Contrasting colonization patterns of black mangrove

What is it about?

Past responses to climatic changes are reflected in the current distribution range and its genetic diversity and genetic structure. Here we focused in obtain evidence of the mechanisms that shaped genetic differentiation in natural populations of a mangrove species, the black mangrove, Avicennia germinans. We tested whether patterns of population structure are consistent with a vicariance event and could be related to the landscape and environmental differences between the coasts of Mexico. We found that the Pacific and Atlantic Mexican gene pools diverged long after the rise of the Central American Isthmus (ca. 0.75 Ma). Although both gene pools are distributed along similar latitudes, our results suggest a more ancient establishment along the Atlantic than in the North Pacific, this would be related to differences in past climate conditions and likely to differences in the landscape.

Featured Image

Photo by Maxwell Ridgeway on Unsplash

Photo by Maxwell Ridgeway on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Understanding the genetic structure of is essential, because it reflects the past demographic process of population, and can provide us insight on how the population would change under the global climate change and further contribute to conservation.