Open AccessGenetic hypervariability of a Northeastern Atlantic venomous rockfish
Author(s) -
Sara Martins Francisco,
Rita Castilho,
Cristina S. Lima,
Vítor Carvalho Almada,
Francisca Rodrigues,
Radek Šanda,
Jasna Vukić,
Andrea Pappalardo,
Venera Ferrito,
Joana Isabel Robalo
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
peerj
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.927
H-Index - 70
ISSN - 2167-8359
DOI - 10.7717/peerj.11730
Subject(s) - biological dispersal , rockfish , range (aeronautics) , phylogeography , ecology , mediterranean climate , species distribution , genetic diversity , genetic structure , mediterranean sea , geography , biology , fishery , genetic variation , population , habitat , phylogenetics , biochemistry , materials science , demography , sociology , fish <actinopterygii> , gene , composite material
Background Understanding the interplay between climate and current and historical factors shaping genetic diversity is pivotal to infer changes in marine species range and communities’ composition. A phylogeographical break between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean has been documented for several marine organisms, translating into limited dispersal between the two basins. Methods In this study, we screened the intraspecific diversity of 150 individuals of the Madeira rockfish ( Scorpaena maderensis ) across its distributional range (seven sampling locations in the Atlantic and Mediterranean basins) using the mitochondrial control region and the nuclear S7 first intron. Results The present work is the most comprehensive study done for this species, yielding no genetic structure across sampled locations and no detectable Atlantic-Mediterranean break in connectivity. Our results reveal deep and hyper-diverse bush-like genealogies with large numbers of singletons and very few shared haplotypes. The genetic hyper-diversity found for the Madeira rockfish is relatively uncommon in rocky coastal species, whose dispersal capability is limited by local oceanographic patterns. The effect of climate warming on the distribution of the species is discussed.