Adaptive Variation Amid High Gene Flow Across a Broad Latitudinal Gradient in the Reef‐Building Honeycomb Worm, Sabellaria alveolata
Edward J. Wilson, Antony M. Knights, Louise B. Firth, Charlotte Corporeau, Amelia Curd, Stanislas F. Dubois, Fernando P. Lima, Rui Seabra, Flavia L. D. Nunes · 2026
Read Adaptive Variation Amid High Gene Flow Across a Broad Latitudinal Gradient in the Reef‐Building Honeycomb Worm, Sabellaria alveolata by Edward J. Wilson, Antony M. Knights, Louise B. Firth, Charlotte Corporeau, Amelia Curd, Stanislas F. Dubois, Fernando P. Lima, Rui Seabra, Flavia L. D. Nunes (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13523172.txt.
Description
Edward Wilson and co-authors read adaptive variation in the reef-building honeycomb worm across a broad latitudinal gradient, amid high gene flow. The worm stacks sand tubes into reefs that house many other marine species. Warming seas will test which populations can cope. Their 2026 seascape genomics study took 286 worms from 17 sites spanning the full north-south range of the species.
Neutral gene markers showed populations that mix freely, with low to moderate differentiation between sites. Larval dispersal on currents, plus human-mediated transport by support vessels, aquaculture, and debris, likely drive the mixing. Six markers still stood out as shaped by local adaptation. Those markers tied to temperature, salinity, and food richness in the water. Southern edge populations held unique ancestral gene pools. The team reads the worm as resilient, and a good model for marine adaptation.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Edward J. Wilson, Antony M. Knights, Louise B. Firth, Charlotte Corporeau, Amelia Curd, Stanislas F. Dubois, Fernando P. Lima, Rui Seabra, Flavia L. D. Nunes |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 57 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |