Megabalanus azoricus giant barnacles are the most traditional seafood of the Azores archipelago (NE Atlantic). This valuable commercial species has been highly exploited in the past and it is considered one of the key species for the development of aquaculture in the region. Despite the importance for conservation and aquaculture there is still a lack of basic information about M. azoricus genetic diversity and population structure. Here we used seven microsatellites markers to analyse 300 samples collected at six out of nine islands of the Azores archipelago, including also different locations from a single island, to provide information on the scale of genetic diversity and population structure of this species. Parameters like heterozygosity, allelic richness and effective number of alleles indicated a high genetic diversity and variability among islands. Pairwise comparisons and PCoA analysis on FST and Jost's DEST showed significant and evident differentiation among sampling locations. Additionally, AMOVA allocates a small (6.02%) but statistically significant portion of the variance to the among Island level revealing also a weak resolution (1.87%) at finer scale. Additionally Monte Carlo resampling methods indicated the most likely sources of the recruits were the local or adjacent populations. Genetic risks associated with the giant barnacle potential production scheme should be taken into account in a future management plan delimiting, as precautionary measure, this culture at a single island or at groups of islands here identified. Moreover a monitoring strategy should be implemented with the aim to evaluate possible changes in genetic parameters of native populations.

Genetic diversity and structure of Megabalanus azoricus in the Azores: Implications for aquaculture management

Torboli, Valentina
Formal Analysis
;
Pallavicini, Alberto
Writing – Review & Editing
;
2017-01-01

Abstract

Megabalanus azoricus giant barnacles are the most traditional seafood of the Azores archipelago (NE Atlantic). This valuable commercial species has been highly exploited in the past and it is considered one of the key species for the development of aquaculture in the region. Despite the importance for conservation and aquaculture there is still a lack of basic information about M. azoricus genetic diversity and population structure. Here we used seven microsatellites markers to analyse 300 samples collected at six out of nine islands of the Azores archipelago, including also different locations from a single island, to provide information on the scale of genetic diversity and population structure of this species. Parameters like heterozygosity, allelic richness and effective number of alleles indicated a high genetic diversity and variability among islands. Pairwise comparisons and PCoA analysis on FST and Jost's DEST showed significant and evident differentiation among sampling locations. Additionally, AMOVA allocates a small (6.02%) but statistically significant portion of the variance to the among Island level revealing also a weak resolution (1.87%) at finer scale. Additionally Monte Carlo resampling methods indicated the most likely sources of the recruits were the local or adjacent populations. Genetic risks associated with the giant barnacle potential production scheme should be taken into account in a future management plan delimiting, as precautionary measure, this culture at a single island or at groups of islands here identified. Moreover a monitoring strategy should be implemented with the aim to evaluate possible changes in genetic parameters of native populations.
2017
Pubblicato
www.elsevier.com/inca/publications/store/6/0/0/3/1/8
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1385110117301119
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
1-s2.0-S1385110117301119-main.pdf

Accesso chiuso

Tipologia: Documento in Versione Editoriale
Licenza: Copyright Editore
Dimensione 565.26 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
565.26 kB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri   Richiedi una copia
Pubblicazioni consigliate

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11368/2939891
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 2
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 1
social impact