Population Genetics of Giant Kelp
Gene flow, inbreeding depression and population connectivity in giant kelp
We estimated connectivity and rates of fertilization in giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) forests in southern California from a metapopulation perspective, based on our investigations of population dynamics. Those estimates, which took into account rates of colonization, extinction, and occupancy of discrete kelp patches, and the degree of connectivity (via spore dispersal) among them, as well as inbreeding depression, were based on empirical measurements from experimental populations and physical modeling.
Confirmation of our estimates of connectivity and inbreeding in Macrocystis can be most reliably obtained from genetic analyses. In collaboration with Drs. Filipe Alberto and Ester Serrao from the Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CMER) at the Universidade do Algarve, Portugal we are developing microsatellites that can be used to evaluate levels of connectivity and self-fertilization in giant kelp. We are also collaboratively developing a sampling protocol that will allow us to examine the genetic structure and dynamics of kelp populations in the Southern California Bight and elsewhere in the world.