Genetic Structure in a Small Pelagic Fish Coincides with a Marine Protected Area: Seascape Genetics in Patagonian Fjords.

Marine environmental variables can play an important role in promoting population genetic differentiation in marine organisms. Although fjord ecosystems have attracted much attention due to the great oscillation of environmental variables that produce heterogeneous habitats, species inhabiting this...

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Main Authors: Cristian B Canales-Aguirre, Sandra Ferrada-Fuentes, Ricardo Galleguillos, Cristián E Hernández
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2016-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4978504?pdf=render
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author Cristian B Canales-Aguirre
Sandra Ferrada-Fuentes
Ricardo Galleguillos
Cristián E Hernández
author_facet Cristian B Canales-Aguirre
Sandra Ferrada-Fuentes
Ricardo Galleguillos
Cristián E Hernández
author_sort Cristian B Canales-Aguirre
collection DOAJ
description Marine environmental variables can play an important role in promoting population genetic differentiation in marine organisms. Although fjord ecosystems have attracted much attention due to the great oscillation of environmental variables that produce heterogeneous habitats, species inhabiting this kind of ecosystem have received less attention. In this study, we used Sprattus fuegensis, a small pelagic species that populates the inner waters of the continental shelf, channels and fjords of Chilean Patagonia and Argentina, as a model species to test whether environmental variables of fjords relate to population genetic structure. A total of 282 individuals were analyzed from Chilean Patagonia with eight microsatellite loci. Bayesian and non-Bayesian analyses were conducted to describe the genetic variability of S. fuegensis and whether it shows spatial genetic structure. Results showed two well-differentiated genetic clusters along the Chilean Patagonia distribution (i.e. inside the embayment area called TicToc, and the rest of the fjords), but no spatial isolation by distance (IBD) pattern was found with a Mantel test analysis. Temperature and nitrate were correlated to the expected heterozygosities and explained the allelic frequency variation of data in the redundancy analyses. These results suggest that the singular genetic differences found in S. fuegensis from inside TicToc Bay (East of the Corcovado Gulf) are the result of larvae retention bya combination of oceanographic mesoscale processes (i.e. the west wind drift current reaches the continental shelf exactly in this zone), and the local geographical configuration (i.e. embayment area, islands, archipelagos). We propose that these features generated an isolated area in the Patagonian fjords that promoted genetic differentiation by drift and a singular biodiversity, adding support to the existence of the largest marine protected area (MPA) of continental Chile, which is the Tic-Toc MPA.
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spelling doaj.art-76d3a8fc0bc743ebb100258669769ab72022-12-21T20:14:12ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032016-01-01118e016067010.1371/journal.pone.0160670Genetic Structure in a Small Pelagic Fish Coincides with a Marine Protected Area: Seascape Genetics in Patagonian Fjords.Cristian B Canales-AguirreSandra Ferrada-FuentesRicardo GalleguillosCristián E HernándezMarine environmental variables can play an important role in promoting population genetic differentiation in marine organisms. Although fjord ecosystems have attracted much attention due to the great oscillation of environmental variables that produce heterogeneous habitats, species inhabiting this kind of ecosystem have received less attention. In this study, we used Sprattus fuegensis, a small pelagic species that populates the inner waters of the continental shelf, channels and fjords of Chilean Patagonia and Argentina, as a model species to test whether environmental variables of fjords relate to population genetic structure. A total of 282 individuals were analyzed from Chilean Patagonia with eight microsatellite loci. Bayesian and non-Bayesian analyses were conducted to describe the genetic variability of S. fuegensis and whether it shows spatial genetic structure. Results showed two well-differentiated genetic clusters along the Chilean Patagonia distribution (i.e. inside the embayment area called TicToc, and the rest of the fjords), but no spatial isolation by distance (IBD) pattern was found with a Mantel test analysis. Temperature and nitrate were correlated to the expected heterozygosities and explained the allelic frequency variation of data in the redundancy analyses. These results suggest that the singular genetic differences found in S. fuegensis from inside TicToc Bay (East of the Corcovado Gulf) are the result of larvae retention bya combination of oceanographic mesoscale processes (i.e. the west wind drift current reaches the continental shelf exactly in this zone), and the local geographical configuration (i.e. embayment area, islands, archipelagos). We propose that these features generated an isolated area in the Patagonian fjords that promoted genetic differentiation by drift and a singular biodiversity, adding support to the existence of the largest marine protected area (MPA) of continental Chile, which is the Tic-Toc MPA.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4978504?pdf=render
spellingShingle Cristian B Canales-Aguirre
Sandra Ferrada-Fuentes
Ricardo Galleguillos
Cristián E Hernández
Genetic Structure in a Small Pelagic Fish Coincides with a Marine Protected Area: Seascape Genetics in Patagonian Fjords.
PLoS ONE
title Genetic Structure in a Small Pelagic Fish Coincides with a Marine Protected Area: Seascape Genetics in Patagonian Fjords.
title_full Genetic Structure in a Small Pelagic Fish Coincides with a Marine Protected Area: Seascape Genetics in Patagonian Fjords.
title_fullStr Genetic Structure in a Small Pelagic Fish Coincides with a Marine Protected Area: Seascape Genetics in Patagonian Fjords.
title_full_unstemmed Genetic Structure in a Small Pelagic Fish Coincides with a Marine Protected Area: Seascape Genetics in Patagonian Fjords.
title_short Genetic Structure in a Small Pelagic Fish Coincides with a Marine Protected Area: Seascape Genetics in Patagonian Fjords.
title_sort genetic structure in a small pelagic fish coincides with a marine protected area seascape genetics in patagonian fjords
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4978504?pdf=render
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