Genetic Population Structure of Macridiscus multifarius (Mollusca: Bivalvia) on the Basis of Mitochondrial Markers: Strong Population Structure in a Species with a Short Planktonic Larval Stage

The clam Macridiscus multifarius with a planktonic larval stage of about 10 days is an ecologically and economically important species in the coastal regions of China. In this study, 3 mt-DNA markers (COI, 12S rRNA, and ND1) were used to investigate the population structure and demography of wild M. multifarius populations in 3 coastal localities of the East China Sea (ZS and ZP populations) and Beibu Gulf in the South China Sea (BH population). Sequences of 685 bp in COI, 350 bp in 12S rRNA, and 496 bp in ND1 were determined. High level and significant F _ST values were obtained among the different localities on the basis of either COI (F _ST = 0.100–0.444, p < 0.05) or 12S rRNA (F _ST = 0.199–0.742, p < 0.05) gene, indicating a high degree of genetic differentiation among the populations. F _ST values were significant but weak for the ND1 gene because it is highly conservative. The median-joining network suggested an obvious genetic differentiation between ZS and BH populations, and the finding is consistent with the results of our demographic analyses using the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean. Our study unraveled the extant population genetic structure of M. multifarius and explained the strong population structure of a species with a short planktonic larval stage species; this information could be useful for fishery management measures, including artificial breeding and conservation.     

Signatures of adaptation and genetic structure among the mainland populations of Pinus radiata (D. Don) inferred from SNP loci

Insights into the relative contributions of locus specific and genome-wide effects on population genetic diversity can be gained through separation of their resulting genetic signals. Here we explore patterns of adaptive and neutral genetic diversity in the disjunct natural populations of Pinus radiata (D. Don) from mainland California. A first-generation common garden of 447 individuals revealed significant differentiation of wood phenotypes among populations (P _ST), possibly reflecting local adaptation in response to environment. We subsequently screened all trees for genetic diversity at 149 candidate gene single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci for signatures of adaptation. Ten loci were identified as being possible targets of diversifying selection following F _ST outlier tests. Multivariate canonical correlation performed on a data set of 444 individuals identified significant covariance between environment, adaptive phenotypes and outlier SNP diversity, lending support to the case for local adaptation suggested from F _ST and P _ST tests. Covariation among discrete sets of outlier SNPs and adaptive phenotypes (inferred from multivariate loadings) with environment are supported by existing studies of candidate gene function and genotype–phenotype association. Canonical analyses failed to detect significant correlations between environment and 139 non-outlier SNP loci, which were applied to estimate neutral patterns of genetic differentiation among populations (F _ST 4.3 %). Using this data set, significant hierarchical structure was detected, indicating three populations on the mainland. The hierarchical relationships based on neutral SNP markers (and SSR) were in contrast with those inferred from putatively adaptive loci, potentially highlighting the independent action of selection and demography in shaping genetic structure in this species.     

Molecular and quantitative trait variation within and among small fragmented populations of the endangered plant species Psilopeganum sinense

Background and Aims

Natural selection and genetic drift are important evolutionary forces in determining genetic and phenotypic differentiation in plant populations. The extent to which these two distinct evolutionary forces affect locally adaptive quantitative traits has been well studied in common plant and animal species. However, we know less about how quantitative traits respond to selection pressures and drift in endangered species that have small population sizes and fragmented distributions. To address this question, this study assessed the relative strengths of selection and genetic drift in shaping population differentiation of phenotypic traits in Psilopeganum sinense, a naturally rare and recently endangered plant species.

Methods

Population differentiation at five quantitative traits (Q_ST) obtained from a common garden experiment was compared with differentiation at putatively neutral microsatellite markers (F_ST) in seven populations of P. sinense. Q_ST estimates were derived using a Bayesian hierarchical variance component method.

Key Results

Trait-specific Q_ST values were equal to or lower than F_ST. Neutral genetic diversity was not correlated with quantitative genetic variation within the populations of P. sinense.

Conclusions

Despite the prevalent empirical evidence for Q_ST > F_ST, the results instead suggest a definitive role of stabilizing selection and drift leading to phenotypic differentiation among small populations. Three traits exhibited a significantly lower Q_ST relative to F_ST, suggesting that populations of P. sinense might have experienced stabilizing selection for the same optimal phenotypes despite large geographical distances between populations and habitat fragmentation. For the other two traits, Q_ST estimates were of the same magnitude as F_ST, indicating that divergence in these traits could have been achieved by genetic drift alone. The lack of correlation between molecular marker and quantitative genetic variation suggests that sophisticated considerations are required for the inference of conservation measures of P. sinense from neutral genetic markers.     

Empirical Distributions of F ST from Large-Scale Human Polymorphism Data

Studies of the apportionment of human genetic variation have long established that most human variation is within population groups and that the additional variation between population groups is small but greatest when comparing different continental populations. These studies often used Wright’s F _ST that apportions the standardized variance in allele frequencies within and between population groups. Because local adaptations increase population differentiation, high-F _ST may be found at closely linked loci under selection and used to identify genes undergoing directional or heterotic selection. We re-examined these processes using HapMap data. We analyzed 3 million SNPs on 602 samples from eight worldwide populations and a consensus subset of 1 million SNPs found in all populations. We identified four major features of the data: First, a hierarchically F _ST analysis showed that only a paucity (12%) of the total genetic variation is distributed between continental populations and even a lesser genetic variation (1%) is found between intra-continental populations. Second, the global F _ST distribution closely follows an exponential distribution. Third, although the overall F _ST distribution is similarly shaped (inverse J), F _ST distributions varies markedly by allele frequency when divided into non-overlapping groups by allele frequency range. Because the mean allele frequency is a crude indicator of allele age, these distributions mark the time-dependent change in genetic differentiation. Finally, the change in mean-F _ST of these groups is linear in allele frequency. These results suggest that investigating the extremes of the F _ST distribution for each allele frequency group is more efficient for detecting selection. Consequently, we demonstrate that such extreme SNPs are more clustered along the chromosomes than expected from linkage disequilibrium for each allele frequency group. These genomic regions are therefore likely candidates for natural selection.     

Genetic diversity and population connectivity of the Asian green mussel Perna viridis in South China Sea,inferred from mitochondria DNA markers

The Asian green mussel Perna viridis is ecologically and economically important in the coastal regions of China. In order to characterize the genetic diversity and population connectivity of P. viridis in South China Sea, a 664 bp region of mitochondrial COI gene and a 293 bp region of 16S rRNA gene were sequenced and analyzed for 78 and 92 individuals from four populations in South China Sea, respectively. A total of 15 haplotypes were defined by 14 variable nucleotide sites in COI gene, and 7 haplotypes by 6 variable nucleotide sites in 16S rRNA gene. High haplotype diversity and low nucleotide diversity were observed in COI gene, while moderate haplotype diversity and low nucleotide diversity were observed in 16S rRNA gene. Pairwise F_ST values of COI gene were all negative and those of 16S rRNA gene ranged from −0.01409 to 0.10289. The results showed that no significant genetic divergence (or shallow genetic structure) and high levels of population connectivity among the four populations of P. viridis in South China Sea.     

Micro- and Macro-Geographic Scale Effect on the Molecular Imprint of Selection and Adaptation in Norway Spruce

Forest tree species of temperate and boreal regions have undergone a long history of demographic changes and evolutionary adaptations. The main objective of this study was to detect signals of selection in Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst), at different sampling-scales and to investigate, accounting for population structure, the effect of environment on species genetic diversity. A total of 384 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) representing 290 genes were genotyped at two geographic scales: across 12 populations distributed along two altitudinal-transects in the Alps (micro-geographic scale), and across 27 populations belonging to the range of Norway spruce in central and south-east Europe (macro-geographic scale). At the macrogeographic scale, principal component analysis combined with Bayesian clustering revealed three major clusters, corresponding to the main areas of southern spruce occurrence, i.e. the Alps, Carpathians, and Hercynia. The populations along the altitudinal transects were not differentiated. To assess the role of selection in structuring genetic variation, we applied a Bayesian and coalescent-based F _ST-outlier method and tested for correlations between allele frequencies and climatic variables using regression analyses. At the macro-geographic scale, the F _ST-outlier methods detected together 11 F _ST-outliers. Six outliers were detected when the same analyses were carried out taking into account the genetic structure. Regression analyses with population structure correction resulted in the identification of two (micro-geographic scale) and 38 SNPs (macro-geographic scale) significantly correlated with temperature and/or precipitation. Six of these loci overlapped with F _ST-outliers, among them two loci encoding an enzyme involved in riboflavin biosynthesis and a sucrose synthase. The results of this study indicate a strong relationship between genetic and environmental variation at both geographic scales. It also suggests that an integrative approach combining different outlier detection methods and population sampling at different geographic scales is useful to identify loci potentially involved in adaptation.     

Background selection and FST: Consequences for detecting local adaptation

Background selection is a process whereby recurrent deleterious mutations cause a decrease in the effective population size and genetic diversity at linked loci. Several authors have suggested that variation in the intensity of background selection could cause variation in F_ST across the genome, which could confound signals of local adaptation in genome scans. We performed realistic simulations of DNA sequences, using recombination maps from humans and sticklebacks, to investigate how variation in the intensity of background selection affects F_ST and other statistics of population differentiation in sexual, outcrossing species. We show that, in populations connected by gene flow, Weir and Cockerham's (1984; Evolution, 38 , 1358) estimator of F_ST is largely insensitive to locus‐to‐locus variation in the intensity of background selection. Unlike F_ST, however, d_XY is negatively correlated with background selection. Moreover, background selection does not greatly affect the false‐positive rate in F_ST outlier studies in populations connected by gene flow. Overall, our study indicates that background selection will not greatly interfere with finding the variants responsible for local adaptation.     

Human Population Differentiation Is Strongly Correlated with Local Recombination Rate

Allele frequency differences across populations can provide valuable information both for studying population structure and for identifying loci that have been targets of natural selection. Here, we examine the relationship between recombination rate and population differentiation in humans by analyzing two uniformly-ascertained, whole-genome data sets. We find that population differentiation as assessed by inter-continental F _ST shows negative correlation with recombination rate, with F _ST reduced by 10% in the tenth of the genome with the highest recombination rate compared with the tenth of the genome with the lowest recombination rate (P≪10⁻¹²). This pattern cannot be explained by the mutagenic properties of recombination and instead must reflect the impact of selection in the last 100,000 years since human continental populations split. The correlation between recombination rate and F _ST has a qualitatively different relationship for F _ST between African and non-African populations and for F _ST between European and East Asian populations, suggesting varying levels or types of selection in different epochs of human history.     

Divergent selection along climatic gradients in a rare central European endemic species,Saxifraga sponhemica

Background and Aims The effects of habitat fragmentation on quantitative genetic variation in plant populations are still poorly known. Saxifraga sponhemica is a rare endemic of Central Europe with a disjunct distribution, and a stable and specialized habitat of treeless screes and cliffs. This study therefore used S. sponhemica as a model species to compare quantitative and molecular variation in order to explore (1) the relative importance of drift and selection in shaping the distribution of quantitative genetic variation along climatic gradients; (2) the relationship between plant fitness, quantitative genetic variation, molecular genetic variation and population size; and (3) the relationship between the differentiation of a trait among populations and its evolvability.Methods Genetic variation within and among 22 populations from the whole distribution area of S. sponhemica was studied using RAPD (random amplified polymorphic DNA) markers, and climatic variables were obtained for each site. Seeds were collected from each population and germinated, and seedlings were transplanted into a common garden for determination of variation in plant traits.Key Results In contrast to previous results from rare plant species, strong evidence was found for divergent selection. Most population trait means of S. sponhemica were significantly related to climate gradients, indicating adaptation. Quantitative genetic differentiation increased with geographical distance, even when neutral molecular divergence was controlled for, and Q_ST exceeded F_ST for some traits. The evolvability of traits was negatively correlated with the degree of differentiation among populations (Q_ST), i.e. traits under strong selection showed little genetic variation within populations. The evolutionary potential of a population was not related to its size, the performance of the population or its neutral genetic diversity. However, performance in the common garden was lower for plants from populations with reduced molecular genetic variation, suggesting inbreeding depression due to genetic erosion.Conclusions The findings suggest that studies of molecular and quantitative genetic variation may provide complementary insights important for the conservation of rare species. The strong differentiation of quantitative traits among populations shows that selection can be an important force for structuring variation in evolutionarily important traits even for rare endemic species restricted to very specific habitats.     

Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Sitodiplosis mosellana in Northern China

The wheat midge, Sitodiplosis mosellana, is an important pest in Northern China. We tested the hypothesis that the population structure of this species arises during a range expansion over the past 30 years. This study used microsatellite and mitochondrial loci to conduct population genetic analysis of S. mosellana across its distribution range in China. We found strong genetic structure among the 16 studied populations, including two genetically distinct groups (the eastern and western groups), broadly consistent with the geography and habitat fragmentation. These results underline the importance of natural barriers in impeding dispersal and gene flow of S. mosellana populations. Low to moderate genetic diversity among the populations and moderate genetic differentiation (F _ST = 0.117) between the two groups were also found. The populations in the western group had lower genetic diversity, higher genetic differentiation and lower gene flow (F _ST = 0.116, Nm = 1.89) than those in the eastern group (F _ST = 0.049, Nm = 4.91). Genetic distance between populations was positively and significantly correlated with geographic distance (r = 0.56, P<0.001). The population history of this species provided no evidence for population expansion or bottlenecks in any of these populations. Our data suggest that the distribution of genetic diversity, genetic differentiation and population structure of S. mosellana have resulted from a historical event, reflecting its adaptation to diverse habitats and forming two different gene pools. These results may be the outcome of a combination of restricted gene flow due to geographical and environmental factors, population history, random processes of genetic drift and individual dispersal patterns. Given the current risk status of this species in China, this study can offer useful information for forecasting outbreaks and designing effective pest management programs.     

Positive selection of IL‐33 in adaptive immunity of domestic Chinese goats

The identification of the candidate genes that play key role in phenotypic variation in livestock populations can provide new information about evolution and positive selection. IL‐33 (71954) (Interleukin) gene is associated with the increased nematode resistance in small ruminants; however, the role of IL‐33 for the genetic control of different diseases in Chinese goat breeds is poorly described in scientific literature. Therefore, the current investigation was performed for the better understanding of the molecular evolution and the positive selection of single‐nucleotide polymorphism in IL‐33 gene. Fixation Index (F_ST)‐based method was used for the outlier loci determination and found that IL‐33 was present in outlier area with the provisional combined allocation of mean heterozygosity and F_ST. Positively selected IL‐33 gene was significantly, that is, p(Simul F_ST < sample F_ST = 0.98*) present in corresponding positive selection area. Hence, our study provided novel information about the nucleotide variations in IL‐33 gene and found to be nonsynonymous which may helpful for the genetic control of diseases by enhancing the immune system in local Chinese goat breeds as well as in other analyzed vertebrate species.     

Genetic and Morphological Divergence in Three Strains of Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis Commonly Stocked in Lake Superior

Fitness related traits often show spatial variation across populations of widely distributed species. Comparisons of genetic variation among populations in putatively neutral DNA markers and in phenotypic traits susceptible to selection (Q_ST F_ST analysis) can be used to determine to what degree differentiation among populations can be attributed to selection or genetic drift. Traditionally, Q_ST F_ST analyses require a large number of populations to achieve sufficient statistical power; however, new methods have been developed that allow Q_ST F_ST comparisons to be conducted on as few as two populations if their pedigrees are informative. This study compared genetic and morphological divergence in three strains of brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis that were historically or currently used for stocking in the Lake Superior Basin. Herein we examined if morphological divergence among populations showed temporal variation, and if divergence could be attributed to selection or was indistinguishable from genetic drift. Multivariate Q_ST F_ST analysis showed evidence for divergent selection between populations. Univariate analyses suggests that the pattern observed in the multivariate analyses was largely driven by divergent selection for length and weight, and moreover by divergence between the Assinica strain and each of the Iron River and Siskiwit strains rather than divergent selection between each population pair. While it could not be determined if divergence was due to natural selection or inadvertent artificial selection in hatcheries, selected differences were consistent with patterns of domestication commonly found in salmonids.     

The joint effects of selection and dominance on the QST - FST contrast

Q_ST measures the differentiation of quantitative traits between populations. It is often compared to F_ST, which measures population differentiation at neutral marker loci due to drift, migration, and mutation. When Q_ST is different from F_ST, it is usually taken as evidence that selection has either restrained or accelerated the differentiation of the quantitative trait relative to neutral markers. However, a number of other factors such as inbreeding, dominance, and epistasis may also affect the Q_ST − F_ST contrast. In this study, we examine the effects of dominance, selection, and inbreeding on Q_ST − F_ST. We compare Q_ST with F_ST at selected and neutral loci for populations at equilibrium between selection, drift, mutation, and migration using both analytic and simulation approaches. Interestingly, when divergent selection is acting on a locus, inbreeding and dominance generally inflate Q_ST relative to F_ST when they are both measured at the quantitative locus at equilibrium. As a consequence, dominance is unlikely to hide the signature of divergent selection on the Q_ST − F_ST contrast. However, although in theory dominance and inbreeding affect the expectation for Q_ST − F_ST, of most concern is the very large variance in both Q_ST and F_ST, suggesting that we should be cautious in attributing small differences between Q_ST and F_ST to selection.     

Divergence and gene flow between the East Sea and the Southeast Atlantic populations of North Pacific light fish Maurolicus japonicus Ishikawa

In the present study, we examined the divergence time and the magnitude of gene flow between two distantly separated populations of North Pacific light fish Maurolicus japonicus, one in the southern part of the East Sea (off Korea) and the other in the Southeast Atlantic Ocean (off Namibia). The mitochondrial 16SrDNA sequences (524 base pairs) obtained from the two populations were analyzed using the isolation with migration (IM) coalescent method as well as the conventional F _ST statistic and a phylogeographic method. A significant nonzero F _ST value (0.176, P<0.05) indicated genetic differentiation between the two populations. The low level of nucleotide diversity compared to the moderately high level of haplotype diversity implied that the populations have experienced a bottleneck followed by rapid growth in both populations. IM analysis suggested that these two populations most likely split approximately 500?C800 K years ago during the Pleistocene climatic oscillations and that gene flow has occurred unidirectionally from the Southeast Atlantic population to the East Sea population. Nested clade phylogeographic analysis supports restricted gene flow between the two populations.     

The Influence of Genetic Drift and Selection on Quantitative Traits in a Plant Pathogenic Fungus

Genetic drift and selection are ubiquitous evolutionary forces acting to shape genetic variation in populations. While their relative importance has been well studied in plants and animals, less is known about their relative importance in fungal pathogens. Because agro-ecosystems are more homogeneous environments than natural ecosystems, stabilizing selection may play a stronger role than genetic drift or diversifying selection in shaping genetic variation among populations of fungal pathogens in agro-ecosystems. We tested this hypothesis by conducting a Q _ST/F _ST analysis using agricultural populations of the barley pathogen Rhynchosporium commune. Population divergence for eight quantitative traits (Q _ST) was compared with divergence at eight neutral microsatellite loci (F _ST) for 126 pathogen strains originating from nine globally distributed field populations to infer the effects of genetic drift and types of selection acting on each trait. Our analyses indicated that five of the eight traits had Q _ST values significantly lower than F _ST, consistent with stabilizing selection, whereas one trait, growth under heat stress (22°C), showed evidence of diversifying selection and local adaptation (Q _ST>F _ST). Estimates of heritability were high for all traits (means ranging between 0.55–0.84), and average heritability across traits was negatively correlated with microsatellite gene diversity. Some trait pairs were genetically correlated and there was significant evidence for a trade-off between spore size and spore number, and between melanization and growth under benign temperature. Our findings indicate that many ecologically and agriculturally important traits are under stabilizing selection in R. commune and that high within-population genetic variation is maintained for these traits.     

Conservation genetics of the annual hemiparasitic plant <Emphasis Type="Italic">Melampyrum sylvaticum</Emphasis> (Orobanchaceae) in the UK and Scandinavia

Melampyrum sylvaticum is an endangered annual hemiparasitic plant that is found in only 19 small and isolated populations in the United Kingdom (UK). To evaluate the genetic consequences of this patchy distribution we compared levels of diversity, inbreeding and differentiation from ten populations from the UK with eight relatively large populations from Sweden and Norway where the species is more continuously distributed. We demonstrate that in both the UK and Scandinavia, the species is highly inbreeding (global F _IS = 0.899). Levels of population differentiation were high (F’_ST = 0.892) and significantly higher amongst UK populations (F’_ST = 0.949) than Scandinavian populations (F’_ST = 0.762; P < 0.01). The isolated populations in the UK have, on average, lower genetic diversity (allelic richness, proportion of loci that are polymorphic, gene diversity) than Scandinavian populations, and this diversity difference is associated with the smaller census size and population area of UK populations. From a conservation perspective, the naturally inbreeding nature of the species may buffer the species against immediate effects of inbreeding depression, but the markedly lower levels of genetic diversity in UK populations may represent a genetic constraint to evolutionary change. In addition, the high levels of population differentiation suggest that gene flow among populations will not be effective at replenishing lost variation. We thus recommend supporting in situ conservation management with ex situ populations and human-mediated seed dispersal among selected populations in the UK.     

Assessing the genetic diversity and population structure of Culter alburnus in China based on mitochondrial 16S rRNA and COI gene sequences

The genetic diversity and population genetic structure of Culter alburnus were investigated using mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and ribosomal 16S subunit (16S rRNA) gene sequences. A total of 89 individuals from four localities were included in the analysis. Overall, 12 polymorphic sites were observed and 10 haplotypes were defined. The C. alburnus populations were characterized by high haplotype diversity (0.587 ± 0.047) and low nucleotide diversity (0.00197 ± 0.00073). Pairwise fixation index (F_ST) analysis indicated significant genetic differentiation among different populations. The hierarchical analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) analysis also showed significant genetic divergence (φ_ST = 0.3792, P < 0.01) among these populations. The present results suggest that subdivisions exist among four C. alburnus populations, and should be considered as different management unit for effective conservation and management purposes. This study provides new information for genetic assessment and will be crucial for establishing fisheries management and strategies for this species.     

Analysis of F ST outliers at allozyme loci in Pacific salmon: implications for natural selection

Natural selection has been invoked to explain the observed geographic distribution of allozyme allele frequencies for a number of teleost species. The effects of selection on allozyme loci in three species of Pacific salmon were tested. A simulation-based approach to estimate the null distribution of population differentiation (F _ST) and test for F _ST outliers was used. This approach showed that a majority of allozyme loci conform to neutral expectations predicted by the simulation model, with relatively few F _ST outliers found. No consistent F _ST outlier loci were found across species. Analysis of population sub-groups based on geography and genetic identity reduced the number of outlier loci for some species, indicating that large geographic groups may include genetically divergent populations and/or that there is geographic heterogeneity in selection pressure upon allozyme loci. Two outlier allozyme loci found in this analysis, lactate dehydrogenase-B and malic enzyme, have been shown to be influenced by selection in other teleost species. This approach is also useful in identifying allozyme loci (or other genetic markers) that meet assumptions for population genetic study.     

Initial description of the phylogeography,population structure and genetic diversity of Atlantic spotted dolphins from Brazil and the Caribbean,inferred from analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA

We provide initial information regarding the population structure and genetic diversity of Stenella frontalis from the Caribbean and southeastern Brazil from analyses of mitochondrial control region sequences and sequences from the first intron of the α-lactalbumin gene. Comparisons with previously described S. frontalis sequences showed a high number of haplotypes shared between populations throughout their distribution range. High diversity was found for southeastern Brazil and Caribbean samples, and population structure analyses indicate significant differentiation among population units at the F_ST level, but not at the Φ_ST level. Significant differentiation at the F_ST level was found between the Caribbean population unit and all other populations units. These results suggest historical or present connectivity between the Azores and Madeira and the southeastern Brazil groups and population differentiation between the Caribbean and southeastern Brazil, supporting the notion of two separate stocks in the waters around the Atlantic coast of South America.     

Genetic diversity and connectivity in a brooding reef coral at the limit of its distribution

Remote populations are predicted to be vulnerable owing to their isolation from potential source reefs, and usually low population size and associated increased extinction risk. We investigated genetic diversity, population subdivision and connectivity in the brooding reef coral Seriatopora hystrix at the limits of its Eastern Australian (EA) distribution and three sites in the southern Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Over the approximately 1270 km survey range, high levels of population subdivision were detected (global F_ST = 0.224), with the greatest range in pairwise F_ST values observed among the three southernmost locations: Lord Howe Island, Elizabeth Reef and Middleton Reef. Flinders Reef, located between the GBR and the more southerly offshore reefs, was highly isolated and showed the signature of a recent bottleneck. High pairwise F_ST values and the presence of multiple genetic clusters indicate that EA subtropical coral populations have been historically isolated from each other and the GBR. One putative first-generation migrant was detected from the GBR into the EA subtropics. Occasional long-distance dispersal is supported by changes in species composition at these high-latitude reefs and the occurrence of new species records over the past three decades. While subtropical populations exhibited significantly lower allelic richness than their GBR counterparts, genetic diversity was still moderately high. Furthermore, subtropical populations were not inbred and had a considerable number of private alleles. The results suggest that these high-latitude S. hystrix populations are supplemented by infrequent long-distance migrants from the GBR and may have adequate population sizes to maintain viability and resist severe losses of genetic diversity.