Some rare Indo-Pacific coral species are probable hybrids

Coral reefs worldwide face a variety of threats and many coral species are increasingly endangered. It is often assumed that rare coral species face higher risks of extinction because they have very small effective population sizes, a predicted consequence of which is decreased genetic diversity and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2008-09, Vol.3 (9), p.e3240-e3240
Main Authors: Richards, Zoe T, van Oppen, Madeleine J H, Wallace, Carden C, Willis, Bette L, Miller, David J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acropora
Acropora humilis
Acropora hyacinthus
Alleles
Animals
Anthozoa - physiology
Biodiversity
Censuses
Cloning
Cloning, Molecular
Cnidaria
Coral reefs
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
Ecology/Evolutionary Ecology
Endangered species
Evolution
Evolutionary Biology/Evolutionary and Comparative Genetics
Extinction
Extinction (Biology)
Gene flow
Genetic diversity
Genetic Variation
Genetics, Population
Haplotypes
Hybridization
Hybrids
Interspecific
Introns
Mitochondrial DNA
Models, Genetic
Molecular Biology/Molecular Evolution
Morphology
Museums
Oceans and Seas
Phylogenetics
Phylogeny
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Population genetics
Rare species
Risk factors
Scleractinia
Sequence Analysis, DNA
Speciation
Species diversity
Species extinction
Studies
Trends
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Summary:Coral reefs worldwide face a variety of threats and many coral species are increasingly endangered. It is often assumed that rare coral species face higher risks of extinction because they have very small effective population sizes, a predicted consequence of which is decreased genetic diversity and adaptive potential. Here we show that some Indo-Pacific members of the coral genus Acropora have very small global population sizes and are likely to be unidirectional hybrids. Whether this reflects hybrid origins or secondary hybridization following speciation is unclear. The interspecific gene flow demonstrated here implies increased genetic diversity and adaptive potential in these coral species. Rare Acropora species may therefore be less vulnerable to extinction than has often been assumed because of their propensity for hybridization and introgression, which may increase their adaptive potential.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0003240