Contrasting sensitivity of weathering proxies to Quaternary climate and sea level fluctuations in the southern South China Sea

Historic climate changes had always driven geographical populations of coastal plants to contract and recover dynamically, even die out completely. Species suffering from such bottlenecks usually lose intraspecific genetic diversity, but how do these events influence population subdivision patterns of coastal plants? We investigated this question in the typical coastal plant: mangrove species Aegiceras corniculatum. Inhabiting the intertidal zone of the tropical and subtropical coast of the Indo-West Pacific oceans, its populations are deemed to be greatly shaped by historic sea-level fluctuations. Using dual methods of Sanger and Illumina Solexa sequencing, we found that the 18 sampled populations were structured into two groups, namely, the “Indo-Malayan” group, comprising three subgroups (the northern South China Sea, Gulf of Bengal, and Bali), and the “Pan-Australasia” group, comprising the subgroups of the southern South China Sea and Australasia. Based on simulations using the approximate Bayesian computation method, we inferred that the southern South China Sea subgroup, which penetrates the interior of the “Indo-Malayan” group, originated from the Australasia subgroup, accompanied by a severe bottleneck event, with a spot of gene flow from both the Australasia and “Indo-Malayan” groups. Geographical barriers such as the Sundaland underlie the genetic break between Indian and Pacific Oceans, but the discontinuity between southern and northern South China Sea was originated from genetic drift in the bottleneck event. Hence, we revealed a case evidencing that the bottleneck event promoted population subdivision. This conclusion may be applicable in other taxa beyond coastal plants.

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The Study of Wind, Wave, Current Extreme Parameters and Climatic Characters of the South China Sea

Marine Technology Society Journal ◽

10.4031/mtsj.33.1.8 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 33 (1) ◽

pp. 61-68 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Fangli Qiao ◽

Shunnan Chen ◽

Chenxin Li ◽

Wei Zhao ◽

Zengdi Pan

Keyword(s):

South China Sea ◽

Sea Level ◽

South China ◽

Wind Wave ◽

The South China Sea ◽

Environmental Research ◽

The South ◽

China Sea ◽

Extreme Parameters ◽

And Sea Level

Based on the advanced wind, wave numerical model of the Laboratory of Geophysical Fluid Dynamics and Numerical Modeling (LAGFD), the current 3-D Princeton Ocean Model (POM), and collected data, Part I hindcasts the strongest 298 tropical cyclones (TCs) affecting the area 19°∼23°N, 113°∼118°E) in the South China Sea (SCS) from 1945 to 1995. It also provides the extreme parameters of wind, wave, current and sea level of the above region, and briefly analyzes the climate characteristics of SCS (15°∼27°N, 108°∼122°E). In part II, the strongest 211 TCs affecting the Wenchang area (16°∼23°N, 105°∼114°E) were hindcast. The marine environmental parameters of wind, wave, current and sea level at 35 points in the research area were provided. The present work puts forward the concept of the conditional extreme value. The conditional extreme values of the point (20°N, 112°E) were also given. The research provides basic data for ocean environmental research and engineering design in this region.

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