Biology subjects

Prata, K. E.

Publications and source records attributed to Prata, K. E..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Localised admixture triggers parallel adaptation in a coral species trio on the Great Barrier Reef

Hybridisation can shape evolutionary trajectories and fuel rapid adaptation. Yet, whether adaptive introgression repeatedly reconfigures genomes in predictable ways remains largely unknown. Here, we show that three-way admixture drives repeatable parallel differentiation in reef-building corals in the Acropora hyacinthus species complex. Adaptive introgression is confined to the southern Great Barrier Reef, where admixture timing coincides with a recent breakdown in species barriers despite limited historical gene flow. Genome-wide introgression is characterised by numerous shared minor-parent ancestry peaks that are enriched for stress-response genes and under positive selection for parallel adaptive admixture. Our results demonstrate that introgressive hybridisation can be geographically restricted between sympatric marine species and can promote repeated rapid adaptation that transcends species boundaries.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2025

Causal modelling reveals lower coral genetic diversity in more heterogenous reef environments

Conserving genetic diversity is crucial for maintaining species evolutionary potential and resilience to environmental change. Yet, directly measuring genetic diversity across large spatial scales remains resource-intensive and impractical for conservation planning. Identifying reliable, accessible, and cost-effective spatial predictors of genetic diversity would significantly enhance our ability to incorporate genetic diversity into conservation efforts. Caribbean coral reefs represent a compelling system for investigating such predictors, as these ecosystems face unprecedented threats from disease outbreaks and climate change. Here, we investigate the utility of several environmental proxies as surrogates for genetic diversity, which may be useful for conservation planning in resource- or data-poor regions. To achieve this goal, we used reduced-representation genomic sequencing to estimate intraspecific genetic diversity, and in doing so, identified two genetically distinct and sympatric cryptic coral species in the Agaricia tenuifolia species complex. We employed a causal inference approach to assess the relationships between genetic alpha diversity and habitat area and connectivity, habitat heterogeneity, and temperature. Statistical investigations revealed that increased habitat heterogeneity, derived from remotely sensed habitat maps, was associated with lower genetic diversity within coral populations, suggesting that habitat characteristics promoting species diversity may not maintain high genetic diversity within a single species. Habitat area and connectivity, and temperature have predominantly negative effects on genetic diversity with coral habitat area and connectivity showing markedly contrasting responses in two cryptic taxa. Thus, our findings reveal that context matters greatly, as results differ between cryptic species, across variables, and among spatial scales.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2025

Long-distance gene flow and contrasting population structures of reef-building corals and their algal symbionts inform adaptive potential across the Western Pacific

The genetic diversity and connectivity of reef-building coral populations are key to their survival in warming oceans. Yet our understanding of corals demographic resilience and adaptive potential is complicated by cryptic species diversity, wide geographic distributions, and complex coral-algal symbioses. To address these challenges, we investigated genetic connectivity and diversity of the broadcast-spawning coral Acropora spathulata and its associated Symbiodiniaceae across 29 reefs spanning the Great Barrier Reef, the Coral Sea, and New Caledonia, using whole-genome sequencing of 1,088 colonies. We identified four genetically distinct coral populations that diverged between 0.27 and 0.65 million years ago, likely due to geographic isolation across thousands of kilometers. These populations maintained asymmetrical gene flow along major ocean currents despite demographic isolation, and sustained large local effective population sizes ([~]2,900), supported by a high dispersal range of [~]100 km per generation. In contrast, their Symbiodiniaceae partners varied over finer spatial scales, with five distinct Cladocopium taxa distributed along latitudinal and cross-shore gradients, likely driven by local environmental conditions. These results suggest that high dispersal capacity and large local population size promote demographic resilience within reef systems, while environment-specific symbioses and long-distance gene flow across reef-systems support adaptation and evolutionary rescue.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Global phylogenomic assessment of Leptoseris and Agaricia reveals substantial undescribed diversity at mesophotic depths

Mesophotic coral communities are increasingly gaining attention for the unique biological species they host, exemplified by the numerous mesophotic fish species that continue to be discovered. In contrast, many of the photosynthetic scleractinian corals observed at mesophotic depths are assumed to be depth-generalists, with very few species characterised as mesophotic-specialists. This presumed lack of a specialised community remains largely untested, as phylogenetic studies rarely include mesophotic samples and have long suffered from resolution issues associated with traditional sequence markers. Here, we used reduced-representation genome sequencing to provide a phylogenomic assessment of the two dominant mesophotic genera of plating corals in the Indo-Pacific and Western Atlantic, respectively, Leptoseris and Agaricia. While these genome-wide phylogenies broadly corroborated the morphological taxonomy, they also exposed substantial undescribed diversity (at least 24 molecular clades across the 8 species), including deep divergences within genera and current taxonomic species. Five of the eight focal species consisted of at least two sympatrically-occurring, genetically distinct clades, which were consistently detected across different methods. The repeated observation of genetically divergent clades associated with mesophotic depths highlights that there are many more mesophotic-specialist coral species than currently acknowledged, and that an urgent assessment of this largely unstudied biological diversity is warranted.

evolutionary biology↗