Genetic homogeneity of dolphinfish (<i>Coryphaena hippurus</i>) in the western Mediterranean and the eastern Atlantic

Abstract

SUMMARY: Dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) is an epipelagic, highly migratory species distributed worldwide in tropical and temperate waters including the Mediterranean Sea. Protein electrophoresis analyses can provide knowledge of the genetic population structure of the species and therefore be used as a tool for fishery management. Areas sampled include the islands of Majorca and Sicily in the western Mediterranean and the Canary Islands in the eastern Atlantic. The results of the protein electrophoresis reveal a level of genetic variability similar to other highly migratory species. No differences were found among locations, and it was not possible to reject the null hypothesis of one panmictic population in the area studied.

Taxonomic status of two morphotypes of Coryphaena hippurus (Perciformes: Coryphaenidae)

“…The difference between the levels of genetic variation found in the present study and those found by Pla and Pujolar (1999) can be explained by the loci that were sampled. In the study by Pla AND Pujolar (1999), of the 30 loci sampled, 22 were monomorphic, whereas in the present study, only one of the 17 loci sampled had only one allele, and the two studies only sampled three enzyme systems in common (Ldh, Mdh, and Sod). Some enzymes are known to exhibit more polymorphisms than others (Ward et al, 1992), which is the case in enzyme groups such as esterases and phosphoglucomutases.…”

“…Some enzymes are known to exhibit more polymorphisms than others (Ward et al, 1992), which is the case in enzyme groups such as esterases and phosphoglucomutases. This situation applies to enzymes such as α-Est, β-Est, and Pgi, which were used in this study and were not part of the Pla and Pujolar (1999) study. Therefore, the difference in the set of loci sampled between the two studies most likely explains the higher levels of genetic variation found in this study for the species C. hippurus.…”

“…These techniques can help resolve taxonomic issues associated with various groups of marine organisms (Knowlton, 2000), including fish (Berrebi, 2015;Nahar et al, 2015). This method has previously been applied to C. hippurus in studies of the genetic structure of stocks of the species found in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean islands (Oxenford, Hunte, 1986;Pla, Pujolar, 1999), as well as to define the taxonomic status of two species of the genus Coryphaena that are found in the Canary Islands (Pujolar, Pla, 2002).…”

Age, Growth and Reproduction of Coryphaena hippurus (Linnaeus, 1758) in Maltese Waters, Central Mediterranean

“…Protein electrophoresis performed on dolphinfish samples collected from around the islands of Majorca, the central Mediterranean and the Canary Islands revealed no genetic differences between these locations, providing initial evidence of a single population within the area studied. Separate genetic studies were also carried on samples from Malta and Tunisia also suggesting the existence of a single group of dolphinfish individuals in the studied area (Pla & Pujolar, 1999).…”

Growth and reproduction of the dolphinfish (<i>Coryphaena equiselis</i> and <i>Coryphaena hippurus</i>) in the Canary Islands, Central-East Atlantic (preliminary results)

“…During the CORY programme financed by the Commission of the European Communities (D.G. XIV), we were only able to segregate them using a genetic marker Pla and Pujolar, 1999), because none of the morphological characteristicss allowed for quick and reliable recognition. Coryphaena hippurus grows very quickly and its maximum longevity has been estimated at four years (Beardsley, 1967;Oxenford and Hunter, 1983;Uchiyama et al, 1986).…”