Assessing the impact of population decline on mating system in the overexploited Mediterranean red coral

Ledoux, J. B.; Frias‐Vidal, Silvia; Montero‐Serra, Ignasi; Antunes, Agostinho; Bueno, Clara Casado; Civit, Sergi; López‐Sendino, Paula; Linares, Cristina; Garrabou, Joaquim

doi:10.1002/aqc.3327

Cited by 11 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…It is like an autotomy procedure which was only observed in this species in laboratory conditions [58]. These observations plus the low mortality rate (5%) of transplants support and go in line with the high resistance and adaptive capacity of shallow C. rubrum previously seen in other transplantation experiments and under marginal environmental conditions [42,[51][52][53][54][59][60][61].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

Testing Transplantation Techniques for the Red Coral Corallium rubrum

Villechanoux

Bierwirth

Mantas

et al. 2022

Water

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Corallium rubrum has been exploited by humankind for centuries. The long-term exploitation dynamics of this species make it even more important today to increase protection and restoration efforts as it provides a significant range of ecosystem services. This becomes even more important in areas where natural recovery is hindered or unlikely. So far, only very few experiments have been carried out in the past, investigating suitable techniques for the successful transplantation of this species. For this reason, a review was conducted in order to synthesize previous results and identify the most promising methodologies. Additionally, six different transplantation techniques were tested and discussed in the context of the review. Five techniques used fragments for transplantation, while one used newly settled larvae on PVC-tiles. Shallow C. rubrum colonies often grow upside down under crevices and rims as well as in caves, making the transplantation of fragments comparatively challenging. Here, C. rubrum was transplanted upside down under crevices using a PVC-grid in combination with epoxy putty to hold fragments in place, and the results indicated the potential benefits of this technique. In a novel approach, shallow colonies, and larvae on settling plates were also transferred to deeper areas, suggesting that mesophotic populations can be restored to reconstruct pre-exploitation conditions. Attaching the colonies to the roof of crevices provided a level of survivorship consistent with conventional erect transplantations of colonies on rock bottom but had the advantage of being more removed from sedimentation and anthropogenic disturbance. Future work must develop permanent grid-mounting methods for use in the crevices before this approach can be further explored for large-scale restoration efforts.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

Testing Transplantation Techniques for the Red Coral Corallium rubrum

Villechanoux

Bierwirth

Mantas

et al. 2022

Water

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“…However, evidence for inbreeding from F IS is often met with skepticism because non-amplifying genetic variants (null alleles; Waples 2018) and undetected population structure (the Wahlund effect; Waples 2015) can artificially inflate homozygosity (Addison and Hart 2005). Approaches that combine multiple techniques to evaluate both how inbred individuals are and how much they inbreed could help circumvent common sources of error and move the study of marine invertebrate mating systems forward (see Sherman 2008;Carlon and Lippe 2011;Ledoux et al 2020).…”

Section: Quantifying Inbreedingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Numerous measures from progeny arrays suggest that selfing rates vary widely both within and among species of seed plants (Whitehead et al 2018), and are driven by ecological and evolutionary factors such as mate availability and inbreeding history (Goodwillie et al 2005). In contrast, there are relatively few estimates of selfing rates or biparental inbreeding based on progeny arrays under natural conditions for marine invertebrates (but see Brazeau et al 1998;Boissin et al 2008;Sherman 2008;Carlon and Lippe 2011;Ledoux et al 2020). Selfing rates can be estimated indirectly from the genotype frequencies of populations rather than with progeny arrays (see Cohen 1990; Jarne and Auld 2006), but these estimates of inbreeding are likely to have limitations similar to other population-genetic surveys.…”

Section: Quantifying Inbreedingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lessons from the study of plant mating systems for exploring the causes and consequences of inbreeding in marine invertebrates

et al. 2021

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Many benthic marine invertebrates resemble plants in being modular and either sessile or sedentary, and by relying on an external vector to disperse their gametes. These shared features, along with recent evidence of inbreeding in these taxa, suggest that theory and practice bearing on the evolutionary costs and benefits of inbreeding for plants could advance our understanding of the ecology and evolution of invertebrate animals. We describe how the theory for the evolution of inbreeding and outbreeding could apply to benthic invertebrates, identify and compare techniques used to quantify inbreeding in plants and animals, translate relevant botanical concepts and empirical patterns to their zoological equivalents, and articulate predictions for how inbreeding might be associated with major axes of variation in sessile and sedentary marine invertebrates. The theory of inbreeding and outbreeding provides critical insight into major patterns of life-history variation in plants and holds similar promise as a complementary perspective on the evolution of reproductive traits, lifespan, ecological strategies, and dispersal in marine invertebrates. Extending what we have learned from plants to marine invertebrates promises to broaden the general study of mating systems.

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“…While this comparison should be taken with caution owing to the different sampling strategies (quadrats vs. individual sampling), a decrease of σ g with a higher effective density is expected (see Vekemans and Hardy, 2004). This feedback between effective density and dispersal (i.e., higher dispersal in low-density population) was proposed as a process buffering, to some point, the increase of genetic drift expected in declining populations and may be critical for the maintenance of red coral populations (Ledoux et al, 2020).…”

Section: Spatiotemporal Genetic Structure Among Individuals In a Near-pristine Population: Complementing The Eco-evolutionary Feedbacks Umentioning

confidence: 99%

Demo-Genetic Approach for the Conservation and Restoration of a Habitat-Forming Octocoral: The Case of Red Coral, Corallium rubrum, in the Réserve Naturelle de Scandola

et al. 2021

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Marine protected areas (MPAs) are one of the most efficient conservation tools to buffer marine biodiversity loss induced by human activities. Beside effective enforcement, an accurate understanding of the eco-evolutionary processes underlying the patterns of biodiversity is needed to reap the benefits of management policies. In this context, integrating population genetics with demographic data, the demo-genetic approach, is particularly relevant to shift from a “species-based pattern” toward an “eco-evolutionary-based processes” conservation. Here, targeting a key species in the Mediterranean coralligenous, the red coral, Corallium rubrum, in an emblematic Mediterranean MPA, the “Réserve Naturelle de Scandola” (France), we applied demo-genetic approaches at two contrasted spatial scales, among populations and within one population, to (i) infer the demographic connectivity among populations in the metapopulation network and (ii) shed new light on the genetic connectivity and on the demographic transitions underlying the dynamics of a near-pristine population. Integrating different spatial and temporal scales, we demonstrated (i) an apparent temporal stability in the pattern of genetic diversity and structure in the MPA in spite of a dramatic demographic decline and (ii) contrasted levels of genetic isolation but substantial demographic connectivity among populations. Focusing on the near-pristine population, we complemented the characterization of red coral demographic connectivity suggesting (iii) temporal variability and (iv) the occurrence of collective dispersal. In addition, we demonstrated (v) contrasted patterns of spatial genetic structure (SGS), depending on the considered stage-class (adults vs. juveniles), in the near-pristine population. This last result points out that the overall SGS resulted from a restricted dispersal of locally produced juveniles (SGS among adults and juveniles) combined to mortality during early life stages (decrease of SGS from juveniles to adults). Demonstrating the occurrence of two management units and the importance of two populations (CAVB and ALE) for the network of connectivity, we made recommendations for the management of the Réserve Naturelle de Scandola. Besides, we contributed to the implementation of scientifically driven restoration protocols in red coral by providing estimates for the size, density, and distances among patches of transplanted colonies.

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Assessing the impact of population decline on mating system in the overexploited Mediterranean red coral

Cited by 11 publications

References 78 publications

Testing Transplantation Techniques for the Red Coral Corallium rubrum

Testing Transplantation Techniques for the Red Coral Corallium rubrum

Lessons from the study of plant mating systems for exploring the causes and consequences of inbreeding in marine invertebrates

Demo-Genetic Approach for the Conservation and Restoration of a Habitat-Forming Octocoral: The Case of Red Coral, Corallium rubrum, in the Réserve Naturelle de Scandola

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