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Sci Rep
2020 Nov 05;101:19219. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-76066-6.
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Ecological traits, genetic diversity and regional distribution of the macroalga Treptacantha elegans along the Catalan coast (NW Mediterranean Sea).
Medrano A
,
Hereu B
,
Mariani S
,
Neiva J
,
Pagès-Escolà M
,
Paulino C
,
Rovira G
,
Serrão EA
,
Linares C
.
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The widespread decline of canopy-forming macroalgal assemblages has been documented in many regions during the last decades. This pattern is often followed by the replacement of structurally complex algal canopies by more simplified habitats (e.g., turfs or sea urchin barren grounds). Against all odds, the fucoid Treptacantha elegans, a large Mediterranean brown macroalga, broadened its depth range to deeper and exposed environments and displayed an unexpected range expansion along the northern coast of Catalonia over the last two decades. Here, we reconstruct the spread of T. elegans in time and space and unravel ecological and demographic traits such as population dynamics and genetic patterns to provide a comprehensive and integrated view of the current status and geographical expansion for this species. Fast-growing dynamics, early fertile maturity, and high turnover rate are the main competitive advantages that allow the exposed populations of T. elegans to colonize available substrata and maintain dense and patchy populations. We also provided evidence that the deeper and exposed populations of T. elegans constitute a single group across the Catalan coast, with little genetic differentiation among populations. This seems to support the hypothesis of a unique source of spread in the last decades from the Medes Islands No-Take Zone towards both southern and northern waters.
Figure 1. Monthly presence of fertile Treptacantha elegans individuals. Light blue bars represent the percentage of immature individuals, without the presence of reproductive structures. Medium-blue bars represent the percentage of the individuals beginning the reproductive stage, with reproductive receptacles in the maturing process. Dark blue bars represent the percentage of fertile and reproductive individuals. The red line shows the mean monthly temperature at 5 m depth. Pictures at the top illustrate the monthly canopy-forming branches development stage.
Figure 2. Size-class distribution of Treptacantha elegans populations across the three studied years. Relative frequency of size-classes was estimated on 1 cm intervals (length of the longest axis).
Figure 3. The relation between the mortality rate and the size of the T. elegans stands. The blue line represented the generalized linear model fitted between the response variable and the predictor fitted to the most likely distribution (negative binomial).
Figure 4. Geographical distribution of deep Treptacantha elegans over the studied years in the Catalan coast. Colored dots indicate the temporal sequence of their first report and circled numbers identify the populations where molecular analyses were conducted. Map was created using ArcMap 10.7 (https://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap).
Figure 5. Genetic subdivision of Treptacantha elegans populations based on STRUCTURE, assuming 3 genetic clusters. Each vertical line represents the proportion of genome assign to each cluster for each individual. Black lines separate different populations. Note the absence of any population differentiation.
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