Population genetic structure of Patagonian toothfish ( Dissostichus eleginoides ) in the Southeast Pacific and Southwest Atlantic Ocean

• Published in: PeerJ (San Francisco, CA) Vol. 6; p. e4173
• Main Authors: Canales-Aguirre, Cristian B, Ferrada-Fuentes, Sandra, Galleguillos, Ricardo, Oyarzun, Fernanda X, Hernández, Cristián E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States PeerJ. Ltd 16.01.2018; PeerJ, Inc; PeerJ Inc
• Subjects: Analysis; Antarctic circumpolar current; Aquaculture, Fisheries and Fish Science; Bayesian analysis; Deep-sea environment; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Dissostichus; Dissostichus eleginoides; Dissostichus mawsoni; Distribution; DNA; Ecology; Environmental aspects; Evolution; Evolutionary Studies; Fish; Fish populations; Fisheries; Gene flow; Gene loci; Genetic aspects; Genetic connectivity; Genetic differentiation; Genetic diversity; Genetic structure; Genetics; Genomes; Genomics; Geography; Habitats; Hoplostethus atlanticus; Islands; Marine Biology; Microevolution; Microsatellites; Mitochondrial DNA; Population; Population differentiation; Population genetics; Population studies; Species; Studies; Toothfishes; Atlantic Ocean; Southern Ocean; Genetic connectivity; Microevolution; Gene flow; Geographical isolation; Deep-sea environment; Genetic differentiation; Abyssal depths; Antarctic circumpolar current
• ISSN: 2167-8359; 2167-8359
• DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4173

Previous studies of population genetic structure in have shown that oceanographic and geographic discontinuities drive in this species population differentiation. Studies have focused on the genetics of . in the Southern Ocean; however, there is little knowledge of their genetic variation along the South American continental shelf. In this study, we used a panel of six microsatellites to test whether . shows population genetic structuring in this region. We hypothesized that this species would show zero or very limited genetic structuring due to the habitat continuity along the South American shelf from Peru in the Pacific Ocean to the Falkland Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. We used Bayesian and traditional analyses to evaluate population genetic structure, and we estimated the number of putative migrants and effective population size. Consistent with our predictions, our results showed no significant genetic structuring among populations of the South American continental shelf but supported two significant and well-defined genetic clusters of . between regions (South American continental shelf and South Georgia clusters). Genetic connectivity between these two clusters was 11.3% of putative migrants from the South American cluster to the South Georgia Island and 0.7% in the opposite direction. Effective population size was higher in locations from the South American continental shelf as compared with the South Georgia Island. Overall, our results support that the continuity of the deep-sea habitat along the continental shelf and the biological features of the study species are plausible drivers of intraspecific population genetic structuring across the distribution of . on the South American continental shelf.