Increased clonality, decreased allele diversity and high genetic structure in tetraploid sea anemone Aulactinia stella populations from North Pacific to Atlantic across the Arctic Ocean

Reproductive mode is a key factor shaping genetic diversity, evolutionary potential, and the processes of dispersal and colonization. Clonality is particularly common in harsh environments and at the margins of species ranges, where it supports persistence, enables rapid growth, and promotes the maintenance of locally adapted genotypes. In the rapidly changing Arctic, increasing ecological connectivity is eroding historical barriers for sessile species. Evaluating genetic diversity in this context, before global change further alters Arctic ocean, is essential for understanding evolutionary dynamics during range expansion and for informing conservation strategies.

Aulactinia stella is a circumpolar sea anemone with physiological characteristics in laboratory conditions suggesting a potential for clonal reproduction. In this study, we investigated its reproductive modes in natural populations across the Arctic ocean, from the northern Pacific to the Atlantic, and examined how genetic diversity is structured between adults and juveniles at five sampled sites.

Across all study sites, we observed only females or individuals lacking gonads, with the exception of Kamchatka, where males were also present. Genetic indices and changes in genotype frequencies between adults and juveniles confirmed that this species reproduces partially by parthenogenesis. Populations on the Atlantic side were highly clonal with clonal rates ( c ) estimated at 80-99%, whereas populations on the Pacific side reproduced more sexually (c around 50%). Allelic diversity was twice as high in Kamchatka and Kuril populations, suggesting North Pacific coasts being the main last glacial refugia of A. stella . We found a stepping-stone pattern of genetic structure from Kamchatka to Atlantic populations, consistent with contemporary ocean currents and melted summer sea ice. Only a subset of the juvenile genetic diversity, mostly of local origin, was found in the established adults, while juveniles exhibited lower levels of genetic differentiation across the Arctic Ocean. Our findings underscore the need for further ecological and behavioral investigations to elucidate the mechanisms allowing the current possibilities of dispersal of this species across the Arctic Ocean.

Abstract Figure

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Graphical Abstract (photo: Ekaterina Bocharova)