Author Identifier (ORCID)
Chanelle Webster's ORCID record 
Nicole Said's ORCID record Anjke Frouws's ORCID record David L Field's ORCID record Elizabeth M. Sinclair's ORCID record Kathryn McMahon's ORCID record
Abstract
Executive Summary: This study focused on understanding genetic diversity and connectivity in the Posidonia sinuosa seagrass populations along the west coast of Western Australia, as part of Project 2.2 ‘Building Resilience and Future Proofing Seagrass Meadows’. Seagrass populations were sampled across the latitudinal gradient from Geraldton (northern range edge) to Geographe Bay (southernmost populations on the west coast) between May and December 2022. Sampling was clustered in three geographic areas (northern, central, southern) and included long term seagrass monitoring sites, with greater intensity of sampling conducted within the Cockburn Sound area at a range of depths (1.2 - 11.8 m). A population genomics approach was undertaken to assess levels of diversity within meadows (including clonal diversity), patterns of genetic structure among meadows (admixture and gene flow), and discovery of putative adaptive variants associated with local environmental conditions (local adaptation). These data will provide important baseline information for understanding patterns of genetic diversity in natural P. sinuosa populations along the west coast, as well as enable informed decisions for incorporating resilience into future seagrass restoration activities. Adult shoot samples were collected from 30 meadows, sequenced and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs markers) generated. All meadows were growing in oceanic conditions (~36 salinity units) across a range in ocean temperatures at the time of collection (15 – 24 °C). After sequencing and bioinformatics filtering steps, the dataset consisted of 287 multilocus genotypes for 7,777 SNP loci from 28 meadows.
Keywords
Posidonia sinuosa, seagrass meadows, genetic diversity, population genomics, genetic connectivity, clonal diversity, population structure, gene flow, admixture, local adaptation, adaptive genetic variation
Non-Traditional Research Output
Report for External Body
Document Type
Non-Traditional Research Output
Date of Publication
2025
Type of File
Publisher
Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI)
School
School of Science / Centre for People, Place and Planet
RAS ID
100634
Funding Information
The $13.5 million WAMSI Westport Marine Science Program was funded by the Western Australian Government, Department of Transport. WAMSI partners provided significant in-kind funding to the program to increase the value to >$22 million.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.