Author:

Keywords:

Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Marine & Freshwater Biology, PLAICE PLEURONECTES-PLATESSA, MICROSATELLITE NULL ALLELES, TURBOT SCOPHTHALMUS-MAXIMUS, POPULATION-STRUCTURE, MARINE FISHES, DOVER SOLE, PLATICHTHYS-FLESUS, MITOCHONDRIAL-DNA, NURSERY GROUNDS, CONTROL REGION, 05 Environmental Sciences, 06 Biological Sciences, 07 Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences, Marine Biology & Hydrobiology, 3103 Ecology, 3109 Zoology

Abstract:

A thorough knowledge on the genetic connectivity of marine populations is important for fisheries management and conservation. Using a dense population sampling design and two types of neutral molecular markers (10 nuclear microsatellite loci and a mtDNA cytochrome b fragment), we inferred the genetic connectivity among the main known spawning grounds of sole (Solea solea L.) in the North-East Atlantic Ocean. The results revealed a clear genetic structure for sole in the North East Atlantic Ocean with at least three different populations, namely the Kattegat/Skagerrak region, the North Sea and the Bay of Biscay, and with indications for a fourth population, namely the Irish/Celtic Sea. The lack of genetically meaningful differences between biological populations within the Southern North Sea is likely due to a large effective population size and sufficient connection (gene flow) between populations. Nevertheless, an isolation by distance pattern was found based on microsatellite genotyping, while no such pattern was observed with the cytochrome b marker, indicating an historical pattern prevailing in the latter marker. Our results demonstrate the importance of a combined multi-marker approach to understand the connectivity among marine populations at region scales.