Data from: Assessment of mesophotic coral ecosystem connectivity for proposed expansion of a marine sanctuary in the northwest Gulf of Mexico: population genetics

While there are several areas containing shallow coral habitats in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), the availability of suitable reef habitat at mesophotic depths (~30–150 m) along the continental shelf margin suggests the potential for ecologically connected coral populations across hundreds of kilometers in the northwest (NW) GOM. The NW GOM includes a relatively high proportion of mesophotic habitats, including salt diapirs in Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS), Bright Bank, and McGrail Bank, the latter two being Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (HAPCs). In response to a proposed expansion plan for the sanctuary boundaries to include additional mesophotic banks in the NW GOM, we investigated the genetic connectivity of the depth-generalist coral Montastraea cavernosa, a ubiquitous member of scleractinian communities throughout the Tropical Western Atlantic. Montastraea cavernosa populations in the NW GOM demonstrated strong connectivity with relatively high levels of gene flow and no significant genetic differentiation occurring over banks up to 120 km apart. Historical migration models based on genetic data predicted panmixia of M. cavernosa across the NW GOM. The comparisons between genetic and biophysical models (see Garavelli et al., 2018; associate manuscript) highlight not only the importance of incorporating multiple assessments of connectivity into management schemes, but also the potentially stochastic nature of oceanographic patterns in the NW GOM and their effect on migration estimates among coral habitats. These trends indicate that M. cavernosa populations have remained well-connected in the NW GOM and that coral populations on each bank have likely been receiving larval recruitment through time. Thus, M. cavernosa populations should be managed as a combined unit within the NW GOM, which supports the proposal to expand the NMS boundaries to include mesophotic habitats beyond West and East FGB.M. cavernosa genotypesDatasheet containing Montastraea cavernosa multi-locus genotypes for 9 microsatellite loci (developed by Serrano et al. 2014) assessing population structure across shallow and mesophotic coral banks in the northwest Gulf of Mexico. See readme for column descriptions.Studivan and Voss_NWGOM_Mcav genotypes.xlsxStructure input fileMulti-locus genotypes for M. cavernosa from the NW GOM, formatted for Structure input.Studivan and Voss_NWGOM_Structure input.txtStructure parameter fileStructure run parameters for use with Structure input file.Studivan and Voss_NWGOM_Structure parametersStructure output resultsArchive containing output files for Structure runs (contents of the "Results" directory created by Structure), for use with web-based Structure Harvester (http://taylor0.biology.ucla.edu/structureHarvester/).Studivan and Voss_NWGOM_Structure output.zipMigrate-n input fileMulti-locus genotypes for M. cavernosa from the NW GOM, formatted for Migrate-n input.Studivan and Voss_NWGOM_Migrate inputMigrate-n Symm parameter fileParameter file for Migrate-n model Symm (symmetrical migration across all populations). Designed for use with Migrate-n-mpi on a high-performance computing cluster.Studivan and Voss_NWGOM_Migrate parameters SymmMigrate-n Eastward parameter fileParameter file for Migrate-n model Eastward (net westward-to-eastward migration across all populations). Designed for use with Migrate-n-mpi on a high-performance computing cluster.Studivan and Voss_NWGOM_Migrate parameters EastwardMigrate-n Westward parameter fileParameter file for Migrate-n model Westward (net eastward-to-westward migration across all populations). Designed for use with Migrate-n-mpi on a high-performance computing cluster.Studivan and Voss_NWGOM_Migrate parameters WestwardMigrate-n Pan parameter fileParameter file for Migrate-n model Panmixia (single population). Designed for use with Migrate-n-mpi on a high-performance computing cluster.Studivan and Voss_NWGOM_Migrate parameters Pa