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Seascape Genetics Webinar

The DNA of Biodiversity: Predicting and protecting genetic diversity of whole communities

Phylogeography unplugged: comparative surveys in the genomic area

—In March 2012, the authors met at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) in Durham, North Carolina, USA, to discuss approaches and cooperative ventures in Indo-Pacific phylogeography. The group emerged with a series of findings: (1) Marine population structure is complex, but single locus mtDNA studies continue to provide powerful first assessment of phylogeographic patterns. (2) These patterns gain greater significance/power when resolved in a diversity of taxa. New analytical tools are emerging to address these analyses with multi-taxon approaches.

Combined analyses of kinship and Fst suggest potential drivers of chaotic genetic patchiness in high gene-flow populations

We combine kinship estimates with traditional F-statistics to explain contemporary drivers of population genetic differentiation despite high gene flow. We investigate range-wide population genetic structure of the California spiny (or red rock) lobster (Panulirus interruptus) and find slight, but significant global population differentiation in mtDNA (ΦST = 0.006, P = 0.001; D(est_Chao) = 0.025) and seven nuclear microsatellites (F(ST) = 0.004, P < 0.001; D(est_Chao) = 0.03), despite the species' 240- to 330-day pelagic larval duration.

Phylogeography of the California sheephead, Semicossyphus pulcher: the role of deep reefs as stepping stones and pathways to antitropicality.

In the past decade, the study of dispersal of marine organisms has shifted from focusing predominantly on the larval stage to a recent interest in adult movement. Antitropical distributions provide a unique system to assess vagility and dispersal. In this study, we have focused on an antitropical wrasse genus, Semicossyphus, which includes the California sheephead, S. pulcher, and Darwin's sheephead, S. darwini.

Towards a thesaurus of plant characteristics: an ecological contribution

Ecological research produces a tremendous amount of data, but the diversity in scales and topics covered and the ways in which studies are carried out result in large numbers of small, idiosyncratic data sets using heterogeneous terminologies. Such heterogeneity can be attributed, in part, to a lack of standards for acquiring, organizing and describing data. Here, we propose a terminological resource, a Thesaurus Of Plant characteristics (TOP), whose aim is to harmonize and formalize concepts for plant characteristics widely used in ecology. 2.

Soil conditions moderate the effects of herbivores, but not mycorrhizae, on a native bunchgrass

Herbivores, microbial mutualists, and soil nutrients can affect plant survival, growth, and reproduction, demographic parameters that are essential to plant restoration. In this study we ask: 1) whether native plants that form early associations with mycorrhizal fungi are more tolerant of mammalian grazers, and 2) how early plant associations with mycorrhizal fungi influence mammalian grazing across gradients in soil nutrients.

Global patterns of kelp forest change over the past half-century

Kelp forests support diverse and productive ecological communities throughout temperate and arctic regions worldwide, providing numerous ecosystem services to humans. Literature suggests that kelp forests are increasingly threatened by a variety of human impacts, including climate change, overfishing, and direct harvest. We provide the first globally comprehensive analysis of kelp forest change over the past 50 y, identifying a high degree of variation in the magnitude and direction of change across the geographic range of kelps.

Using concepts of biodiversity in structured decision-making

Unexpected management choices when accounting for uncertainty in ecosystem service tradeoff analyses

Resource management and conservation increasingly focus on ecosystem service provisioning and potential tradeoffs among services under different management actions. Application of bioeconomic approaches to tradeoffs assessment is touted as a way to find win-win outcomes or avoid unnecessary stakeholder conflict. Yet, nearly all assessments to date have ignored inherent uncertainties in the provision and valuation of services. We incorporate uncertainty into the ecosystem services analytical framework and show how such inclusion improves optimal decision making.