Biodiversity, Ecology and Genome Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Rabat, Morocco.
Research and Development Unit on Marine Biology, National Institute of Fisheries Research, Casablanca, Morocco.
PeerJ. 2024 Sep 5;12:e17928. doi: 10.7717/peerj.17928. eCollection 2024.
Sustainable management of transboundary fish stocks hinges on accurate delineation of population structure. Genetic analysis offers a powerful tool to identify potential subpopulations within a seemingly homogenous stock, facilitating the development of effective, coordinated management strategies across international borders. Along the West African coast, the Atlantic chub mackerel () is a commercially important and ecologically significant species, yet little is known about its genetic population structure and connectivity. Currently, the stock is managed as a single unit in West African waters despite new research suggesting morphological and adaptive differences. Here, eight microsatellite loci were genotyped on 1,169 individuals distributed across 33 sampling sites from Morocco (27.39°N) to Namibia (22.21°S). Bayesian clustering analysis depicts one homogeneous population across the studied area with null overall differentiation ( = 0.0001), which suggests panmixia and aligns with the migratory potential of this species. This finding has significant implications for the effective conservation and management of within a wide scope of its distribution across West African waters from the South of Morocco to the North-Centre of Namibia and underscores the need for increased regional cooperation in fisheries management and conservation.
大西洋马鲛的可持续管理取决于对种群结构的准确划分。遗传分析为识别看似同质种群中的潜在亚种群提供了有力工具，有助于在国际边界内制定有效的协调管理策略。在西非沿海，大西洋马鲛 () 是一种具有商业重要性和生态重要性的物种，但对其遗传种群结构和连通性知之甚少。尽管新的研究表明存在形态和适应性差异，但目前该种群仍在西非水域作为一个单一单位进行管理。在这里，在摩洛哥（北纬 27.39°）到纳米比亚（南纬 22.21°）的 33 个采样点共分析了 1169 个个体的 8 个微卫星基因座。贝叶斯聚类分析描绘了研究区域内的一个同质群体，总体分化为零（ = 0.0001），这表明该物种具有广泛的混合和迁徙潜力。这一发现对在从摩洛哥南部到纳米比亚中北部的广阔范围内有效保护和管理大西洋马鲛具有重要意义，并强调需要加强渔业管理和保护方面的区域合作。
