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Population Structure and Dynamics in Mahimahi (Coryphaena hippurus) as Inferred through Analysis of Mitochondrial DNAThe proposed research will study the spatial scale of population subdivision in C. hippurus collected worldwide using a phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). The information generated from this study will benefit pelagic fisheries by providing an evolutionary perspective on the demography of the circumtropical fish, C. hippurus. Such data now exist for salmon and whale populations, and new directions for management have arisen because of the global connections uncovered. Researchers hope to estimate levels of gene flow, effective numbers of reproducing females, and to reconstruct the dynamics of populations that have given rise to the levels of genetic diversity currently maintained in this species, as well as discern population structure. This information will not only provide insights into the stability of tropical and subtropical pelagic fish populations, but will also be useful to other researchers working on similar problems in pelagic fisheries.
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Principal
Investigator: |
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Dr. Carol Reeb c/o Hopkins Marine Station Stanford University 120 Ocean View Blvd. Pacific Grove, California 93950-3094 Phone (408) 655-6200 FAX (408) 375-0793 |
Dr. Rebecca Cann Department of Genetics & Molecular Biology University of Hawaii at Manoa 1960 East-West Road, Biomed A-204 Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 Phone (808) 956-5521/6907 FAX (808) 956-5506 |
Progress Report - July 1996 Purpose
of the Project: Progress
during FY 1996: Between 1991 and 1993, 200 samples of Coryphaena hippurus (mahimahi) were collected from eleven sites worldwide to examine global population structure. Initially, 270 base pairs of Cytochrome b from the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) were sequenced in 55 fish to determine the amount of genetic polymorphism contained in this species. Only thirteen mtDNA haplotypes were found. One lineage was found to be very common and distributed worldwide while the remaining twelve were quite rare. While these data were not useful in discerning population subdivision, it did suggest that C. hippurus populations, like a number of other pelagic fish populations, have not been stable during the Pleistocene. These data suggest the following three scenarios: (1) a catastrophic near extinction, (2) demographic parameters favoring males (in vertebrates, mtDNA is thought to be transmitted through females only), or (3) recurrent extinction and recolonization of populations. Recently, more effort has been put into finding a faster-evolving part of the mtDNA to better study population structure in C. hippurus. We have found that these fish possess a very large control region relative to other fish such as the swordfish. We have determined that this size difference is due to a short (8 base pair), tandem, repetitive sequence present 100 times or more. This sequence is analogous to a rapidly-evolving microsatellite sequence, and it appears to provide a significant amount of polymorphism with which to test for population subdivision. We have begun to assay this repeat region for the 200 samples collected worldwide. Plans
for the next Fiscal Year:
This page updated August 16, 2006 |