Genetic stock structure of blue-eye trevalla (Hyperoglyphe antarctica) and warehous (Seriolella brama and Seriolella punctata) in south-eastern Australian waters

Abstract

Blue-eye trevalla (Hyperoglyphe antarctica), blue warehou (Seriolella brama) and silver warehou (Seriolella punctata) from the family Centrolophidae are three commercially important species in the Australian fishery. These species are currently managed as single stocks. We tested the hypothesis that patterns of phenotypic structuring in these species reflect underlying genetic stock structure using an analysis of mitochondrial DNA control region sequences. The analysis revealed high levels of haplotype diversity within populations. The most common haplotypes for the species occurred in all geographical locations sampled. For S. brama, although structuring was not significant after Bonferroni correction, differences between two sites were sufficient to warrant caution in the management of fishery zones for this species. There were also some indications of structuring when sites were grouped into common regions. Demographic analysis suggested that S. brama might have had a history of population bottlenecks followed by sudden population expansion, potentially contributing to genetic structuring in the fishery. No structuring was detected for H. antarctica and S. punctata. The present study highlights the need for, and the utility of, multiple sources of information, that is, genetic, phenotypic, behavioural and ecological, when managing marine fisheries and the need to take a cautionary approach to the interpretation of genetic data for fisheries management.

Genetic Connectivity of Seamount Populations of Bluenose Warehou (Hyperoglyphe antarctica)

“…The high levels of panmixia (and inferred genetic connectivity) indicated by both the mitochondrial and microsatellite analyses conducted suggest that the four seamount populations form one greater genetic population; this is clear in the clustering presented in the DAPC analysis, wherein genetic clusters are formed of individuals from all seamounts without a geographic a priori, and the overlap of clusters when seamount is taken into account. Such results are in line with those reported for H. antarctica populations within Australia and New Zealand (Bolch et al, 1993;Hindell et al, 2005; Robinson et al, 2008). Importantly, genetic diversity was higher within than between populations, supporting panmixia and the identified lack of geographic population structure across the TdC EEZ populations.…”

“…Quantifying the level of population connectivity between these geographically separated single-species fisheries stocks will therefore be vital in understanding the potential for ecologically divergent populations, and designing effective management plans to preserve such populations. In determining the genetic connectivity of H. antarctica stocks within Tristan da Cunha, in line with the likely high level of panmixia apparent in other geographically separated H. antarctica stocks (Horn, 2003;Robinson et al, 2008), we hypothesize that populations will show high levels of connectivity, and likely little population structure. We also examine the genetic connectivity of H. antarctica populations across the Southern Ocean, and hypothesize high levels of connectivity, and low levels of genetic diversity between populations.…”

“…To examine the wider connectivity of H. antarctica populations, 130 CR sequences from the present study were assessed against CR sequences from 400 H. antarctica individuals previously collected within New Zealand and Australian waters (encompassing the "Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF), " see detail in Robinson et al, 2008). All 530 sequences were aligned in SeaView and cropped to allow analysis of overlapping regions (204 bp).…”

“…The structure of regional H. antarctica stocks (predominantly within New Zealand and Australia) has been examined using both morphological and genetic methods. All work has found evidence for population panmixia and lack of stock structure (Horn and Massey, 1989;Bolch et al, 1993;Horn, 2003;Hindell et al, 2005;Robinson et al, 2008;Williams et al, 2017), likely associated with geographically distant populations showing high levels of population mixing due to high individual dispersal at the settlement stage. Despite this, within the Tristan da Cunha Exclusive Economic Zone (TdC EEZ), where a sporadic fishery for H. antarctica at four seamounts has occurred since 1997, there is no understanding of the genetic diversity inherent within fished populations.…”

Trophic ecology of barrelfish (Hyperoglyphe perciformis) in oceanic waters of southeast Florida

“…An example of such benthopelagic fishes are members of the Hyperoglyphe genus, which are known to consume vertically migrating gelatinous zooplankton. These fishes are poorly understood with most studies focused on Hyperoglyphe antarctica (Carmichael, 1919), the blue-eye trevalla, in the Indian and Pacific Oceans (Winstanley 1978, Bolch et al 1993, Robinson et al 2008, Fay et al 2011. Barrelfish Hyperoglyphe perciformis (Mitchell, 1818) are an understudied congener present throughout the slope waters of the western central Atlantic Ocean (Filer andSedberry 2008, Goldman andSedberry 2011).…”