Zostera noltii in the Canary Islands: A Genetic Description for Conservation Purposes

ABSTRACT Zarranz Elso, M.; Manent, P., and Robaina, R.R., 2018. Zostera noltii in the Canary Islands: A genetic description for conservation purposes. The extremely delicate situation affecting the seagrass Zostera noltii in the Canary Islands (listed as ‘threatened with extinction') requires urgent measures to ensure its preservation. The genetic or genotypic description of populations and knowledge about their connectivity are important genetic issues that should be taken into account to accomplish appropriate conservation and restoration programmes, particularly for threatened habitats or species. Therefore, a genetic characterisation of the single remaining meadow located on the coast of Lanzarote was conducted using nine microsatellite loci, and its genetic relationship with the geographically closest Moroccan populations was studied for restoration purposes. Results showed that the Lanzarote population has recently suffered a significant reduction in effective population size and presents low levels...