Population Genetic Structure, Abundance, and Health Status of Two Dominant BenthicSpecies in the Saba Bank National Park, Caribbean Netherlands: Montastraea cavernosa and Xestospongia muta

Saba Bank, a submerged atoll in the Caribbean Sea with an area of 2,200 km2, has attainedinternational conservation status due to the rich diversity of species that reside on the bank.In order to assess the role of Saba Bank as a potential reservoir of diversity for the surroundingreefs, we examined the population genetic structure, abundance and health status oftwo prominent benthic species, the coral Montastraea cavernosa and the sponge Xestospongiamuta. Sequence data were collected from 34 colonies of M. cavernosa (nDNA ITS1-5.8S-ITS2; 892 bp) and 68 X. muta sponges (mtDNA I3-M11 partition... Mehr ...