Meeting Abstract

P1.25  Friday, Jan. 4  Home harbor advantage? Local adaptation of Botrylloides violaceus populations in the San Juan Islands CAMPBELL, D.G.*; JACOBS, M.W.; McDaniel College, Friday Harbor Laboratories; McDaniel College, Friday Harbor Laboratories dgc003@mcdaniel.edu

Botrylloides violaceus is a relatively recent invader of the United States coastlines. It grows quickly and is a strong competitor, which causes problems for native species and aquaculture. In the San Juan Islands B. violaceus has been present for several decades and is found in some harbors, but not all. B. violaceus larvae are non-feeding and are short-lived, suggesting that dispersal limitations could decrease gene flow between populations resulting in local adaptation. We performed a reciprocal transplant of B. violaceus juveniles between two harbors that varied in environmental conditions such as temperature, salinity, and food availability. Juveniles explanted to the warmer harbor had greater growth and survival, but population of origin had no effect, suggesting that local adaptation has not occurred. Variation in growth and survival was higher within populations than between populations, which suggests that genetic variation for those traits exists in the populations and that local adaptation could still occur in the future. Alternatively, there may be sufficient gene flow occurring between populations to prevent local adaptation from occurring.