Abstract
The star barnacle, Chthamalus stellatus Poli, populates the
Mediterranean Sea, the North-Eastern Atlantic coasts, and the offshore
Eastern Atlantic islands. Previous studies have found apparent genetic
differences between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean populations of
C. stellatus, suggesting possible geological and oceanographic
explanations for these differences. We have studied the genetic
diversity of 14 populations spanning from the Eastern Atlantic to the
Eastern Mediterranean, using 63 genomic polymorphic sites. We have found
that these populations form four distinct clusters: Eastern Atlantic,
Western Mediterranean, Mid-Mediterranean and Eastern Mediterranean, with
evident connectivity between them. We examined here environmental
conditions like surface currents, water salinity and temperature as
probable factors that have formed the population structure. We suggest
that C. stellatus is a suitable marine animal for studying how
geological events and hydrographic conditions shape the fauna in the
Mediterranean Sea.