Genetics and Genomics Commons^™

Population Structure, Connectivity, And Phylogeography Of Two Balistidae With High Potential For Larval Dispersal: Balistes Capriscus And Balistes Vetula, Luca Antoni

Dissertations

The gray triggerfish (Balistes capriscus) and the queen triggerfish (Balistes vetula) are two exploited reef fish distributed in tropical and temperate shelf waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Both species are highly sedentary as adults but disperse pelagic larvae for extended periods of time potentially allowing connectivity across long distances under the action of oceanic currents. In this work population structure, phylogeography, and migration patterns were examined in the two species and contrasted with predictions of larval transport based on surface circulation data. A total of 1,017 gray triggerfish from twelve sampling localities …

Population Genetic Analysis Of Atlantic Horseshoe Crabs (Limulus Polyphemus) In Coastal Massachusetts., Katherine T. Johnson

Masters Theses

Atlantic horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) have endured decades of intense harvest pressure. Genetics studies have shown evidence of distinct sub-groups spanning the coast, although few fine-scale studies have been done to delineate these groups on a local level. Massachusetts lies directly between two of these sub-groups. With documented differences in prosomal widths of horseshoe crabs from either side of Cape Cod, it is possible that Cape Cod is a barrier to gene flow and that there are two distinct genetic groups within Massachusetts. Regulations currently consider all horseshoe crabs to be of one stock. I examined 6 microsatellite …

Relative Abundances Of The Recently Introduced Barnacles, Megabalanus Coccopoma And An Unidentified Species Of Megabalanus, In The Southeastern U.S., Jennifer L. Tyson

Honors College Theses

ABSTRACT

Megabalanus coccopoma is a prominent invasive species off the coast of Georgia. Recently, among collected samples thought to be M. coccopoma, several individuals of an unidentified species of barnacle were found. The species has been identified as a Megabalanus species, but is still unidentified to the species level. Species identification is difficult due to morphological variation, inconsistent taxonomic keys, and unknown origin. In this study I developed a method to accurately distinguish M. coccopoma from the unidentified Megabalanus sp. using sequence differences in the mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) gene. This study will provide an accurate estimate of …