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Blacktip reef sharks, C archarhinus melanopterus , have high genetic structure and varying demographic histories in their I ndo‐ P acific range
Author(s) -
Vignaud Thomas M.,
Mourier Johann,
Maynard Jeffrey A.,
Leblois Raphael,
Spaet Julia L.Y.,
Clua Eric,
Neglia Valentina,
Planes Serge
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
molecular ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.619
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1365-294X
pISSN - 0962-1083
DOI - 10.1111/mec.12936
Subject(s) - biology , reef , range (aeronautics) , population , mtdna control region , indo pacific , mitochondrial dna , fishery , population bottleneck , phylogeography , microsatellite , ecology , zoology , haplotype , demography , phylogenetics , gene , biochemistry , allele , materials science , sociology , genotype , composite material
For free‐swimming marine species like sharks, only population genetics and demographic history analyses can be used to assess population health/status as baseline population numbers are usually unknown. We investigated the population genetics of blacktip reef sharks, C archarhinus melanopterus ; one of the most abundant reef‐associated sharks and the apex predator of many shallow water reefs of the I ndian and P acific O ceans. Our sampling includes 4 widely separated locations in the I ndo‐ P acific and 11 islands in F rench P olynesia with different levels of coastal development. Four‐teen microsatellite loci were analysed for samples from all locations and two mitochondrial DNA fragments, the control region and cytochrome b , were examined for 10 locations. For microsatellites, genetic diversity is higher for the locations in the large open systems of the R ed S ea and A ustralia than for the fragmented habitat of the smaller islands of F rench P olynesia. Strong significant structure was found for distant locations with F ST values as high as ~0.3, and a smaller but still significant structure is found within F rench P olynesia. Both mitochondrial genes show only a few mutations across the sequences with a dominant shared haplotype in F rench P olynesia and N ew C aledonia suggesting a common lineage different to that of E ast A ustralia. Demographic history analyses indicate population expansions in the R ed S ea and A ustralia that may coincide with sea level changes after climatic events. Expansions and flat signals are indicated for French Polynesia as well as a significant recent bottleneck for M oorea, the most human‐impacted lagoon of the locations in F rench P olynesia.