An environmental gradient dominates ecological and genetic differentiation of marine invertebrates between the North and Baltic Sea

  • Environmental gradients have emerged as important barriers to structuring populations and species distributions. We set out to test whether the strong salinity gradient from the marine North Sea to the brackish Baltic Sea in northern Europe represents an ecological and genetic break, and to identify life history traits that correlate with the strength of this break. We accumulated mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 sequence data, and data on the distribution, salinity tolerance, and life history for 28 species belonging to the Cnidaria, Crustacea, Echinodermata, Mollusca, Polychaeta, and Gastrotricha. We included seven non-native species covering a broad range of times since introduction, in order to gain insight into the pace of adaptation and differentiation. We calculated measures of genetic diversity and differentiation across the environmental gradient, coalescent times, and migration rates between North and Baltic Sea populations, and analyzed correlations between genetic and life history data. The majority of investigated species is either genetically differentiated and/or adapted to the lower salinity conditions of the Baltic Sea. Species exhibiting population structure have a range of patterns of genetic diversity in comparison with the North Sea, from lower in the Baltic Sea to higher in the Baltic Sea, or equally diverse in North and Baltic Sea. Two of the non-native species showed signs of genetic differentiation, their times since introduction to the Baltic Sea being about 80 and >700 years, respectively. Our results indicate that the transition from North Sea to Baltic Sea represents a genetic and ecological break: The diversity of genetic patterns points toward independent trajectories in the Baltic compared with the North Sea, and ecological differences with regard to salinity tolerance are common. The North Sea–Baltic Sea region provides a unique setting to study evolutionary adaptation during colonization processes at different stages by jointly considering native and non-native species.
Metadaten
Author:Jonas C. GeburziORCiD, Nele Heuer, Lena Homberger, Jana KabusORCiD, Zoe Moesges, Kira Ovenbeck, Dirk BrandisGND, Christine EwersORCiD
URN:urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-855350
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8868
ISSN:2045-7758
Parent Title (English):Ecology and evolution
Publisher:John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Place of publication:[Erscheinungsort nicht ermittelbar]
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Date of Publication (online):2022/05/20
Date of first Publication:2022/05/20
Publishing Institution:Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg
Release Date:2024/05/13
Tag:Baltic Sea; North Sea; adaptation; cytochrome oxidase; genetic differentiation; marine invertebrates; population genetics; salinity
Volume:12
Issue:5, art. e8868
Article Number:e8868
Page Number:25
First Page:1
Last Page:25
Note:
This study was financially supported by a grant from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, project number 01UQ1711).
Note:
Open access funding was enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.
HeBIS-PPN:519156528
Institutes:Biowissenschaften / Institut für Ökologie, Evolution und Diversität
Dewey Decimal Classification:5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 57 Biowissenschaften; Biologie / 570 Biowissenschaften; Biologie
Sammlungen:Universitätspublikationen
Licence (German):License LogoCreative Commons - CC BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International