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Burgess SC, Powell J, Bueno M. Dispersal, kin aggregation, and the fitness consequences of not spreading sibling larvae. Ecology 2023; 104:e3858. [PMID: 36059232 PMCID: PMC10078279 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2022] [Revised: 06/09/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Dispersal has far-reaching implications for individuals, populations, and communities, especially in sessile organisms. Escaping competition with conspecifics and with kin are theorized to be key factors leading to dispersal as an adaptation. However, manipulative approaches in systems in which adults are sessile but offspring have behaviors is required for a more complete understanding of how competition affects dispersal. Here, we integrate a series of experiments to study how dispersal affects the density and relatedness of neighbors, and how the density and relatedness of neighbors in turn affects fitness. In a marine bryozoan, we empirically estimated dispersal kernels and found that most larvae settled within ~1 m of the maternal colony, although some could potentially travel at least 10s of meters. Larvae neither actively preferred or avoided conspecifics or kin at settlement. We experimentally determined the effects of spreading sibling larvae by manipulating the density and relatedness of settlers and measuring components of fitness in the field. We found that settler density reduced maternal fitness when settler neighbors were siblings compared with when neighbors were unrelated or absent. Genetic markers also identified very few half sibs (and no full sibs) in adults from the natural population, and rarely close enough to directly interact. In this system, dispersal occurs over short distances (meters) yet, in contrast with expectations, there appears to be limited kinship between adult neighbors. Our results suggest that the limited dispersal increases early offspring mortality when siblings settle next to each other, rather than next to unrelated conspecifics, potentially reducing kinship in adult populations. High offspring production and multiple paternity could further dilute kinship at settlement and reduce selection for dispersal beyond the scale of 10s of meters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott C Burgess
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
| | - Jackson Powell
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
| | - Marília Bueno
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
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2
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Mazzei R, Rubenstein DR. Larval ecology, dispersal, and the evolution of sociality in the sea. Ethology 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Renata Mazzei
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology Columbia University New York NY USA
| | - Dustin R. Rubenstein
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology Columbia University New York NY USA
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3
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Rueger T, Buston PM, Bogdanowicz SM, Wong MY. Genetic relatedness in social groups of the emerald coral goby Paragobiodon xanthosoma creates potential for weak kin selection. Mol Ecol 2021; 30:1311-1321. [PMID: 33459427 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2020] [Revised: 12/22/2020] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Animals forming social groups that include breeders and nonbreeders present evolutionary paradoxes; why do breeders tolerate nonbreeders? And why do nonbreeders tolerate their situation? Both paradoxes are often explained with kin selection. Kin selection is, however, assumed to play little or no role in social group formation of marine organisms with dispersive larval phases. Yet, in some marine organisms, recent evidence suggests small-scale patterns of relatedness, meaning that this assumption must always be tested. Here, we investigated the genetic relatedness of social groups of the emerald coral goby, Paragobiodon xanthosoma. We genotyped 73 individuals from 16 groups in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea, at 20 microsatellite loci and estimated pairwise relatedness among all individuals. We found that estimated pairwise relatedness among individuals within groups was significantly higher than the pairwise relatedness among individuals from the same reef, and pairwise relatedness among individuals from the same reef was significantly higher than the pairwise relatedness among individuals from different reefs. This spatial signature suggests that there may be very limited dispersal in this species. The slightly positive relatedness within groups creates the potential for weak kin selection, which may help to resolve the paradox of why breeders tolerate subordinates in P. xanthosoma. The other paradox, why nonbreeders tolerate their situation, is better explained by alternative hypotheses such as territory inheritance, and ecological and social constraints. We show that even in marine animals with dispersive larval phases, kin selection needs to be considered to explain the evolution of complex social groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theresa Rueger
- Department of Biology and Marine Program, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.,College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - Peter M Buston
- Department of Biology and Marine Program, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Steven M Bogdanowicz
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Marian Y Wong
- Centre for Sustainable Ecosystems Solutions, School of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
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4
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Rueger T, Harrison HB, Buston PM, Gardiner NM, Berumen ML, Jones GP. Natal philopatry increases relatedness within groups of coral reef cardinalfish. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20201133. [PMID: 32635871 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
A central issue in evolutionary ecology is how patterns of dispersal influence patterns of relatedness in populations. In terrestrial organisms, limited dispersal of offspring leads to groups of related individuals. By contrast, for most marine organisms, larval dispersal in open waters is thought to minimize kin associations within populations. However, recent molecular evidence and theoretical approaches have shown that limited dispersal, sibling cohesion and/or differential reproductive success can lead to kin association and elevated relatedness. Here, we tested the hypothesis that limited dispersal explains small-scale patterns of relatedness in the pajama cardinalfish Sphaeramia nematoptera. We used 19 microsatellite markers to assess parentage of 233 juveniles and pairwise relatedness among 527 individuals from 41 groups in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea. Our findings support three predictions of the limited dispersal hypothesis: (i) elevated relatedness within groups, compared with among groups and elevated relatedness within reefs compared with among reefs; (ii) a weak negative correlation of relatedness with distance; (iii) more juveniles than would be expected by chance in the same group and the same reef as their parents. We provide the first example for natal philopatry at the group level causing small-scale patterns of genetic relatedness in a marine fish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theresa Rueger
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia.,Department of Biology and Marine Program, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Hugo B Harrison
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia.,Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Australia
| | - Peter M Buston
- Department of Biology and Marine Program, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Naomi M Gardiner
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Michael L Berumen
- Red Sea Research Center, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, 23955-6900 Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Geoffrey P Jones
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia.,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
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5
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The formation of marine kin structure: effects of dispersal, larval cohesion, and variable reproductive success. Ecology 2018; 99:2374-2384. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2018] [Revised: 06/09/2018] [Accepted: 07/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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6
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Costantini F, Ferrario F, Abbiati M. Chasing genetic structure in coralligenous reef invertebrates: patterns, criticalities and conservation issues. Sci Rep 2018; 8:5844. [PMID: 29643422 PMCID: PMC5895814 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-24247-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2017] [Accepted: 03/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Conservation of coastal habitats is a global issue, yet biogenic reefs in temperate regions have received very little attention. They have a broad geographic distribution and are a key habitat in marine ecosystems impacted by human activities. In the Mediterranean Sea coralligenous reefs are biodiversity hot spots and are classified as sensitive habitats deserving conservation. Genetic diversity and structure influence demographic, ecological and evolutionary processes in populations and play a crucial role in conservation strategies. Nevertheless, a comprehensive view of population genetic structure of coralligenous species is lacking. Here, we reviewed the literature on the genetic structure of sessile and sedentary invertebrates of the Mediterranean coralligenous reefs. Linear regression models and meta-analytic approaches are used to assess the contributions of genetic markers, phylum, pelagic larval duration (PLD) and geographical distance to the population genetic structure. Our quantitative approach highlight that 1) most species show a significant genetic structure, 2) structuring differs between phyla, and 3) PLD does not appear to be a major driver of the structuring. We discuss the implication of these finding for the management and conservation, suggesting research areas that deserve attention, and providing recommendations for broad assessment and monitoring of genetic diversity in biogenic reefs species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Costantini
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Università di Bologna, UOS Ravenna, Ravenna, Italy.
- Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca per le Scienze Ambientali, Università di Bologna, Via S. Alberto 163, I - 48123, Ravenna, Italy.
- CoNISMa, Piazzale Flaminio 9, 00197, Roma, Italy.
| | | | - Marco Abbiati
- Centro Interdipartimentale di Ricerca per le Scienze Ambientali, Università di Bologna, Via S. Alberto 163, I - 48123, Ravenna, Italy
- CoNISMa, Piazzale Flaminio 9, 00197, Roma, Italy
- Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, Via degli Ariani, 1, 48121, Ravenna, Italy
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Scienze Marine, ISMAR, Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129, Bologna, Italy
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