Miss Jane Edgeloe1, Dr. Georgina Wood1, Prof. Thomas Wernberg1,2, Adjunct Prof. Melinda Coleman1,3
1School of Biological Sciences and Oceans Institute, University Of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia, 2Norwegian Institute of Marine Research, Nye Flødevigveien,, Norway, 3Department of Primary Industries, National Marine Science Centre, Coffs Harbour,, Australia
In the face of rapid global climate change, species are being exposed to conditions that are beyond their natural range of exposure and above their physiological thresholds. Knowledge of species’ vulnerability and or adaptive capacity is critical for understanding the potential response to future climate-perturbations. Species adaptive capacity can be structured by both genetic diversity and composition. Seaweeds are foundation species that underpin temperate ecosystems but knowledge of the underlying capacity of marine seaweeds to adapt and respond to climate change is lacking for most species. We used a population genomics approach to close this knowledge gap for a key foundation seaweed and Australian endemic, Scytothalia dorycarpa. Using single-nucleotide polymorphisms, (SNPs), we examined patterns of genetic diversity and composition in S. dorycarpa along a temperature gradient off Western Australia. We characterised patterns of genetic diversity, connectivity, and structure and identified putative adaptive loci and linked them to local environmental conditions. We also conducted genomic vulnerability assessments under projected climate scenarios. This study will inform management of S. dorycarpa in the face of climate change by providing the genomic information needed to identify selected genotypes adapted to climate stressors for future assisted adaptation activities.
Biography:
‘Biographies to come’
