Microsatellites-based genetic analysis of the Lophiidae fish in Europe

Abstract

The anglerfish species Lophius piscatorius and Lophius budegassa are among the most valuable fishes sought after by bottom fisheries in western and southern European waters. It is currently believed that there are two stocks for each of the two species, north and south, which determine their assessment and management. A genetic analysis using eight polymorphic microsatellite markers was carried out on samples collected from western European waters and the south-western Mediterranean Sea. The results strongly suggest that the boundary between northern and southern stocks is not genetically supported. However, populations were not genetically homogeneous. Besides a pattern of genetic differentiation between Mediterranean and the rest of the samples, the L. budegassa samples taken from the Spain Atlantic zone and from the Portugal Atlantic zone were genetically distinct, whereas the samples taken in the French Atlantic zone for the L. piscatorius species seem to be different from the rest of the samples under study. This can be indicative of a more subtle genetic structure that deserves more study for guaranteeing adequate fishery management of these species.

Evidence of stock connectivity, hybridization and misidentification in white anglerfish support the need of a genetics-informed fisheries management framework

“…Our results suggest that the white anglerfish within the Northeast Atlantic Ocean constitutes a genetically homogeneous population, which confirms previous findings based on genetic and non-genetic data (Crozier, 1987; Laurenson et al, 2005; Charrier et al, 2006; Blanco et al, 2008; Landa et al, 2008; Cañás et al, 2012) and point towards the necessity to harmonize current stock definitions. Morphometric characteristics such as length of maturity (Duarte et al, 2001) or weight-length relationships (Landa and Antolínez, 2018) differ between stocks.…”

“…Our results show that the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean white anglerfish populations are genetically isolated, challenging previous findings based on genetic data (Charrier et al, 2006), and that the white anglerfish within the Northeast Atlantic Ocean constitutes a genetically homogeneous population, shedding light into previous unconclusive results based on genetic and non-genetic data (Blanco et al, 2008;Cañás et al, 2012;Crozier, 1987;Charrier et al, 2006;J. Landa et al, 2008;Laurenson et al, 2005).…”

“…Within the Northeast Atlantic, the white anglerfish is managed as three stocks (Figure 1): the Northern Shelf stock (Skagerrak, Kattegat, North Sea, West of Scotland and Rockall), the Northern stock (Celtic Seas and Northern Bay of Biscay) and the Southern Stock (Atlantic and Iberian waters) (ICES, 2019a(ICES, , 2019b); yet, the few studies assessing the population structure, based on otolith shape analysis (Cañás, Stransky, Schlickeisen, Sampedro, & Fariña, 2012), tagging surveys (J. Landa, Quincoces, Duarte, Fariña, & Dupouy, 2008;Laurenson, Johnson, & Priede, 2005) and molecular markers, including allozymes (Crozier, 1987), mitochondrial DNA (Charrier et al, 2006) and microsatellites (Blanco, Borrell, Cagigas, Vázquez, & Prado, 2008), did not find differences between stocks. However, this needs to be confirmed with the analysis of a large number of genomic markers, which has been effective in resolving the population structure of marine fish when other markers failed (Leone, Álvarez, García, Saborido-Rey, & Rodriguez-Ezpeleta, 2019;Rodríguez-Ezpeleta et al, 2016;Rodríguez-Ezpeleta et al, 2019).…”

Use of the otolith shape analysis in stock identification of anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius) in the Northeast Atlantic

“…Two stocks are defined in the Southern Shelf area, the Northern stock in Divisions VIIb-k and VIIIa, b, and d and the Southern stock in Divisions VIIIc and IXa (ICES, 2010). Three management units are currently distinguished within the Northern Shelf stock (ICES, 2009), and there are indications of metapopulations in the Southern Shelf area (Duarte et al, 2004;Blanco et al, 2008).…”

Age and growth of anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius) on the Porcupine Bank (west of Ireland) based on illicia age estimation

“…Laurenson et al (2005) and Landa et al (2008b) showed also interaction between Atlantic stocks of white anglerfish. Charrier et al (2006) related the ecological traits of dispersion of this species with its limited genetic structure observed (Crozier, 1987;O'Sullivan et al, 2005;Charrier et al, 2006), although Blanco et al (2008) also suggested that white anglerfish may also have a more complex genetic structure of their populations. Those evidences of geographical movements and dispersion, and the high gene flow within populations (Fariña et al, 2004;Charrier et al, 2006) could support the idea that some biological features, as the growth pattern of this species, could not be as different along of its geographical distribution as can be found for other more sedentary demersal species.…”