Studies in Conservation Genetics of Tarpon (Megalops atlanticus): Microsatellite Variation across the Distribution of the Species

• Published in: Biology and Management of the World Tarpon and Bonefish Fisheries pp. 157 - 172
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: United Kingdom CRC Press 2008; Taylor & Francis Group
• Subjects: Aquaculture & fishing: practice & techniques; ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY; Zoology & animal sciences; North Carolina; PR; Genetic Distance Matrix; Allele Frequency; Megalops Atlanticus; 12S rRNA mtDNA; Atlantic Tarpon; Hardy Weinberg Expectations; Recreational Shery; Step-wise Mutation Model; 1X TBE Buffer; Ampli Cation; Te Ta; Haplotype Frequency Distributions; NC; Microsatellite Loci; MDS Analysis; ARLEQUIN Version; Microsatellite Variation; Expected Heterozygosity Values; Si Te
• DOI: 10.1201/9781420004250-18
• ISBN: 9780849327926; 084932792X

Introduction ... 131 Methods ... 133Collections ... 133 Isolation and Characterization of Microsatellites ... 134 Statistical Analyses ... 134Results ... 135 Within-Population Diversity ... 135 Among-Population Divergence ... 136Discussion ... 141 Acknowledgments ... 143 References ... 143Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) represent a valuable component of the recreational shery across a distribution that encompasses coastal and nearshore waters of the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and the western Atlantic from Canada toBrazil. Peripheral populations occur in the eastern Atlantic off Africa and the Paci c of Panama. Tolerant of wide ranges in salinity and oxygen concentrations, tarpon distribution is limited by sensitivity to low temperature at the northern extreme of the range (Zale and Merri eld, 1989). The reproductive cycle of tarpon is complex. Adults spawn offshore (Crabtree et al., 1992), eggs and larvae have an extended planktonic stage followed by recruitment into fresh and brackish water nursery areas, and juveniles spend 4-5 years in rivers, bays, and estuaries before joining offshore aggregations of adults (Crabtree et al., 1995). Adults in some portions of the range are highly migratory. They move from spawning sites to forage areas on a seasonal basis (see Luo et al., Chapter 18, this volume).