Larval connectivity of pinnacle reefs and the optimisation of parentage-based studies.

Abstract

Coral reef fishes are vital to food security throughout tropical regions and perform critical
ecosystem functions to support the health of coral reef ecosystems. Protecting these species
in the face of anthropogenic disturbances requires effective conservation and resource
management strategies to ensure the persistence of populations through increasingly
frequent and severe events associated with climate change. Understanding marine
connectivity, the movement and replenishment of individuals between populations, is
critical to achieving these goals. However, little is known about the dispersal of larval fish,
potentially hindering conservation efforts. In this thesis, the dispersal strategies of the pink
skunk anemonefish (Amphiprion perideraion) are explored on pinnacle reefs in Kimbe Bay,
Papua New Guinea, and existing tools for parentage-based studies are optimised. Chapter 1
reviews previous studies, methods, and future directions for investigating marine
connectivity in coral reef fishes. Chapter 2 expands and validates a microsatellite marker set
for A. perideraion, demonstrating over 99% accuracy in identifying parent-offspring pairs. In
Chapter 3, the 19 most effective markers are used to genotype 640 adult and juvenile A.
perideraion collected from 10 sites across Kimbe Bay, focused on three isolated submerged
pinnacle reefs. Six parent-offspring pairs involving dispersal between sites, and further
population genetic analyses suggest that pinnacle reefs are highly connected despite their
small size and geographic isolation. Finally, Chapter 4 assesses the accuracy of parentage
methods using Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), a potentially more reliable
alternative to microsatellites, to assist the transition towards SNP-based parentage studies in
wild populations. Simulations here explore the parameter space (SNP number, sampling
coverage, genotyping error and minor allele frequency) to enable future ecological studies
using parentage analysis to make cost-effective decisions while maximising accuracy.

Date of Award	10 Dec 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bristol
Supervisor	Hugo B Harrison (Supervisor) & Stephanie L King (Supervisor)