Genetic structure in native and non-native populations of the direct-developing gastropod Crepidula convexa

• Published in: Marine biology 2014-10, Vol.161 (10), p.2433-2443
• Main Authors: Cahill, Abigail E, Viard, Frédérique
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal populations; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; aquatic invertebrates; Aquatic life; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Calyptraeidae; Crepidula convexa; Crepidula fornicata; Distribution; Environmental Sciences; founder effect; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gastropoda; Gene expression; gene flow; Genetic aspects; Genetic diversity; Genetic research; Genetic structure; genetic variation; Genetics; Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution; Invertebrates; Larval development; Life Sciences; Marine; Marine & Freshwater Sciences; Marine biology; Marine invertebrates; Microbiology; microsatellite repeats; Mollusca; Oceanography; Original Paper; Population genetics, reproduction patterns; Population structure; prediction; Sea water ecosystems; snails; Synecology; Zoological research; Zoology
• ISSN: 0025-3162; 1432-1793
• DOI: 10.1007/s00227-014-2519-2

In many marine invertebrate species, larval development plays an important role in population connectivity and gene flow: species with direct benthic development generally show more genetic structure than those with planktonic development. We used nuclear markers (microsatellites) to determine population genetic structure of the direct-developing snail Crepidula convexa (Gastropoda: Calyptraeidae) in seven populations with 15–85 individuals each within its native range of the northwest Atlantic and compared it to Crepidula fornicata, a congener with planktonic development. Our results are consistent with general expectations and previous work in these species with other markers: C. convexa had greater population structure and even at a regional scale shows significant isolation-by-distance, in contrast to C. fornicata. We also genotyped a single population of C. convexa introduced to the northeastern Pacific to investigate the prediction of reduced genetic diversity following introduction (founder effect). We did not find a reduction in genetic diversity, suggesting that this non-native population may be characterized by multiple introductions. This pattern is consistent with many other introduced populations of marine invertebrates, including C. fornicata.