Genetic divergence among invasive and native populations ofPlagioscion squamosissimus(Perciformes, Sciaenidae) in Neotropical regions

Abstract

The genetic divergence among invasive and native populations of Plagioscion squamosissimus from four Neotropical hydrographic basins was assessed using the hypervariable domain of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region. Plagioscion squamosissimus is native to the neighbouring hydrographic basins of the Parnaíba and Amazon Rivers, and the latter includes the Araguaia-Tocantins drainage, but it is invasive in other basins due to introductions. The mtDNA nucleotide polymorphism supported the hypothesis that the Amazon and Parnaíba populations constitute the same species and are separated into two independent evolutionary lineages. Absence of nucleotide polymorphism was observed within and among P. squamosissimus populations invasive to the uppper and middle Paraná River basins. Nucleotide divergence was null or low comparing the Paraná invasive populations with the populations native to the Parnaíba River basin, whereas it was significantly high compared to Tocantins populations. These results ascertain that P. squamosissimus populations invasive to the upper Paraná River basin and to the middle Paraná River basin downstream of the Itaipu dam are derived from the Parnaíba River basin. The genetic data presented are potentially useful to assist further studies on P. squamosissimus taxonomic and geographic distribution, development of ecological guidelines for managing populations invasive to the upper Paraná River basin and for preservation of native fish diversity.

Genetic characterization of native and invasive Plagioscion squamosissimus (Perciformes, Sciaenidae) populations in Brazilian hydrographic basins

“…In the current study, the genetic variability between native and invasive populations of P. squamosissimus was verified by examining the mtDNA control region across populations. The results were consistent with those from RAPD, and they showed low genetic variability within and among the populations of the floodplain of the upper Paraná River, the Itaipu reservoir, and Parnaíba, and high genetic variability in the populations of the Tocantins River basin (Panarari-Antunes et al, 2012).…”

Genetic relationships of Plagioscion squamosissimus (Perciformes, Sciaenidae) from five Neotropical river basins evaluated using mitochondrial atpase6/8 gene sequences

“…In the case of introduced P. squamosissimus populations, others factors may also be related to its successful invasion. P. squamosissimus successfully colonised all the habitats of the Paraná River basin (Agostinho et al, 2008), despite the low genetic diversity rates observed in the current analyses and by Panarari-Antunes et al (2012, 2015.…”

“…Panarari‐Antunes et al . () revealed that P. squamosissimus offspring from the Parnaíba River basin occur only in the Paraná River basin and these have no kinship with the populations of the Amazon River basin. Thus, their findings support the current results.…”

“…P. squamosissimus successfully colonised all the habitats of the Paraná River basin (Agostinho et al, ), despite the low genetic diversity rates observed in the current analyses and by Panarari‐Antunes et al . (, ).…”

Genetic divergence among invasive and native populations of the yellow peacock cichlid Cichla kelberi

“…Molecular markers have been successfully used for intraspecific genetic divergence studies with invasive species, especially the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region (CR) (Prioli et al , ; Oliveira et al , ; Fitzpatrick et al , ; Panarari‐Antunes et al , ; Willis et al , ; Gasques et al , ). The mtDNA CR is much more variable than nuclear DNA loci ( e.g .…”