Pleistocene glaciation events shape genetic structure across the range of the American lobster, Homarus americanus

A north/south discontinuity along the northeastern coast of North America in the genetic structure of the American lobster (Homarus americanus) was detected using a suite of 13 microsatellite loci assessed using spatial analyses. Population genetic data laid over existing data on physiographic chang...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Molecular ecology 2009-04, Vol.18 (8), p.1654-1667
Main Authors: Kenchington, Ellen L, Harding, Gareth C, Jones, Mathew W, Prodohl, Paulo A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
American lobster
Animal Migration
Animals
Coasts
Crustaceans
Ecology
Evolution, Molecular
Female
Gene Flow
Gene Frequency
Genetics, Population
Genotype
geographical variation
Geography
Homarus americanus
landscape genetics
Male
Marine
Microsatellite Repeats
Models, Genetic
Molecular biology
Nephropidae - genetics
Paleobiology
Phylogeny
Sequence Analysis, DNA
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Summary:A north/south discontinuity along the northeastern coast of North America in the genetic structure of the American lobster (Homarus americanus) was detected using a suite of 13 microsatellite loci assessed using spatial analyses. Population genetic data laid over existing data on physiographic changes and sea-surface temperatures were used to reconstruct the Pleistocene distribution of this species. A postglacial northern-edge colonization model best explains the relative genetic homogeneity of the northern region compared to the southern region centred in the Gulf of Maine. Population genetic analyses identified significant structure (range of standardized theta 0-0.02) but no significant evidence for isolation by distance. The novel application of spatial genetic analyses to a marine species allowed us to interpret these results by providing a greater insight into the evolutionary factors responsible for shaping the genetic structure of this species throughout is natural range.
ISSN:0962-1083
1365-294X
DOI:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2009.04118.x