What is it about?
Lithophyllum byssoides is a calcareous alga that lives at water mark on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. When well developed, it produces concretions that assume the shape of calcareous pavements ("trottoirs"). These concretions modify the structure of coastal habitats and allow the colonization of numerous algal and invertebrate species, making Lithophyllum byssoides an ecologically important species (a so-called "ecosystem engineer".
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Why is it important?
Molecular data are necessary to understand the genetic structure of natural populations. This type of information is essential to design conservation measures for ecologically important species, such as Lithophyllum byssoides. This paper provides the first genetic data for Mediterranean populations of Lithophyllum byssoides. Our findings highlight a high genetic diversity of Mediterranean populations of this species, suggesting that individual populations should be managed as separte units.
Perspectives
The work performed for this study gave us a new perspective on the genetic diversity of Mediterranean seaweds and suggested that similar studies should be performed for many other species. The results agree with the widespread idea that the Mediterranean Sea is one of the most important repositories of marine biodiversity at global level.
Fabio Rindi
Universita Politecnica delle Marche
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Genetic and morphological variation in an ecosystem engineer,Lithophyllum byssoides(Corallinales, Rhodophyta), Journal of Phycology, November 2016, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1111/jpy.12488.
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