Description: Ecological processes and intra-specific genetic diversity reciprocally affect each other. While the importance of uniting ecological variables and genetic variation to understand species’ plasticity, adaptation, and evolution is increasingly recognized, only few studies have attempted to address the intersection of population ecology and genetics using marine macrophyte as models. Representative empirical case studies on genetic diversity are reviewed that explore ecological and evolutionary processes in marine macrophytes. These include studies on environment-induced phenotypic plasticity and associated ecological adaptation; population genetic variation and structuring driven by ecological variation; and ecological consequences mediated by intraspecific and interspecific diversity. Knowledge gaps are also discussed that impede the connection of ecology and genetics in macrophytes and possible approaches to address these issues. Finally, an eco-evolutionary perspective is advocated, by incorporating structural-to-functional genomics and life cycle complexity, to increase the understanding of the adaptation and evolution of macrophytes in response to environmental heterogeneity.

Description: The repeated transgression and regression of coastlines mediated by the late Quaternary glacial–interglacial cycles make the northwest Pacific a hot spot to study marine speciation and population diversity. The red alga Agarophyton vermiculophyllum is an ecologically important species native to the northwest Pacific, capturing considerable research interest due to its wide-range invasiveness in Europe and North America. However, the knowledge of phylogeographic structure and intraspecific genetic diversity across the entire native range was still scarce. Here, we used 1,214-bp of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) to explore phylogeographic patterns, lineage structure, and population genetic differentiation of 48 A. vermiculophyllum populations in the northwest Pacific. Our DNA data revealed overall high haplotype diversity and low nucleotide diversity and five phylogeographically structured genetic lineages that diverged significantly from each other. S-DIVA analysis showed the ancestors of A. vermiculophyllum originating from multiple areas encompassing the Japan–Pacific coast, East and South China Seas. This combined evidence indicates that A. vermiculophyllum might have survived in multiple scattered glacial refugia during the late Quaternary climate oscillations in the northwest Pacific. Such knowledge may help to better understand how palaeoclimate interacted with contemporary environments to contribute to intraspecific genetic variation and provide a new perspective for conserving natural resource of A. vermiculophyllum in the northwest Pacific.