi12263-sec-0003" sec-type="section"> <title>Methods</title> <p>We assessed the genetic structure of 13 <italic>R. mucronata</italic> populations from continental Southeast Asia and Sumatra using 10 microsatellite loci. We first examined the relative effects of geographical distance and land mass (the Malay Peninsula) in shaping the genetic structure of <italic>R. mucronata</italic> in Southeast Asia. We then characterized the genetic structure of <italic>R. mucronata</italic> and compared it to the simulated ocean circulation patterns within our study region.</p> </sec> <sec id="jbi12263-sec-0004" sec-type="section"> <title>Results</title> <p>Despite the low genetic diversity, significant genetic structuring was detected across <italic>R. mucronata</italic> populations. Contrary to observations on other mangrove species, genetic differentiation in <italic>R. mucronata</italic> was not found across the coasts of the Malay Peninsula, nor was it correlated with geographical distance. Instead, the most distinct genetic discontinuity was found at the boundary between the Andaman Sea and the Malacca Strait, and this can be explained by the prevailing ocean currents in this region.</p> </sec> <sec id="jbi12263-sec-0005" sec-type="section"> <title>Main conclusions</title> <p>Our study presents novel evidence that the genetic structure of <italic>R. mucronata</italic> is maintained by ocean current‐facilitated propagule dispersal.</p> </sec> </abstract>