Volume 47
Preliminary results of a protein electrophoretic analysis of genetic variation, population structure and gene flow in the nassau grouper, Epinephelus striatus.
Authors
Hateley, J.G. Download PDF Open PDF in BrowserOther Information
Date: 2005
Pages: 888-905
Event: Proceedings of the Forty Seventh Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute
City: Fort Pierce, Florida
Country: USA
Abstract
Preliminary results are presented of genetic variability and population structure in the commercially important grouper Epinephelus striatus, examined through enzyme electrophoresis. 21 enzyme systems were screened and clearly resolved enzyme phenotypes were obtained at 20 loci of which 5 exhibited polymorphisms; AH*, CK*, GPI-1*, GPI-2* and SOD*. Scoring at these 20 loci for 5 samples (264 individuals). revealed intermediate - low levels of genetic variability; mean heterozygosities per locus = 0.024, proportion of polymorphic loci = 0.15, and the mean effective number of alleles = 1.45. No evidence was found for population substructuring by sex or small-scale spatial distribution. Analyses of allelic frequencies, using samples from Belize, Bahamas, Turks and Caicos and Cayman Islands, provided no evidence of macrogeographic stock separation. As all samples conformed to Hardy-Weinberg expectations, these results are consistent with a single panmictic population within the northern Caribbean basin. Estimates of mean Nem, the effective number of migrants per generation, through standardized variances of allelic frequencies (Fst), and the frequencies of private alleles, indicated that gene flow in the region must be high. Recommendations for resource management are discussed.