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Connectivity and genetic structure of the queen conch on the Mesoamerican Reef

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Abstract

The queen conch (Strombus gigas) is a commercially important marine invertebrate that is widely distributed throughout the western Atlantic, from Bermuda to Brazil. Intense exploitation has resulted in a decrease in population numbers of this species, which is listed as protected from commercial exploitation under IUCN and CITES. Previous studies on population genetics have demonstrated contrasting results in terms of the population structure of S. gigas. This research analyzed the genetic connectivity of the queen conch over a wide area of the Mesoamerican Reef System to determine whether S. gigas presents one panmictic population or a more complex structure. Furthermore, we evaluated the risk of local extinction by establishing the genetic diversity of the studied populations. High resolution was obtained for the five ISSR markers used for a total of 190 individuals, from seven localities along the Mesoamerican Reef. Our results reject the panmictic structure hypothesis for the queen conch in the study area and demonstrate genetic patchiness, indicating general homogeneity among localities that present an isolation-by-distance pattern. However, some genetic temporal variation was confirmed for the Cozumel locality. Furthermore, our results reveal self-recruitment for the Alacranes Reef aggregation and suggest sufficient connectivity with localities on the Caribbean coast to maintain high genetic diversity. With regard to genetic diversity, the results demonstrate that the queen conch is not genetically threatened in the study area. This is probably due to high annual recruitment within Caribbean queen conch aggregations, and suggests that S. gigas is a highly resilient organism. We advocate that the appropriate management of S. gigas (fishing quota and/or closed season) must be followed to attain a rapid recovery of queen conch populations. This study represents a fundamental step in the understanding of the dynamic population structure of S. gigas in the Mesoamerican Reef and is an important contribution toward improving the future management of this commercially protected species.

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Acknowledgements

Samples in Xcalak National Reef Park and Banco Chinchorro Biosphere Reserve were collected under permit PPF/DGOPA-064/13 (Comisión Nacional de Acuacultura y Pesca, Mexico), and in the Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve under CITES Permit No. 3922 (Fisheries Department of Belize). Samples from Puerto Morelos Reef National Park and the Cozumel Island Protected Area of Fauna and Flora were obtained from seizures of illegal catch with permission from the relevant authority. Samples from the Alacranes National Reef Park were obtained under authorization from the director of the Park. We thank the directors of the protected natural areas where we sampled, as well as their staff who supported us in the field. We thank the Oceanic Society for their support for fieldwork at Turneffe Atoll in Belize. We are particularly grateful to Nataly Castelblanco Martínez for her help during our stay in Belize. Thanks to Nataly Gutiérrez Isaza, Guadalupe Guerrero Hernández and Artemio Poot Balam for their help in sample collection. We also thank the fishery authorities of Mexico and Belize for their care and kindness during the process of obtaining the relevant permits. The inputs for the study area map were provided by the Biodiversity and Environmental Resource Data System of Belize, Espacio Digital Geográfico (SEMARNAT), and the Cortal de Geoinformación (CONABIO). We would like to thank Arely Martínez Arce from ECOSUR for her technical help in the laboratory. Finally, we are particularly grateful to the anonymous referees for their time. Their valuable comments greatly improved the quality of the manuscript.

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  1. Grupo Académico Interacción Adaptación y Biodiversidad, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Avenida Centenario Km 5.5, AP 424, 77014, Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico

    Salima Machkour-M’Rabet, Jorge Cruz-Medina & Yann Hénaut

  2. Laboratorio de Genética para la Conservación, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste (CIBNOR), S.C., Ave. Instituto Politécnico Nacional No. 195, Col. Playa Palo de Santa Rita, 23096, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico

    Francisco J. García-De León

  3. Estructura y Función del Bentos, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Avenida Centenario Km 5.5, AP 424, 77014, Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico

    Alberto De Jesús-Navarrete

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  1. Salima Machkour-M’Rabet
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Machkour-M’Rabet, S., Cruz-Medina, J., García-De León, F.J. et al. Connectivity and genetic structure of the queen conch on the Mesoamerican Reef. Coral Reefs 36, 535–548 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-017-1551-3

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