Minimal genetic variation among samples of six species of coral reef fishes collected at La Parguera, Puerto Rico, and Discovery Bay, Jamaica

A multi-locus assessment of connectivity and historical demography in the bluehead wrasse (Thalassoma bifasciatum)

“…As in previous studies using whole mtDNA RFLP data (Shulman and Bermingham, 1995) or allozymes (Lacson, 1992), highly variable mitochondrial sequence data and microsatellites analyzed in the current study showed no evidence of differentiation between T. bifasciatum populations on either small or large scales across the Caribbean.…”

Ancient divergences and recent connections in two tropical Atlantic reef fishes Epinephelus adscensionis and Rypticus saponaceous (Percoidei: Serranidae)

“…Shulman and Bermingham (1995) examined mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from eight Caribbean species. Lacson (1992) surveyed 33 allozyme loci from five Caribbean species. Collectively these studies included six taxonomic families exhibiting a wide range of pelagic larval durations (PLD; from approximately 13 to 122 days).…”

“…004-0.035, Lacson 1992). On the same geographic scale, an allozyme survey of the damselfish Stegastes partitus showed no significant population structure (Lacson 1992;Lacson et al 1989). The lack of divergence between distant localities is usually attributed to egg and larval dispersal over hundreds or several thousand kilometers (see Johannes 1978;Brothers and Thresher 1985), a mechanism invoked to explain the presence of reef fish species on isolated islands (e.g., Allen and Robertson 1997;Robertson 2001).…”

Biogeography and Population Connectivity of Coral Reef Fishes

“…The case study from the Caribbean illustrates this dichotomy between evolutionary gene flow and ecologically relevant dispersal. Even though studies have shown genetic similarity across the Caribbean, suggesting basin-scale mixing among reef fish populations (Geertjes et al, 2004;Lacson, 1992;Shulman & Bermingham, 1995), the ecologically meaningful pattern of larval dispersal is likely at the regional scale . Isolation in reef fish populations at this scale has also been shown in other oceanographically and geographically complex regions such as the Indo-Pacific (Drew et al, 2008).…”

“…Given its stepping-stone geography and a total distance along a current track of 4500 km, Shulman & Bermingham (1995) suggested that it could take as few as 13 generations for a novel haplotype to spread throughout the basin. Correspondingly, studies have shown high rates of gene flow in reef fish leading to genetic similarity within taxa throughout the Caribbean (Lacson, 1992;Shulman & Bermingham, 1995). In contrast, a model by Kool et al (2010) showed that, while reef fish populations in the Caribbean became increasingly genetically connected with one another over time, relative differences between populations persisted, providing the basis for the development of genetic structure.…”