Data from: Contrasting patterns of population structure and gene flow facilitate exploration of connectivity in two widely distributed temperate octocorals ...

• Main Authors: Holland, Lyndsey P., Jenkins, Tom L., Stevens, Jamie R.
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2017
• Subjects: marine connectivity; Genetic connectivity; Eunicella verrucosa; pink sea fan; Alcyonium digitatum; Marine protected areas; Holocene; Northeast Atlantic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.nj0v4; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.nj0v4

Connectivity is an important component of metapopulation dynamics in marine systems and can influence population persistence, migration rates and conservation decisions associated with Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). In this study, we compared the genetic diversity, gene flow and population structure of two octocoral species, Eunicella verrucosa and Alcyonium digitatum, in the northeast Atlantic (ranging from the northwest of Ireland and the southern North Sea, to southern Portugal), using two panels of 13 and 8 microsatellite loci, respectively. Our results identified regional genetic structure in E. verrucosa partitioned between populations from southern Portugal, northwest Ireland and Britain/France; subsequent hierarchical analysis of population structure also indicated reduced gene flow between southwest Britain and northwest France. However, over a similar geographical area, A. digitatum showed little evidence of population structure, suggesting high gene flow and/or a large effective population size; ... : Alcyonium digitatum microsatellite dataAlcyonium digitatum microsatellite data. Excel file. Data for 8 loci in 2 column format, 648 individuals, 20 sites.Alcyonium_digitatum_Genalex_Heredity.xlsxEunicella verrucosa microsatellite dataEunicella verrucosa microsatellite data. Excel file. Data for 13 loci in 2 column format, 905 individuals, 27 sites.Eunicella_verrucosa_Genalex_Heredity.xlsx ...