FN Archimer Export Format PT J TI Genetic structure of the reef grouper Epinephelus merra in the West Indian Ocean appears congruent with biogeographic and oceanographic boundaries BT AF MUTHS, Delphine TESSIER, Emmanuel BOURJEA, Jerome AS 1:1;2:2,3;3:1; FF 1:PDG-RBE-DOI;2:;3:PDG-RBE-DOI; C1 IFREMER, Delegat Ocean Indien, Le Port, France. Reserve Nat Marine La Reunion, La Saline Les Bains, Reunion. Agence Aires Marines Protegees, Antenne Nouvelle Caledonie, Noumea, France. C2 IFREMER, FRANCE RESERVE NAT MARINE LA REUNION, FRANCE AGENCE AIRES MARINES PROTEGEES, FRANCE SI LA REUNION AUTRE SE PDG-RBE-DOI GIPRNMR IN WOS Ifremer jusqu'en 2018 copubli-france IF 1.138 TC 37 UR https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00189/30046/28566.pdf LA English DT Article DE ;Cytochrome b;marine connectivity;microsatellite;reef fish;West Indian Ocean AB The reef fauna connectivity of the West Indian Ocean (WIO) is one of the least studied globally. Here we use genetic analyses of the grouper Epinephelus merra (Bloch 1793) to determine patterns of connectivity and to identify barriers to dispersal in this WIO marine area. Phylogeographic and population-level analyses were conducted on cytochrome b sequences and microsatellites (13 loci) from 557 individuals sampled in 15 localities distributed across the West Indian Ocean. Additional samples from the Pacific Ocean were used to benchmark the WIO population structure. The high level of divergence revealed between Indian and Pacific localities (of about 4.5% in sequences) might be the signature of the major tectonic and climatic changes operating at the Plio-Pleistocene transition, congruently with numerous examples of Indo-Pacific speciation. In comparison, the E. merra sequences from the Indian Ocean constitute a monophyletic clade with a low average genetic distance (d < 0.5%). However both genetic markers indicated some structure within this ocean. The main structure revealed was the isolation of the Maldives from the WIO localities (a different group signature identified by clustering analysis, great values of differentiation). Both marker types reveal further significant structure within the WIO, mainly the isolation of the Mascarene Islands (significant AMOVA and isolation-by-distance patterns) and some patchy structure between the northernmost localities and within the Mozambique Channel. The WIO genetic structure of E. merra appeared congruent with main biogeographic boundaries and oceanographic currents. PY 2015 PD SEP SO Marine Ecology-an Evolutionary Perspective SN 0173-9565 PU Wiley-blackwell VL 36 IS 3 UT 000358729600016 BP 447 EP 461 DI 10.1111/maec.12153 ID 30046 ER EF