Combining genotypic and phenotypic variation in a geospatial framework to identify sources of mussels in northern New Zealand

10Citations
Citations of this article
16Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

The New Zealand green-lipped mussel aquaculture industry is largely dependent on the supply of young mussels that wash up on Ninety Mile Beach (so-called Kaitaia spat), which are collected and trucked to aquaculture farms. The locations of source populations of Kaitaia spat are unknown and this lack of knowledge represents a major problem because spat supply may be irregular. We combined genotypic (microsatellite) and phenotypic (shell geochemistry) data in a geospatial framework to determine if this new approach can help identify source populations of mussels collected from two spat-collecting and four non-spat-collecting sites further south. Genetic analyses resolved differentiated clusters (mostly three clusters), but no obvious source populations. Shell geochemistry analyses resolved six differentiated clusters, as did the combined genotypic and phenotypic data. Analyses revealed high levels of spatial and temporal variability in the geochemistry signal. Whilst we have not been able to identify the source site(s) of Kaitaia spat our analyses indicate that geospatial testing using combined genotypic and phenotypic data is a powerful approach. Next steps should employ analyses of single nucleotide polymorphism markers with shell geochemistry and in conjunction with high resolution physical oceanographic modelling to resolve the longstanding question of the origin of Kaitaia spat.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Gardner, J. P. A., Silva, C. N. S., Norrie, C. R., & Dunphy, B. J. (2021). Combining genotypic and phenotypic variation in a geospatial framework to identify sources of mussels in northern New Zealand. Scientific Reports, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-87326-4

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free