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- Landscape genetics of a seagrass species in a tidal mudflat lagoonPublication . Berković, B.; Serrão, Ester; Alberto, FilipeIn this thesis I looked at different components of dispersal in the seagrass Zostera noltii, from the dispersal potential of both sexual and asexual propagules to indirect genetic estimation and landscape genetics analysis. My studies show that the dispersal biology of Z. noltii is very dependent on commonly underestimated asexual dispersal. This asexual LDD is the most parsimonious explanation for the wide distribution of clones in the lagoon and dramatically changes our view of the species’ life history. Furthermore, I propose that the observed lack of association between landscape features and spatial genetic structure is a consequence of this LDD of asexual propagules. The high dispersal capacity of Z. noltii combined with a tidal regime which homogenizes the otherwise complex lagoon habitat, are prevalent over any effects of landscape on gene flow caused by the lagoon complexity as shown by the landscape genetics analyses. Nevertheless, sexual reproduction also affects spatial genetic structure, as the positive kinship between clones within a 3 km range is a signature of restricted seed dispersal.