Population expansion and genetic structure in Carcharhinus brevipinna in the southern Indo-Pacific

Geraghty, Pascal T., Williamson, Jane E., Macbeth, William G., Wintner, Sabine P., Harry, Alastair V., Ovenden, Jennifer R., and Gillings, Michael R. (2013) Population expansion and genetic structure in Carcharhinus brevipinna in the southern Indo-Pacific. PLoS ONE, 8 (9). e75169. pp. 1-18.

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Abstract

Background: Quantifying genetic diversity and metapopulation structure provides insights into the evolutionary history of a species and helps develop appropriate management strategies. We provide the first assessment of genetic structure in spinner sharks (Carcharhinus brevipinna), a large cosmopolitan carcharhinid, sampled from eastern and northern Australia and South Africa.

Methods and Findings: Sequencing of the mitochondrial DNA NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4 gene for 430 individuals revealed 37 haplotypes and moderately high haplotype diversity (h = 0.6770 ±0.025). While two metrics of genetic divergence (Φ(ST) and F(ST)) revealed somewhat different results, subdivision was detected between South Africa and all Australian locations (pairwise Φ(ST), range 0.02717–0.03508, p values ≤ 0.0013; pairwise F(ST) South Africa vs New South Wales = 0.04056, p = 0.0008). Evidence for fine-scale genetic structuring was also detected along Australia's east coast (pairwise Φ(ST) = 0.01328, p < 0.015), and between south-eastern and northern locations (pairwise Φ(ST) = 0.00669, p < 0.04).

Conclusions: The Indian Ocean represents a robust barrier to contemporary gene flow in C. brevipinna between Australia and South Africa. Gene flow also appears restricted along a continuous continental margin in this species, with data tentatively suggesting the delineation of two management units within Australian waters. Further sampling, however, is required for a more robust evaluation of the latter finding. Evidence indicates that all sampled populations were shaped by a substantial demographic expansion event, with the resultant high genetic diversity being cause for optimism when considering conservation of this commercially-targeted species in the southern Indo-Pacific.

Item ID: 30495
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1932-6203
Additional Information:

© 2013 Geraghty et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Funders: Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority (NRCMA), Wild Fisheries Division, New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI), Macquarie University (MQ), Queensland Government
Date Deposited: 04 Dec 2013 09:30
FoR Codes: 07 AGRICULTURAL AND VETERINARY SCIENCES > 0704 Fisheries Sciences > 070405 Fish Physiology and Genetics @ 100%
SEO Codes: 83 ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND ANIMAL PRIMARY PRODUCTS > 8302 Fisheries - Wild Caught > 830204 Wild Caught Fin Fish (excl. Tuna) @ 100%
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