Genetic structure and population connectivity of the blue and red shrimp Aristeus antennatus

Abstract

The blue and red shrimp Aristeus antennatus is a demersal marine species harvested by bottom trawling in the Mediterranean Sea, the adjacent Atlantic Ocean (AO) waters, and the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean (IO). As it is considered to be a priority species for sustainable fishing, identification of its genetic stocks and the connectivity between them is essential. Using 12 microsatellite loci we detected at least four genetic stocks distributed in the Western Mediterranean (WM), Eastern Mediterranean (EM), AO, and IO and signals for a possible fifth stock in the Alborán Sea. We detected no additional population structuring within the WM. Thus, although the Almería-Orán Front exerts some isolating effect, high genetic homogeneity and gene flow are present within the WM Basin. The IO stock is genetically closer to the AO stock than to the others; thus, the species dispersion route is more likely via the Atlantic Ocean than via the Red Sea. Large effective population sizes suggest population sustainability, but moderate genetic diversity values indicate to proceed with caution. Our genetic results serve as a basis for species conservation to ensure long-term sustainability of this marine resource.

Genetic analyses reveal temporal stability and connectivity pattern in blue and red shrimp Aristeus antennatus populations

“…Our mean observed and expected heterozygosities (H O = 0.468, H E = 0.633) were in accordance with recent studies using the same set of microsatellite loci (H O = 0.443, H E = 0.611 recalculated excluding Aa421 33 ; H O = 0.458, H E = 0.628 34 ). The mean number of alleles per locus and sample (N A = 9.1, Table 2) was slightly higher than reported previously with the same microsatellite loci (N A = 7.9 recalculated excluding Aa421 33 ; N A = 7.8 34 ), probably due to the sample size in our study almost doubling the one in those previous studies. Higher diversity levels were observed in Italian and Algerian A. antennatus samples using eight distinct loci (H O = 0.650, H E = 0.800 19 ).…”

“…A result in accordance with the genetic homogeneity previously reported among the Western Mediterranean Basin red and blue shrimp populations from allozyme 15 , mitochondrial (16S rDNA, COI and control region 1,16,39 ) and microsatellites diversity 19 . In a recent study using the same set of microsatellite loci, genetic differentiation between the Alborán Sea and the remainder Western Mediterranean Basin was detected 34 . However, their results did not point out any significant differentiation among the only three samples of the Spanish Mediterranean coast, whereas our results indicated some degree of differentiation in the 2017 temporal collection (Tables 3, 4).…”

Genetic diversity and population structure of the rockpool shrimp Palaemon elegans based on microsatellites: evidence for a cryptic species and differentiation across the Atlantic–Mediterranean transition

“…the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis 40 , some fish species 41 , the barnacle Chthamalus montagui 42 or the wedge clam Donax trunculus 43 among others (see review in Patarnello et al 11 ). Notwithstanding, it is known that population connectivity across the Atlantic-Mediterranean transition is reduced in other species by different oceanographic discontinuities, namely the Strait of Gibraltar 24,44 , the Balearic Front and the Ibiza Channel 45,46 . Most recently, in the congeneric common littoral shrimp Palaemon serratus, both mtDNA 47 and nuclear 25 markers have reported strong genetic differentiation among Atlantic and Mediterranean localities with an unusual phylogeographical break located west of the Strait of Gibraltar in the Gulf of Cádiz.…”

“…Specifically in population genetics, microsatellites are extremely valuable tools as they might reveal the existence of genetically distinct populations even in fine-scale studies 20 . In fact, microsatellite loci have been crucial in understanding the population structure of several shrimp species as Penaeus vannamei 21 , Penaeus monodon 22 , Pandalus borealis 23 , Aristeus antennatus 24 or Palaemon serratus 25 . Thanks to the advent of high-throughput sequencing technologies, the development of microsatellite markers in non-model species has become a rapid and cost-effective process 26 .…”

Male Deep-Sea Shrimps Aristeus antennatus at Fishing Grounds: Growth and First Evaluation of Recruitment by Multilocus Genotyping

“…The blue and red shrimp is a deep-sea benthic crustacean that has a widespread dispersal potential [44], contributing to high gene flow and low levels of spatial genetic heterogeneity across the fishing grounds of the Mediterranean Sea [6,34,35,[45][46][47][48][49]. The horizontal displacement of A. antennatus might occur by passive and active dispersal mechanisms.…”