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Surviving at the edge of a fragmented range: patterns of genetic diversity in isolated populations of the endangered giant Mediterranean limpet (Patella ferruginea)

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Abstract

The survival of endangered and rare species with slow growth and low dispersal capabilities critically depends on the persistence of populations within marine protected areas (MPAs). The effectiveness of MPAs at maintaining the species evolutionary potential will depend on the occurrence of self-sustaining and viable populations, harboring sufficient levels of genetic diversity. Here, individuals of Patella ferruginea Gmelin, 1791, an endangered and rare limpet endemic to the western Mediterranean, were genotyped using eight microsatellite loci. Genetic information was used to assess the occurrence of (1) self-sustaining and viable populations and (2) fine-scale spatial genetic structure within two MPAs in the north of Sardinia Island. In contrast to the literature-based expectation of two relict and declining populations, levels of genetic diversity were similar to those reported for other marine gastropods. Furthermore, the contemporary effective population size was higher than the average effective size found in populations of other endangered species. Even accounting for uncertainty, such estimates exceeded the critical threshold below which inbreeding and random genetic drift determine the loss of genetic diversity. The two populations showed different spatial genetic patterns, which might reflect the interplay between species life-history traits and topographic and oceanographic features. With regard to the conservation and management of marine resources, these results stress once more the importance of taking into account both the species life-history traits and the habitat features that can limit connectivity at small geographic scales.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Roberta Falchi and Stefano Sechi for their valuable help during the sampling campaigns at the Asinara Island and Tavolara–Punta Coda Cavallo MPAs, respectively. We also thank the Ministero dell’Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare and the Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA) for providing the necessary permits to collect tissue samples. This study was financially supported by (1) P.O.R. FESR 2007–2013—Linea di attività 4.1.2.b del—Asse IV “Ambiente, Attrattività Culturale e Turismo”—Lotto 2: CIG Z90063A764 “Attività di monitoraggio della specie di particolare interesse conservazionistico Patella ferruginea (Mollusca: Gastropoda) attraverso tecniche di biologia molecolare e censimento della popolazione”; (2) Marine Protected Area of Asinara Island project grant 2014: “Studio della variabilità genetica di Patella ferruginea (Mollusca: Gastropoda) nel mesolitorale dell’Area Marina Protetta dell’Isola dell’Asinara.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sciences for Nature and Environmental Resources, Via Muroni 25, 07100, Sassari, Italy

    Piero Cossu, Fabio Scarpa, Gian Luca Dedola, Daria Sanna, Tiziana Lai, Benedetto Cristo, Marco Curini-Galletti & Marco Casu

  2. Marine Protected Area of Tavolara-Punta Coda Cavallo, Via Dante 1, 07026, Olbia, Italy

    Pieraugusto Panzalis & Augusto Navone

  3. Marine Protected Area of Asinara Island, Via Josto 7, 07046, Porto Torres, Italy

    Giovanni Careddu & Pier Paolo Congiatu

  4. Agris Sardegna, Agenzia per la Ricerca in Agricoltura, Servizio Ricerca Prodotti Ittici, Loc. Bonassai, 07040, Olmedo, Italy

    Laura Mura & Nicola Fois

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  1. Piero Cossu
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  2. Fabio Scarpa
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  3. Gian Luca Dedola
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  14. Marco Casu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Piero Cossu.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare they have no conflict of interest, that all participants of the study gave their consent, and that sampling was carried out according to the national legislation after all required permission had been obtained.

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Communicated by T. Reusch.

Reviewed by R. T. Pereyra and an undisclosed expert.

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Cossu, P., Scarpa, F., Dedola, G.L. et al. Surviving at the edge of a fragmented range: patterns of genetic diversity in isolated populations of the endangered giant Mediterranean limpet (Patella ferruginea). Mar Biol 164, 41 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-017-3080-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-017-3080-6

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