Abstract
Efforts to define the marine connectivity among populations have been
focused overwhelmingly on corals, sponges and fish populations, but are
lacking in other well represented marine taxa. The sea urchin
Echinometra lucunter lucunter was selected due to its wide
distribution throughout the Caribbean Sea and its biological and
ecological characteristics. The aim of this research was to postulate
genetic connections between populations of Echinometra lucunter
lucunter throughout the Caribbean Sea to detect whether the marine
discontinuities identified for other taxa affect their connectivity, a
critical issue for future conservation and management. Specific
microsatellites were used to detect the genetic structure of E.
lucunter lucunter through the region. The results showed clear evidence
of genetic structure and gene flow through the Caribbean region, with
three genetic populations from the south-west to the north-east: first
the Colombian Caribbean Sea, a second population related to Venezuela
and Belize, and a third group defined for Puerto Rico in the North-East.
The evidence of structure and gene flow between the populations of
E. lucunter lucunter is related to marine discontinuities such as
the influence of physical factors (continental margin, Caribbean
currents, calcareous rock as the main substrate, riverine discharges)
and their variation through the area, as well the biological
characteristics of the specie (e.g., assortative mating through gamete
recognition, stochastic reproduction, patchy gamete distribution). These
results will facilitate their conservation efforts in the area and offer
important key data for the application of conservation and management
strategies of Marine Protected Areas