New Nuclear SNP Markers Unravel the Genetic Structure and Effective Population Size of Albacore Tuna (Thunnus alalunga)

In the present study we have investigated the population genetic structure of albacore (Thunnus alalunga, Bonnaterre 1788) and assessed the loss of genetic diversity, likely due to overfishing, of albacore population in the North Atlantic Ocean. For this purpose, 1,331 individuals from 26 worldwide...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:PLOS ONE
Main Authors: Laconcha, Urtzi, Iriondo Orensanz, Mikel, Arrizabalaga, Haritz, Manzano Basabe, Carmen, Markaide Nafarrete, Pablo, Montes Asperilla, Iratxe, Zarraonaindia Martínez, Iratxe, Velado Fernández, Igor, Bilbao Castellanos, Eider, Goñi, Nicolás, Santiago, Josu, Domingo, Andrés, Karakulak, Saadet, Oray, Işık, Estomba Recalde, Miren Andone
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Public Library Science 2015
Subjects:
atlantic bluefin tuna
cod gadus-morhua
multilocus genotype data
overlapping generations
marine fish
mediterranean albacore
northeast atlantic
mitochondrial DNA
allele frecuency
sea
AGRICULTURAL AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
MEDICINE
BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Indian
Pacific
Gadus morhua
North Atlantic
Northeast Atlantic
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10810/17883
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0128247
Description
Summary:In the present study we have investigated the population genetic structure of albacore (Thunnus alalunga, Bonnaterre 1788) and assessed the loss of genetic diversity, likely due to overfishing, of albacore population in the North Atlantic Ocean. For this purpose, 1,331 individuals from 26 worldwide locations were analyzed by genotyping 75 novel nuclear SNPs. Our results indicated the existence of four genetically homogeneous populations delimited within the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Current definition of stocks allows the sustainable management of albacore since no stock includes more than one genetic entity. In addition, short-and long-term effective population sizes were estimated for the North Atlantic Ocean albacore population, and results showed no historical decline for this population. Therefore, the genetic diversity and, consequently, the adaptive potential of this population have not been significantly affected by overfishing. This research was supported by the projects ATM2010 Hegaluze (351BI20090047) and TUNASNIP (SPE10UN92) funded by the Basque Government. Urtzi Laconcha's work was supported by a PhD grant by the Fundacion Centros Tecnologicos Inaki Goenaga. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Similar Items