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A new multiplexed microsatellite tool for metapopulation studies in the overexploited endemic limpet Patella aspera (Röding, 1798)
Author(s) -
Faria J.,
Rivas M.,
Martins G. M.,
Hawkins S. J.,
Ribeiro P.,
Pita A.,
Neto A. I.,
Presa P.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
animal genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.756
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1365-2052
pISSN - 0268-9146
DOI - 10.1111/age.12243
Subject(s) - biology , metapopulation , limpet , microsatellite , evolutionary biology , ecology , genetics , population , gene , demography , gastropoda , biological dispersal , allele , sociology
Patellid limpets are ecologically important keystone grazers having a long history of overexploitation in the Macaronesian Archipelagos (NE Atlantic islands), where some species, such as Patella aspera, are under serious risk.[1, 2] Patella aspera is a protandric sequential hermaphrodite species with external fertilization, in which individuals start off as males but may undergo a sex reversal with age.[3] Hence, exploitation tends to focus on the larger females in the population as larger limpets (predominantly females) are selectively removed. Despite conservation legislation in Canaries, Madeira and Azores, limpets are under severe pressure and few individuals survive long enough to become females, a phenomenon that severely restricts the effective population size.[4] New conservation actions for the protection and sustainable use of limpets in Macaronesian Archipelagos are urgently needed and should be based on a multidisciplinary framework based on knowledge of the population dynamics and connectivity of this species.