Population Genetic Dynamics in Marine Species

Marine species exhibit complex population genetic dynamics shaped by the interplay of mutation, selection, gene flow and demographic history across ocean basins and coastal habitats. Patterns of connectivity are often mediated by larval dispersal, ocean currents and habitat discontinuities, giving rise to both broad-scale panmixia and fine-scale genetic structuring. Local adaptation to environmental gradients such as temperature, salinity and disease pressure produces selective clines in allele frequencies, while anthropogenic activities—including overfishing, aquaculture and translocation—can disrupt natural gene flow and alter effective population sizes. Advances in high-throughput sequencing and spatially explicit analyses now allow the detection of adaptive variants, the reconstruction of demographic history and the development of genetic tools to inform conservation, fisheries management and restoration efforts on a global scale.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have leveraged high-throughput sequencing to map non-synonymous variation in the turbot genome, generating the first comprehensive atlas of coding polymorphisms that underpin local adaptation across salinity and temperature gradients. Protein-structure modelling coupled with selective scans has revealed functional impacts of these variants on growth, circadian rhythm and osmoregulation, providing mechanistic insight into how natural populations respond to divergent environmental pressures. This work establishes a genomic framework for assessing adaptive potential in commercially important flatfish and illustrates the power of genome-wide surveys to link genotype, phenotype and ecological context.

Population Genetic Dynamics in Marine Species publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in population genetic dynamics in marine species across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Non-synonymous variation: a DNA mutation that alters the amino acid sequence of a protein, potentially affecting its function.

Admixture: the mixing of genetic lineages when previously isolated populations interbreed.

Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP): a single-base change in the genome that is common enough to be found in a population.

Genetic cline: a gradual change in allele frequencies across a geographic or environmental gradient.

Panmictic population: a population in which all individuals are equally likely to interbreed, resulting in random mating.

Local adaptation: the evolutionary process by which populations evolve traits that confer fitness advantages in their specific environments.

References

1. Non-synonymous variation and protein structure of candidate genes associated with selection in farm and wild populations of turbot (Scophthalmus maximus). Scientific Reports (2023).
2. mapmixture: An R package and web app for spatial visualisation of admixture and population structure. Molecular Ecology Resources (2024).
3. Single nucleotide polymorphisms reveal a genetic cline across the north‐east Atlantic and enable powerful population assignment in the European lobster. Evolutionary Applications (2019).
4. Translocation and Aquaculture Impact on Genetic Diversity and Composition of Wild Self-Sustainable Ostrea edulis Populations in the Adriatic Sea. Frontiers in Marine Science (2020).