![]() |
A decade of seascape genetics: contributions to basic and applied marine connectivity
Seascape genetics, a recent offshoot of population genetics, is opening up powerful new avenues for investigating connectivity, adaptation and the population ecology of marine species. Recent advances enable integration of ecological, life history, oceanographic, and spatial variables to illuminate the diverse factors influencing genetic processes in the sea. Selkoe and colleagues conducted a synthetic look at 100 seascape genetic papers from the past decade, which revealed trends in study design and findings, including surprising results that temperature, oceanography and geography are equally common influences on spatial genetic patterns. Advances in statistical analyses and genomic data promise to provide insights into connectivity and adaptation directly relevant to the management of marine systems.