Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10603/426523
Title: Dispersal Patterns and Processes in Littorinid Snails along the Indian Coastline
Researcher: Bharti, D K
Guide(s): Shanker, Kartik
Keywords: Ecology
Ecology and Environment
Life Sciences
University: Indian Institute of Science Bangalore
Completed Date: 2019
Abstract: Dispersal has important ecological and evolutionary consequences for a species. Marine dispersal is unique because of facilitation by ocean currents, where oceanography interacts with species traits and environmental heterogeneity to determine connectivity between populations. However, marine dispersal research has largely focussed on coral reefs and temperate shores, while tropical coastlines remain poorly studied. To address this gap in knowledge, we studied dispersal patterns and processes along the Indian coastline using two genera of intertidal littorinid snails (Littoraria and Echinolittorina) as a model system. We used a comparative framework to study the influence of species traits on patterns of mitochondrial phylogeography and deduced environmental correlates of range using species distribution models. We also performed larval dispersal simulations to derive estimates of coastal connectivity. We found that all species showed signatures of demographic expansion in the Pleistocene, and only two species with wide environmental tolerance showed population genetic structure. Gradients in sea surface salinity and tidal range along the coastline were important in predicting distribution patterns across species and scales. There were seasonal differences in oceanic connectivity patterns, where certain sections remained isolated from the rest of the coastline. Regions predicted to have poor connectivity overlapped with observed species turnover for a range of marine taxa. These multiple lines of evidence suggest that variation in environment and oceanographic connectivity can influence dispersal patterns along tropical coastlines. This study presents hypotheses related to species-environment relationships and population genetic connectivity, which can be tested in other taxa to arrive at a unified framework of coastal biogeography for this r... newline
Pagination: 246
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10603/426523
Appears in Departments:Centre for Ecological Sciences

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02_prelim pages.pdf139.8 kBAdobe PDFView/Open
03_table of contents.pdf144.78 kBAdobe PDFView/Open
04_abstract.pdf91.22 kBAdobe PDFView/Open
05_chapter 1.pdf670.4 kBAdobe PDFView/Open
06_chapter 2.pdf2.64 MBAdobe PDFView/Open
07_chapter 3.pdf6.53 MBAdobe PDFView/Open
08_chapter 4.pdf3.84 MBAdobe PDFView/Open
09_annexure.pdf299.04 kBAdobe PDFView/Open
80_recommendation.pdf382.5 kBAdobe PDFView/Open
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