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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Natural Disease Resistance In Threatened Staghorn Corals, Steven V. Vollmer, David I. Kline
Natural Disease Resistance In Threatened Staghorn Corals, Steven V. Vollmer, David I. Kline
Steve Vollmer
Disease epidemics have caused extensive damage to tropical coral reefs and to the reef-building corals themselves, yet nothing is known about the abilities of the coral host to resist disease infection. Understanding the potential for natural disease resistance in corals is critically important, especially in the Caribbean where the two ecologically dominant shallow-water corals, Acropora cervicornis and A. palmata, have suffered an unprecedented mass die-off due to White Band Disease (WBD), and are now listed as threatened under the US Threatened Species Act and as critically endangered under the IUCN Red List criteria. Here we examine the potential for natural …
Genetic Diversity And Connectivity In The Threatened Staghorn Coral (Acropora Cervicornis) In Florida, Elizabeth M. Hemond, Steven V. Vollmer
Genetic Diversity And Connectivity In The Threatened Staghorn Coral (Acropora Cervicornis) In Florida, Elizabeth M. Hemond, Steven V. Vollmer
Steve Vollmer
Over the past three decades, populations of the dominant shallow water Caribbean corals, Acropora cervicornis and A. palmata, have been devastated by white-band disease (WBD), resulting in the listing of both species as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. A key to conserving these threatened corals is understanding how their populations are genetically interconnected throughout the greater Caribbean. Genetic research has demonstrated that gene flow is regionally restricted across the Caribbean in both species. Yet, despite being an important site of coral reef research, little genetic data has been available for the Florida Acropora, especially for the staghorn coral, …
Phenotypic Divergence Despite High Levels Of Gene Flow In Galapagos Lava Lizards (Microlophus Albemarlensis), Mark Jordan, H. Snell, H. Snell, W. Jordan
Phenotypic Divergence Despite High Levels Of Gene Flow In Galapagos Lava Lizards (Microlophus Albemarlensis), Mark Jordan, H. Snell, H. Snell, W. Jordan
Mark A. Jordan
The extent of evolutionary divergence of phenotypes between habitats is predominantly the result of the balance of differential natural selection and gene flow. Lava lizards (Microlophus albemarlensis) on the small island of Plaza Sur in the Galápagos archipelago inhabit contrasting habitats: dense vegetation on the western end of the island thins rapidly in a transitional area, before becoming absent on the eastern half. Associated with these habitats are phenotypic differences in traits linked to predator avoidance (increased wariness, sprint speed, and endurance in lizards from the sparsely vegetated habitat). This population provides an opportunity to test the hypothesis that reduced …