Meeting Abstract
Theory predicts that genetic variation should be reduced at range margins, but empirical support is equivocal. We used genotype-by-sequencing technology to investigate genetic variation in central and marginal populations of two species in the gastropod genus Crepidula. These two species have different development and dispersal types, and might therefore show different spatial patterns of genetic variation. Allelic richness was highest in the most central populations of both species, and lower at the margin. The species with low dispersal, C. convexa, showed high degrees of structure throughout the range that conform to the pattern found in previous studies using other molecular markers. The northernmost populations of the high-dispersing species, C. fornicata, are distinct from more central populations, though this species has been previously observed to have little genetic structure over much of its range. Although genetic diversity was significantly lower at the range margin, the absolute reduction in diversity observed with these genome-wide markers was slight, and it is not yet known if there are functional consequences for these marginal populations.
