Genetic homogeneity and historical expansions of the slipper lobster, Scyllarides brasiliensis, in the south-west Atlantic

Abstract

Management strategies for fisheries species require understanding their connectivity and population dynamics. The Brazilian slipper lobster, Scyllarides brasiliensis, is one of the most commercially important slipper lobster species in South America. We investigated, for the first time, the population genetic structure and evolutionary history of this species. Analyses of sequences of the cytochrome oxidase I gene (COI) and the control region (CR) did not reveal any significant genetic structure of S. brasiliensis (N≤202) along 2700km of the Atlantic coast (COI: ΦST≤0.0004, ΦCT≤0-0.005, P>0.05; CR: ΦST≤0.004, ΦCT≤0-0.029, P>0.05). The genetic homogeneity found suggests high levels of gene flow along the area that are possibly related to the high dispersal potential of the planktonic larvae of the species. Furthermore, the data indicate that demographic and geographical expansions of this slipper lobster population have occurred during the late and middle Pleistocene, which could be related to the fluctuating environmental conditions of that period. © CSIRO 2014.