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Changes in genetic structure of posidonia oceanica at Monterosso al Mare (Ligurian Sea) and its resilience over a decade (1998-2009)

TitleChanges in genetic structure of posidonia oceanica at Monterosso al Mare (Ligurian Sea) and its resilience over a decade (1998-2009)
Publication TypeArticolo su Rivista peer-reviewed
Year of Publication2012
AuthorsMicheli, C., Cupido R., Lombardi Chiara, Belmonte A., and Peirano Andrea
JournalEnvironmental Management
Volume50
Pagination598-606
Date PublishedOCT
ISSN0364152X
KeywordsAlismatidae, article, beach nourishment, Cloning, DNA, DNA fingerprinting, environment, Environmental impact, Environmental stress, forestry, Genetic, genetic difference, genetic differentiation, genetic distance, Genetic diversity-beach nourishment, genetic structure, Genetic Variation, human activity, Italy, La Spezia [Liguria], leaf length, Liguria, Ligurian Sea, marine ecosystem, Mediterranean Sea, molecular cloning, Monterosso Al Mare, nonhuman, Nutrition, Phenotype, Plant, plant DNA, plant genetics, plant leaf, plant parameters, population genetic structure, Posidonia oceanica, protected area, Random amplified polymorphic DNA, resilience, Revegetation, sea, seagrass, sediment, Selection, shoot density, Shore protection, Soil conservation, survival, suspension, temporal variation, Time, Time series analysis, West mediterranean
Abstract

Genetic differences in the Posidonia oceanica meadow of Monterosso al Mare (NW Mediterranean, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) "Cinque Terre") were compared in three stations, at an increasing distance from a source of impact (beach nourishment) in the recent decade. Random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis showed a higher genetic variability (>20 %) in the area directly subjected to the stress, increasing with time. Clone integration, confirmed by phenotypic analysis, showed increases both in shoot density and leaf length connected to genetic differences observed in DNA fingerprints of new shoots. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed 45 % individual differences within populations and 54 % among the populations. The fixation index (FST= 0.54), of the genetic differentiation, showed a marked difference between the populations at different temporal scales. Over a decade AMOVA indicated genetic variations from 28 % (1998) to 54 % (2009). These results make it clear that in the P. oceanica population examined the environment had, in ten years, selected those clones which were more resistant to the anthropogenic impact, despite being subjected to the effects of the resuspension of fine sediments. These findings could help to explain both the survival of the regressed Mediterranean P. oceanica meadows in areas subjected to moderate impacts and the extreme variability in success of revegetation experiments. Management of the ecological disturbance here described indicates also the timescale in population response to stress and its increased resilience in MPAs. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012.

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URLhttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84866547288&doi=10.1007%2fs00267-012-9917-3&partnerID=40&md5=c24058ec3b4b10c52e107a38de3963ab
DOI10.1007/s00267-012-9917-3
Citation KeyMicheli2012598