ABSTRACT. Phylogenetic relationships of 43 species in 11 genera, representing four subfamilies of the family Lutjanidae and two genera of the family Caesionidae, were inferred using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI). Further assessment using the mtDNA control region (CR) was carried out to infer the relationship between the Indian and western Pacific types of Lutjanus russellii collected from the coast of Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 11 and 12 species were sequenced for COI and CR genes, respectively. Clade formation reflects, to some extent, the species groupings based on morphological characteristics and their biogeography. The close phylogenetic relationship between Pinjalo pinjalo and the Lutjanus red snappers (Lutjanus malabaricus and Lutjanus sebae) warrants a taxonomic revision of the former as the two genera are currently separated based on non-exclusive morphological characters. A sequence divergence of 4.2% between the Indian and western Pacific types of L. russellii as well as the morphological and biogeographical differences may suggest two separate species.Key words: Lutjanus, Pinjalo, COI, barcoding, taxonomic revision. RESUMEN.Las relaciones filogenéticas de 43 especies pertenecientes a 11 géneros, representando cuatro subfamilias de la familia Lutjanidae y dos géneros de la familia Caesionidae, fueron inferidas a partir del gen mitocondrial citocromo c oxidasa subunidad I (COI). Además, se usó la región control (RC) del ADN mitocondrial para inferir la filogenia entre los tipos de Lutjanus russellii del océano Índico y el Pacífico occidental recolectados en las costas de la península de Malasia. Se generaron secuencias de COI (11 especies) y RC (12 especies). Los clados generados concuerdan con las agrupaciones propuestas anteriormente basadas en la morfología y biogeografía de las especies. La relación filogenética cercana entre Pinjalo pinjalo y los pargos rojos Lutjanus malabaricus y Lutjanus sebae justifica la revisión taxonómica de los mismos ya que los caracteres morfológicos empleados para diferenciar ambos géneros son ambiguos. La divergencia de las secuencias (4.2%) entre los dos tipos de L. russellii (Índico y Pacifico occidental), así como la caracterización morfológica y la información biogeográfica permiten sugerir que son dos especies distintas.Palabras clave: Lutjanus, Pinjalo, COI, código de barras genético, revisión taxonómica.

Combined multiple 2D views (proximal, anterior and ventral aspects) of the sagittal otolith are proposed here as a method to capture shape information for fish classification. Classification performance of single view compared with combined 2D views show improved classification accuracy of the latter, for nine species of Sciaenidae. The effects of shape description methods (shape indices, Procrustes analysis and elliptical Fourier analysis) on classification performance were evaluated. Procrustes analysis and elliptical Fourier analysis perform better than shape indices when single view is considered, but all perform equally well with combined views. A generic content-based image retrieval (CBIR) system that ranks dissimilarity (Procrustes distance) of otolith images was built to search query images without the need for detailed information of side (left or right), aspect (proximal or distal) and direction (positive or negative) of the otolith. Methods for the development of this automated classification system are discussed.

[2013][2014] were analysed for their dietary composition. Despite the dramatic replacements of zooplankton taxa due to escalating anthropogenic disturbances, the dominant copepod families, Paracalanidae, Oithonidae and Euterpinidae, remain the major prey for fish larvae. Dietary shifts in prey composition from before to after impact depend on the larval fish family and their ontogenetic stage. Dietary changes are observed in the Bregmacerotidae, Engraulidae, Gobiidae and Sciaenidae that opportunistically feed on the small-bodied copepods (oithonids and Parvocalanus crassirostris), whereas the Callionymidae, Clupeidae and Cynoglossidae naturally feed on these copepods even before these prey become numerically dominant with anthropogenic disturbance. There is no dietary shift in the Leiognathidae, exceptional in that they are specialists feeding mainly on detritus and polychaete larvae. Since the bottom-up effects are not comprehensive among fish families and dietary plasticity is evident, it is postulated that only the intolerant or non-adaptable larval species are adversely affected by the environmental perturbations.

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