Papers by Elizabeth Gosling
Marine Biology, 2011
Stock heterogeneity was investigated in albacore tuna (Thunnus alalunga, Bonnaterre 1788), a comm... more Stock heterogeneity was investigated in albacore tuna (Thunnus alalunga, Bonnaterre 1788), a commercially important species in the North Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Twelve polymorphic microsatellite loci were examined in 581 albacore tuna from nine locations, four in the northeast Atlantic Ocean (NEA), three in the Mediterranean Sea (MED) and two in the southwestern Pacific Ocean (SWP). Maximum numbers of alleles per locus ranged from 9 to 38 (sample mean, 5.2-22.6 per locus; overall mean, 14.2 ± 0.47 SE), and observed heterozygosities per locus ranged from 0.44 to 1.00 (overall mean: 0.79 ± 0.19 SE). Significant deficits of heterozygotes were observed in 20% of tests. Multilocus F ST values were observed ranging from 0.00 to H = 0.036 and H 0 = 0.253, with a mean of H = 0.013 and H 0 = 0.079. Pairwise F ST values showed that the SWP, NEA and MED stocks were significantly distinct from one another, thus corroborating findings in previous studies based on mitochondrial DNA, nuclear DNA (other than microsatellites) and allozyme analyses. Heterogeneity was observed for the first time between samples within the Mediterranean Sea. GENELAND indicated the potential presence of three populations across the NEA and two separate populations in the Mediterranean Sea. Observed genetic structure may be related to migration patterns and timing of movements of subpopulations to the feeding grounds in either summer or autumn. We suggest that a more intensive survey be conducted throughout the entire fishing season to ratify or refute the currently accepted genetic homogeneity within the NEA albacore stock. Communicated by T. Reusch.
This paper reports on the first 2 years of data collected to study the ecology of Phytophthora ra... more This paper reports on the first 2 years of data collected to study the ecology of Phytophthora ramorum in Ireland. Since spring 2005, sampling has been carried out for the presence of the pathogen in soil and watercourses from 11 susceptible forest sites in Ireland, using a rapid DNA method in conjunction with morphological identification methods. Each site was sampled twice a year, collecting foliage and using rhododendron leaves as baits for water and soil samples. In June 2005, the pathogen was positively identified as the cause of Rhododendron ponticum twig and leaf blight in Killarney National Park, in the southwest of Ireland. The pathogen has since been positively identified at a new site, approximately 32.2 km (20 miles) from Killarney National Park, but has not yet been identified on trees. To date, P. ramorum is only found at three sites in the southwest and southeast of Ireland. While it is unknown whether trees will become infected, many potential susceptible hosts of th...
Many marine fish species are characterized by large population sizes, strong migratory behaviour,... more Many marine fish species are characterized by large population sizes, strong migratory behaviour, high fecundity, and pelagic eggs and larvae that are subject to passive transport by ocean currents, all factors that tend to reduce the rate of development of genetic partition-ing among localized populations. The blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou) is a commercially important gadoid that exhibits all these characteristics, although to date there has been little evidence of genetic heterogeneity except at the latitudinal extremes of its range in the NE Atlantic. Genetic variation was analysed at five microsatellite loci in 16 samples, 14 comprising spawning adults, collected along the continental shelf from 448N to 608N, a distance of 1900 km. Although pairwise FST values were low (0.0–0.040; mean 0.0097), more than 40 % of the estimates were significant, with Celtic Sea and Bay of Biscay samples significantly differentiated from samples from the Porcupine Bank, Hebridean Shelf, Su...
J Mar Biol Assoc UK, 1988
Two hundredChlamys varia(L.) from Roskeeda Bay (W. Ireland) and Lough Hyne (S. Ireland) were coll... more Two hundredChlamys varia(L.) from Roskeeda Bay (W. Ireland) and Lough Hyne (S. Ireland) were collected and labelled in December 1979. One hundred individuals from the L. Hyne sample were then transferred to Roskeeda; similarly, 100 Roskeeda scallops were transferred to L. Hyne. At each site 100 indigenous scallops were held as controls.After a period of approximately 1 year, survivors at each site were scored at 13 enzyme/protein loci using starch gel electrophoresis. Significant genetic differences were observed at thePgmandLaploci between native L. Hyne and native Roskeeda scallops. These differences persisted between surviving Roskeeda scallops (92% of the original sample) transferred to L. Hyne. However, after one year L. Hyne scallops transferred to Roskeeda (61% of original sample) did not differ significantly from indigenous Roskeeda scallops. Possible reasons for the observed selective mortality at this site are discussed.
Sustainability
Agroforestry has been promoted as a key forest landscape restoration (FLR) option to restore ecos... more Agroforestry has been promoted as a key forest landscape restoration (FLR) option to restore ecosystem services in degraded tropical landscapes. We investigated the share and type of agroforestry selected in an optimized landscape, accounting for a mosaic of alternative forest landscape restoration options (reforestation and natural succession) and forest and common agricultural land-uses. We extend previous studies on multi-objective robust optimization and the analytic hierarchy process by a systematic sensitivity analysis to assess the influence of incorporating agroforestry into a landscape. This approach accounts for multiple objectives concurrently, yet data and computational requirements are relatively low. Our results show that experts from different backgrounds perceive agroforestry (i.e., alley cropping and silvopasture) very positively. Inclusion of large shares of agroforestry (41% share of landscape) in the FLR mix enhanced simulated ecosystem service provision. Our res...
Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Physiology
Scientific Data, 2016
At a proximal level, the physiological impacts of global climate change on ectothermic organisms ... more At a proximal level, the physiological impacts of global climate change on ectothermic organisms are manifest as changes in body temperatures. Especially for plants and animals exposed to direct solar radiation, body temperatures can be substantially different from air temperatures. We deployed biomimetic sensors that approximate the thermal characteristics of intertidal mussels at 71 sites worldwide, from 1998-present. Loggers recorded temperatures at 10-30 min intervals nearly continuously at multiple intertidal elevations. Comparisons against direct measurements of mussel tissue temperature indicated errors of~2.0-2.5°C, during daily fluctuations that often exceeded 15°-20°C. Geographic patterns in thermal stress based on biomimetic logger measurements were generally far more complex than anticipated based only on 'habitat-level' measurements of air or sea surface temperature. This unique data set provides an opportunity to link physiological measurements with spatially-and temporally-explicit field observations of body temperature. Design Type(s) observation design • time series design Measurement Type(s) temperature of environmental material Technology Type(s) biomimetic sensor Factor Type(s) geographic location Sample Characteristic(s)
Biology of Benthic Organisms, 1977
This paper reports on the first 2 years of data collected to study the ecology of Phytophthora ra... more This paper reports on the first 2 years of data collected to study the ecology of Phytophthora ramorum in Ireland. Since spring 2005, sampling has been carried out for the presence of the pathogen in soil and watercourses from 11 susceptible forest sites in Ireland, using a rapid DNA method in conjunction with morphological identification methods. Each site was sampled twice a year, collecting foliage and using rhododendron leaves as baits for water and soil samples. In June 2005, the pathogen was positively identified as the cause of Rhododendron ponticum twig and leaf blight in Killarney National Park, in the southwest of Ireland. The pathogen has since been positively identified at a new site, approximately 32.2 km (20 miles) from Killarney National Park, but has not yet been identified on trees. To date, P. ramorum is only found at three sites in the southwest and southeast of Ireland. While it is unknown whether trees will become infected, many potential susceptible hosts of the pathogen are widely distributed among these forests. Work is currently underway to study the susceptibility of Irish flora to the pathogen, as well as the sporulation potential, dispersal, infection, latency and survival of the Irish isolates. This is the first report on the molecular identification of P. ramorum in Ireland.
Marine Bivalve Molluscs, 2015
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK, 1999
Eight samples of Littorina tenebrosa and L. saxatilis (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from Ireland and Bri... more Eight samples of Littorina tenebrosa and L. saxatilis (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from Ireland and Britain, including pairs of each form from two locations in Ireland, were screened for genetic variation at 12 polymorphic enzyme loci using starch gel electrophoresis. Levels of polymorphism and heterozygosity were similar in L. tenebrosa and L. saxatilis, apart from a sample of L. tenebrosa from Britain which was less polymorphic than the Irish samples. No alleles were found to be unique to either form. Phylogenetic analysis using UPGMA showed that L. saxatilis and L. tenebrosa populations clustered as a monophyletic group. Nevertheless, the mean genetic distance between parapatric populations of L. saxatilis and L. tenebrosa (D=0.076) was similar to the mean for allopatric populations of either species (D=0.080). This indicates that there is a barrier to gene flow between the two forms Despite this, L. tenebrosa does not merit specific status since populations of this snail do not cluste...
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 1989
The marine mussel, Mytilus edulis, is a widely distributed bivalve, especially abundant on wave w... more The marine mussel, Mytilus edulis, is a widely distributed bivalve, especially abundant on wave washed exposed rocky shores (Lewis, 1964). Investigations on the reproductive and settlement cycles of M. edulis in Irish waters have concentrated to date on sheltered shore populations (Wilson & Seed, 1974; Seed & Brown, 1975; Rodhouse et al., 1984; McKenzie, 1986). An exception to this is a brief account of settlement in Bantry Bay (Cross & Southgate, 1983). Elsewhere in Europe, investigations on the biology of exposed-shore mussels is restricted to the extensive studies of Seed (1969) on the north-east coast of Britain.
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK, 2008
The blue mussel, Mytilus edulis, and the Mediterranean mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis, occur w... more The blue mussel, Mytilus edulis, and the Mediterranean mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis, occur widely over much of northern Europe, and wherever they are sympatric they hybridize. The hybrid zone is large, ranging from western France to the north of Scotland, and is spatially complex, containing a mixture of pure, hybrid and introgressed individuals. Results from an Irish study in 1981, using partially diagnostic allozyme markers, indicated that mussels on the Irish Sea coast were solely M. edulis, but on Atlantic wave-exposed shores, and to a much lesser extent on wave-protected shores, mussels comprised an interbreeding mixture of M. edulis and M. galloprovincialis. In this study mussels were analysed from 20 locations on Irish coasts, using the Me15/16 nuclear DNA marker. The results showed a high frequency of M. galloprovincialis (0.378 ± 0.198) and hybrid (0.429 ± 0.175) genotypes, and correspondingly low frequencies of the M. edulis genotype (0.194 ± 0.107) at both exposed an...
Molecular Ecology, 2000
Littorina saxatilis is a ubiquitous snail of intertidal habitats in the North Atlantic. Shell typ... more Littorina saxatilis is a ubiquitous snail of intertidal habitats in the North Atlantic. Shell type in littorinids is extremely polymorphic and defined by habitat. Taxonomy based upon shell type has been revised in the light of anatomic and genetic information, but uncertainties remain. In this study, the population structure of L. saxatilis and L. tenebrosa was studied at 11 sites in Ireland using single-strand conformational polymorphisms of a 375-bp portion of the cytochrome b gene, and the status of L. tenebrosa , the small, fragileshelled, brackish water type, was considered. The genetic patterns among L. saxatili s and L. tenebrosa populations were examined over varying distances and L. tenebrosa was compared with adjacent L. saxatilis populations at four sites on the west coast of Ireland and one site on the east coast. Haplotype diversity was high with 32 haplotypes present among 995 individuals. Pairwise tests suggest gene flow over small scales among and between habitat types and may reflect the stochastic legacy of postglacial recolonization over larger scales. In amova tests, geography explained nearly twice as much of the variance (30%) as habitat type (18%), indicating that gene flow is more restricted by distance than by habitat type, and supporting the status of L. tenebrosa as an ecotype of L. saxatilis rather than a separate species.
Molecular Ecology, 2005
The zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas), a bivalve species originally native to the Black... more The zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas), a bivalve species originally native to the Black and Caspian seas, has invaded Ireland in the last decade. Five microsatellite loci were used to investigate genetic diversity and population structure in 10 populations across Europe (Ireland, UK, the Netherlands and Romania) and the Great Lakes (Lake Ontario and Lake St Clair). Levels of allelic diversity and mean expected heterozygosity were high for all populations (mean number of alleles/ locus and H E were 10-15.2 and 0.79-0.89, respectively). High levels of polymorphism observed in Irish populations suggest that the Irish founder population(s) were large and/or several introductions took place after foundation. Significant deficits of heterozygotes were recorded for all populations, and null alleles were the most probable factor contributing to these deficits. Pairwise comparisons using Fisher exact tests and F ST values revealed little genetic differentiation between Irish populations. The UK sample was not significantly differentiated from the Irish samples, most probably reflecting an English origin for Irish zebra mussels. No significant differentiation was detected between the two Great Lakes populations. Our data support a northwest rather than a central or east European source for North American zebra mussels.
Marine Ecology Progress Series, 1988
Investigations on intertidal mussels Mytilus e d u l~s L. on an exposed rocky shore in the west o... more Investigations on intertidal mussels Mytilus e d u l~s L. on an exposed rocky shore in the west of Ireland during 1983 to 1986 revealed a settlement pattern which differs from that reported elsewhere, particularly in Britain Analysis of the population structure showed the frequent presence of cohorts of ind~viduals < 500 pm shell length These cohorts appeared in the population at times and with a size range which indicates direct settlement from the plankton on the adult beds. M. eduhs larvae may settle directly on adult beds without the initial prlmary phase on filamentous substrates postulated by the primary/secondary settlement model.
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Papers by Elizabeth Gosling