ABSTRACT: Seagrass meadows are one of the most important habitats in coastal regions since they constitute a multifunctional ecosystem providing high productivity and biodiversity. They play a key role in carbon sequestration capacity, mitigation against coastal erosion and as nursery grounds for many marine fish and invertebrates. However, despite these ecosystem functions and services, seagrass meadows are a threatened ecosystem worldwide. In the Baltic Sea, seagrass meadows have declined rapidly, mainly because of eutrophication, anthropogenic activities and climate change. This decline has the potential to erode the genetic variation and genetic structure of the species. In this study, we assessed how genetic variation and genetic differentiation vary among Zostera marina meadows and with a number of environmental characteristics in the county of Scania in southern Sweden. A total of 205 individuals sampled at 12 locations were analysed with 10 polymorphic microsatellite loci. Results showed that in spite of anthropogenic impacts and climate change pressures, locations of Z. marina possessed high genetic variation and weak genetic differentiation, with 3 major genetic clusters. Long-distance dispersal and/or stepping-stone dispersal was found among locations, with higher migration rates within the west coast. Organic matter, salinity and maximum depth appeared to be factors most strongly associated with the genetic structure and morphological variation of Z. marina. These findings contribute significantly in the identification of potential donor sites and the viability of impacted areas to recover from natural recruitment, for the development of effective transplantation measures of Z. marina in the southern Baltic Sea and temperate regions elsewhere.

中文翻译：

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评估北欧共同海鳗Zostera滨海地区恢复海草的局部遗传结构和连通性

摘要：海草草甸是沿海地区最重要的栖息地之一，因为它们构成了提供高生产力和生物多样性的多功能生态系统。它们在固碳能力，缓解海岸侵蚀以及作为许多海洋鱼类和无脊椎动物的育苗场方面发挥着关键作用。然而，尽管具有这些生态系统功能和服务，海草草甸仍是全球范围内受威胁的生态系统。在波罗的海，海草草甸迅速减少，主要是由于富营养化，人为活动和气候变化。这种下降有可能侵蚀该物种的遗传变异和遗传结构。在这项研究中，我们评估了Zostera滨海地区的遗传变异和遗传分化如何变化瑞典南部的斯堪尼亚县的草甸和许多环境特征。用10个多态微卫星基因座分析了在12个位置采样的总共205个人。结果表明，尽管受到人为因素和气候变化压力的影响，滨海链球菌的位置具有较高的遗传变异和较弱的遗传分化，并具有3个主要的遗传簇。在各地区之间发现了远距离扩散和/或垫脚石扩散，在西海岸内部迁移率较高。有机物，盐度和最大深度似乎是与滨海链球菌的遗传结构和形态变异最密切相关的因素。这些发现对确定潜在的捐助者地点以及受影响地区从自然招募中恢复的活力做出了重要贡献，从而为在波罗的海南部和其他温带地区开发了滨海链球菌的有效移植措施提供了条件。