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Genetic connectivity and diversity between tropical and subtropical populations of the tropical horned sea star Protoreaster nodosus in the northwest Pacific

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Abstract

Seagrass beds are ecologically and economically important coastal ecosystems, and seagrass-associated organisms are a key part of their biodiversity. Marine organisms that reproduce through broadcast spawning are likely to have less genetic differentiation among populations than those that use other modes of reproduction, but this has not been well studied. Here, we investigated the genetic diversity, genetic differentiation, and migration patterns of the seagrass-associated sea star Protoreaster nodosus across 12 sites spanning approximately 2500 km from the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan, to the Philippines. We genotyped 405 individuals by using seven microsatellite loci and analyzed allelic richness and expected heterozygosity as indices of genetic diversity. Of these two indices, only expected heterozygosity decreased slightly with increasing latitude. These results suggest that genetic diversity has not clearly decreased, even in the isolated Ryukyu Archipelago populations. Geographic distance was significantly correlated with genetic differentiation (pairwise FST: − 0.005 to 0.049). However, populations in the Ryukyu Archipelago and the Philippines showed relatively low genetic structuring and the pairwise genetic differentiation between these regions was often non-significant. Analysis of historical migration rates showed bidirectional north–south migration, which appears to be influenced by the Kuroshio Current and its countercurrents.

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Data availability

Microsatellite data are available in the electronic supplementary material.

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Acknowledgements

We thank members of the project ‘Coastal Ecosystem Conservation and Adaptive Management under Local and Global Environmental Impacts in the Philippines’ (CECAM project: https://sites.google.com/view/cecam-project).

Funding

This research was funded by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) program.

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Author notes

  1. Yuichi Nakajima

    Present address: Center for Climate Change Adaptation, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan

  2. Nina Yasuda

    Present address: Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan

  3. Yu Matsuki

    Present address: Illumina Japan, Minato, Tokyo, 108-0014, Japan

  4. Dan M. Arriesgado

    Present address: School of Marine Fisheries and Technology, Mindanao State University at Naawan, 9023, Naawan, Misamis Oriental, Philippines

  5. Kazuo Nadaoka

    Present address: Kajima Technical Research Institute (KaTRI), Chofu, Tokyo, 182-0036, Japan

  6. Miguel D. Fortes was deceased.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Asian Research Center for Bioresource and Environmental Sciences, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Nishitokyo, Tokyo, 188-0002, Japan

    Yuichi Nakajima, Yu Matsuki & Chunlan Lian

  2. Department of Marine Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, 889-2192, Japan

    Nina Yasuda

  3. School of Environment and Society, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Meguro, Tokyo, 152-8552, Japan

    Dan M. Arriesgado & Kazuo Nadaoka

  4. Marine Science Institute, University of the Philippines Diliman, 1101, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines

    Miguel D. Fortes

  5. Institute of Fisheries Research and Development, Mindanao State University at Naawan, 9023, Naawan, Misamis Oriental, Philippines

    Wilfredo H. Uy

  6. Division of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines in the Visayas, Miag-Ao, 5023, Iloilo, Philippines

    Wilfredo L. Campos

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  1. Yuichi Nakajima
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Contributions

YN, KN, and CL conceived and designed the study. YN, NY, YM, DMA, and CL collected the samples with contributions from MDF, WHU, and WLC. YN and NY performed the laboratory work. YN analyzed and interpreted the data. YN wrote and all authors contributed to revising the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Yuichi Nakajima or Chunlan Lian.

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Nakajima, Y., Yasuda, N., Matsuki, Y. et al. Genetic connectivity and diversity between tropical and subtropical populations of the tropical horned sea star Protoreaster nodosus in the northwest Pacific. Mar Biol 171, 142 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-024-04461-y

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