{"id":{"repo_id":"gsu","oai_identifier":"oai:digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu:etd-1726"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/gsu/oai:digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu:etd-1726","repository":{"repo_id":"gsu","name":"Georgia Southern University","base_url":"https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Population Genetic Structure of the Temperate Scleractinian Coral, Oculina Arbuscula, in Coastal Georgia","abstract":"Dispersal of marine organisms has generally been assumed to be demographically open with planktonic larvae exploiting ocean currents to travel long distances. However, recent studies report evidence of local larval recruitment. In this study, I hypothesized that populations of the temperate coral, Oculina arbuscula, are maintained primarily by local recruitment off the Georgia coast because: 1) suitable substrate for settlement is patchy and 2) O. arbuscula's branching morphology is conducive to asexual reproduction by fragmentation. To address this hypothesis, I combined data from allozyme electrophoresis, histocompatibility assays, and despersion of established colonies. Results indicated substantial local recruitment maintained primarily by sexual reproduction rather than asexual fragmentation. Sexually produced planulae are not only philopatric, but also show evidence of some migration among populations. In this temperate species, local recruitment primarily maintains aggregated populations of O. arbuscula.","abstract_html":"Dispersal of marine organisms has generally been assumed to be demographically open with planktonic larvae exploiting ocean currents to travel long distances. However, recent studies report evidence of local larval recruitment. In this study, I hypothesized that populations of the temperate coral, Oculina arbuscula, are maintained primarily by local recruitment off the Georgia coast because: 1) suitable substrate for settlement is patchy and 2) O. arbuscula's branching morphology is conducive to asexual reproduction by fragmentation. To address this hypothesis, I combined data from allozyme electrophoresis, histocompatibility assays, and despersion of established colonies. Results indicated substantial local recruitment maintained primarily by sexual reproduction rather than asexual fragmentation. Sexually produced planulae are not only philopatric, but also show evidence of some migration among populations. In this temperate species, local recruitment primarily maintains aggregated populations of O. arbuscula.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Wagner, Lauren Michelle"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Biology (M.S.)","degree_level":"Thesis (open access)","degree_discipline":"Department of Biology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Alan Harvey","Michelle Zjhra"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2006,"date_issued":"2006-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2006-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:27:26Z","subjects":["ETD","Oculina arbuscula","Corals","Recruitment","Larval dispersal","Allozyme electrophoresis","Histocompatibility","Grays reef","Scleractinia"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/726","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Alan Harvey","Michelle Zjhra"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Wagner, Lauren Michelle"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2013-10-17T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of Biology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis (open access)"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Biology (M.S.)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["ETD","Oculina arbuscula","Corals","Recruitment","Larval dispersal","Allozyme electrophoresis","Histocompatibility","Grays reef","Scleractinia"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/726"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Dispersal of marine organisms has generally been assumed to be demographically open with planktonic larvae exploiting ocean currents to travel long distances. However, recent studies report evidence of local larval recruitment. In this study, I hypothesized that populations of the temperate coral, Oculina arbuscula, are maintained primarily by local recruitment off the Georgia coast because: 1) suitable substrate for settlement is patchy and 2) O. arbuscula's branching morphology is conducive to asexual reproduction by fragmentation. To address this hypothesis, I combined data from allozyme electrophoresis, histocompatibility assays, and despersion of established colonies. Results indicated substantial local recruitment maintained primarily by sexual reproduction rather than asexual fragmentation. Sexually produced planulae are not only philopatric, but also show evidence of some migration among populations. In this temperate species, local recruitment primarily maintains aggregated populations of O. arbuscula."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Population Genetic Structure of the Temperate Scleractinian Coral, Oculina Arbuscula, in Coastal Georgia"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Alan Harvey","Michelle Zjhra"],"dc:creator":["Wagner, Lauren Michelle"],"dc:date.available":["2013-10-17T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Dispersal of marine organisms has generally been assumed to be demographically open with planktonic larvae exploiting ocean currents to travel long distances. However, recent studies report evidence of local larval recruitment. In this study, I hypothesized that populations of the temperate coral, Oculina arbuscula, are maintained primarily by local recruitment off the Georgia coast because: 1) suitable substrate for settlement is patchy and 2) O. arbuscula's branching morphology is conducive to asexual reproduction by fragmentation. To address this hypothesis, I combined data from allozyme electrophoresis, histocompatibility assays, and despersion of established colonies. Results indicated substantial local recruitment maintained primarily by sexual reproduction rather than asexual fragmentation. Sexually produced planulae are not only philopatric, but also show evidence of some migration among populations. In this temperate species, local recruitment primarily maintains aggregated populations of O. arbuscula."],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/726"],"dc:subject":["ETD","Oculina arbuscula","Corals","Recruitment","Larval dispersal","Allozyme electrophoresis","Histocompatibility","Grays reef","Scleractinia"],"dc:title":["Population Genetic Structure of the Temperate Scleractinian Coral, Oculina Arbuscula, in Coastal Georgia"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of Biology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis (open access)"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Biology (M.S.)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:27:26Z"}