Skip to main content
Log in

Mitochondrial DNA differentiation and population structure in red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) from the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean

  • Published:
Marine Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Variation in mitochondrial (mt)DNA was examined among 473 red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) sampled in 1988 and 1989 from nearshore localities in the northern Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) and the Atlantic coast of the southeastern United States (Atlantic). Data were combined with those from a previous study to generate a total of 871 individuals sampled from 11 localities in the Gulf and 5 localities in the Atlantic. Individuals assayed were from the 1986 and 1987 year-classes. A total of 118 composite mtDNA genotypes (haplotypes) was found. The percentage nucleotide sequence divergence among the 118 haplotypes ranged from 0.184 to 1.913, with a mean (±SE) of 0.878±0.004. MtDNA nucleon diversities and intrapopulational nucleotide-sequence divergence values were similar over all Gulf and Atlantic localities, and were high relative to most fish species surveyed to date. These data indicate that the perceived decline in red drum abundance appears not to have affected the genetic variability base of the species. Significant heterogeneity in the frequencies of at least four haplotypes was detected between pooled samples from the Gulf vs pooled samples from the Atlantic. No heterogeneity was found among localities from the Gulf or localities from the Atlantic. High levels of gene flow among all localities were inferred from F ST values (a measure of the variance in mtDNA haplotype frequencies) and from Slatkin's qualitative and quantitative analyses. Parsimony and phenetic analyses revealed no strong evidence for phylogeographic cohesion of localities, although there was weak support for cohesion of four of five localities from the Atlantic. These data indicate that the red drum population is subdivided, with weakly differentiated subpopulations (stocks) occurring in the northern Gulf and along the Atlantic coast of southeastern USA. Spatial autocor-relation analysis and heterogeneity tests of haplotype frequencies among regions within the Gulf supported the hypothesis of increased gene flow among neighboring localities; i.e., migration of individuals within the Gulf may be inversely related to geographic distance from an estuary or bay of natal origin. Estimates of evolutionary effective female-population size indicate that the red drum subpopulations may be large.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Literature cited

  • Adkins, G., Tarver, J., Bowman, P., Savoie, B. (1979). A study of commercial finfish in coastal Louisiana. Tech. Bull. La Dep. Wildl. Fish., Baton Rouge July: 1–92

  • Avise, J. C. (1989). Gene trees and organismal history: a phylogenetic approach to population biology. Evolution 43: 1192–1208

    Google Scholar 

  • Avise, J. C. (1992) Molecular population structure and the biogeographic history of a regional fauna: a case history with lessons for conservation biology. Oikos 63: 62–76

    Google Scholar 

  • Avise, J. C., Ball, R. M., Arnold, J. (1988). Current versus historical population sizes in vertebrate species with high gene flow: a comparison based on mitochondrial DNA lineages and inbreeding theory for neutral mutations. Molec. Biol. Evol. 5: 331–344

    Google Scholar 

  • Birky, Jr., C. W., Maruyama, T., Fuerst, P. (1983) Mitochondrial DNAs and phylogenetic relationships. In: Dutta, S. K. (ed.) DNA systematics. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, p. 107–137

    Google Scholar 

  • Bohlmeyer, D. A., Gold, J. R. (1991). Genetic studies in marine fishes. II. A protein electrophoretic analysis of population structure in the red drum Sciaenops ocellatus. Mar. Biol. 108: 197–206

    Google Scholar 

  • Bumguardner, B. W. (1991). Marking subadult red drums with oxytetracycline. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 120: 537–540

    Google Scholar 

  • Chamberlain, G. W., Miget, R. J., Haby, M. G. (eds) (1987). Manual on red drum aquaculture. Texas Agricultural Extension Service and Sea Grant College Program, Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, D. W. (1968). The significance level in multiple tests made simultaneously. Heredity 23: 614–617

    Google Scholar 

  • DeSalle, R., Templeton, A., Mori, I., Pletscher, S., Johnson, J. S. (1987). Temporal and spatial heterogeneity of mtDNA polymorphisms in natural populations of Drosophila mercatorum. Genetics, Austin, Tex. 116: 215–233

    Google Scholar 

  • Felsenstein, J. (1987). PHYLIP: phylogeny inference package. University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Frankel, O. H., Soulé, M. E. (1981). Conservation and Evolution. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England

    Google Scholar 

  • Gold, J. R., King, T. L., Richardson, L. R., Bohlmeyer, D. A., Matlock, G. C. (1993). Genetic studies in marine fishes. VII. Allozyme differentiation within and between red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) from the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean. (in preparation)

  • Gold, J. R., Richardson, L. R. (1990). Restriction site heteroplasmy in the mitochondrial DNA of the marine fish Sciaenops ocellatus (L.). Anim. Genet. 21: 313–316

    Google Scholar 

  • Gold, J. R., Richardson, L. R. (1991). Genetic studies in marine fishes. IV. An analysis of population structure in the red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) using mitochondrial DNA. Fish. Res. 12: 213–241

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodyear, C. P. (1989) Status of the red drum stocks of the Gulf of Mexico. Report for 1989. Southeast Fisheries Center, Miami Laboratory, Coastal Resources Division, Miami, Florida (Contr. No. CRD 88/89-14)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kornfield, I., Bogdanowicz, S. M. (1987). Differentiation of mitochondrial DNA in Atlantic herring, Clupea harengus. Fish. Bull. U.S. 85: 561–568

    Google Scholar 

  • Lux, F. E., Mahoney, J. V. (1969). First record of the channel bass, Sciaenops ocellata (Linnaeus), in the Gulf of Maine. Copeia 1969: 632–633

    Google Scholar 

  • Lyczkowski-Schultz, J., Steen, Jr., J. P., Comyns, B. H. (1988). Early life history of red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) in the northcentral Gulf of Mexico. Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium and Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Ocean Springs, Mississippi. (Project No. R/LR-12)

    Google Scholar 

  • Matlock, G. C. (1984). A basis for the development of a management plan for red drum in Texas. Ph. D. dissertation. Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas

    Google Scholar 

  • Matlock, G. C. (1987). The life history of the red drum. In: Chamberlain, G. W., Miget, R. J., Haby, M. G. (eds.) Manual on red drum aquaculture. Texas Agricultural Extension Service and Sea Grant College Program, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, p. 1–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Matlock, G. C., Weaver, J. E. (1979). Fish tagging in Texas bays during November 1975–September 1976. Mgmt Data Ser., Tex. Pks Wldl. Dep., cstl Fish. Brch 1–136

  • McElroy, D., Moran, P., Bermingham, E., Kornfield, I. (1992). REAP — The restriction enzyme analysis package. J. Hered. 83: 157–158

    Google Scholar 

  • McIlwain, T., McEachron, L., Murphy, M. D., Nelson, W. R., Shepard, J., Van Hoose, M., Condrey, R., Bane, N., Becker, R. E. (1986). State-federal cooperative program for red drum research in the Gulf of Mexico. Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission. Ocean Springs, Mississippi

    Google Scholar 

  • Mercer, L. (1984). A biological and fisheries profile of red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus. Spec. scient. Rep. N. Carol. Dep. nat. Resour. Community Dev., Div. mar. Fish. 41: 1–89

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, M. D., Taylor, R. G. (1990). Reproduction, growth, and mortality of red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus, in Florida. Fish. Bull. U. S. 88: 531–542

    Google Scholar 

  • Nei, M., Li, W.-H. (1979). Mathematical models for studying genetic variation in terms of restriction endonucleases. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 76: 5269–5273

    Google Scholar 

  • Nei, M., Stephens, J. C., Saitou, N. (1985). Methods for computing the standard errors of branching points in an evolutionary tree and their application to molecular data from humans and apes. Molec. Biol. Evol. 2: 66–85

    Google Scholar 

  • Nei, M., Tajima, F. (1981). DNA polymorphism detectable by restriction endonucleases. Genetics, Austin, Tex. 97: 145–163

    Google Scholar 

  • Nichols, S. (1988). An estimate of the size of the red drum spawning stock using mark/recapture. Southeast Fisheries Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, Mississippi Laboratory, Pascagoula Facility, Pascagoula, Mississippi

    Google Scholar 

  • Osburn, H. R., Matlock, G. C., Green, A. W. (1982). Red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) movement in Texas bays. Contr. mar. Sci., Univ. Tex. 25: 85–97

    Google Scholar 

  • Overstreet, R. M. (1983). Aspects of the biology of the red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), in Mississippi. Gulf Res. Rep. Suppl. 1: 45–68

    Google Scholar 

  • Quattro, J. M., Vrijenhoek, R. C. (1989). Fitness differences among remnant populations of the endangered Sonoran topminnow. Science, N. Y. 245: 976–978

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramsey, P. R., Wakeman, J. M. (1987). Population structure of Sciaenops ocellatus and Cynoscion nebulosus (Pisces: Sciaenidae): biochemical variation, genetic subdivision and dispersal. Copeia 1987: 682–695

    Google Scholar 

  • Reagan, R. E. (1985). Species profiles: life histories and environmental requirements of coastal fishes and invertebrates (Gulf of Mexico) — red drum. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. biol. Rep. 82(11.36): 1–16 (U.S. Army Corps Engineers, Ref. No. TR EL-82-4)

  • Richardson, L. R., Gold, J. R. (1993). Mitochondrial DNA variation in red grouper (Epinephelus morio) and greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili) from the Gulf of Mexico. J. mar. Sci. (in press)

  • Roff, D. A., Bentzen, P. (1989). The statistical analysis of mitochondrial polymorphisms: chi-square and the problem of small samples. Molec. Biol. Evol. 6: 539–545

    Google Scholar 

  • Rohlf, F. J. (1983). BIOM-PC: a package of statistical programs to accompany the text BIOMETRY. W. H. Freeman & Co., San Francisco, California

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, T. R., Gold, J. R. (1992). A restriction enzyme map of the mitochondrial DNA of red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus (Teleostei: Sciaenidae). NE. Gulf Sci. 12: 135–139

    Google Scholar 

  • Slatkin, M. (1981). Estimating levels of gene flow in natural populations. Genetics, Austin, Tex. 95: 323–335

    Google Scholar 

  • Slatkin, M. (1985). Rare alleles as indicators of gene flow. Evolution 39: 53–65

    Google Scholar 

  • Sneath, P. H. A., Sokal, R. R. (1973). Numerical taxonomy — the principles and practice of numerical classification. W. H. Freeman & Co., San Francisco

    Google Scholar 

  • Sokal, R. R., Oden, N. L. (1978a). Spatial autocorrelation in biology. I. Methodology. J. Linn. Soc. 10: 199–228

    Google Scholar 

  • Sokal, R. R., Oden, N. L. (1978b). Spatial autocorrelation in biology. 2. Some biological implications and four applications of evolutionary and ecological interest. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 10: 229–249

    Google Scholar 

  • Sokal, R. R., Rohlf, F. J. (1969). Biometry. The principles and practice of statistics in biological research. W. H. Freeman & Co., San Francisco

    Google Scholar 

  • Soulé, M. E. (1980). Thresholds for survival: maintaining fitness and evolutionary potential. In: Soulé, M. E., Wilcox, B. A. (eds.). Conservation biology. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, Massachusetts, p. 151–169

    Google Scholar 

  • Swingle, W. E. (1987). Status of the commercial and recreational fishery. In: Chamberlain, G. W., Miget, R. J., Haby, M. G. (eds.). Manual on red drum aquaculture. Texas Agricultural Extension Service and Sea Grant College Program, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, p. 46–49

    Google Scholar 

  • Swingle, W., Leary, T., Davis, D., Blomo, V., Tatum, W., Murphy, M., Taylor, R., Adkins, G., McIlwain, T., Matlock, G. (1984). Fishery profile of red drum. Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council and Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, Tampa, Florida

    Google Scholar 

  • Swofford, D. L. (1990). PAUP: phylogenetic analysis using parsimony. Users' manual. Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, Illinois

    Google Scholar 

  • Templeton, A. R. (1987). Genetic systems and evolutionary rates. In: Campbell, K. F. S., Day, M. F. (eds.) Rates of evolution. Australian Academy of Sciences, Canberra, p. 218–234

    Google Scholar 

  • Wartenberg, D. (1989). SAAP: a spatial autocorrelation analysis program. Department of environmental and Community Medicine. Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey

    Google Scholar 

  • Weir, B. S. (1990). Genetic data analysis. Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland, Massachusetts

    Google Scholar 

  • Weir, B. S., Cockerham, C. C. (1984). Estimating F-statistics for the analysis of population structure. Evolution 38: 1358–1370

    Google Scholar 

  • Wildt, D. E., Bush, M., Goodrowe, K. L., Packer, C., Pusey, A. E., Brown, J. L., Joslin, P., O'Brien, S. J. (1987). Reproductive and genetic consequences of founding isolated lion populations. Nature, Lond. 329: 328–330

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, A. C. Cann, R. L., Carr, S. M., George, Jr., M., Gyllensten, U. B., Helm-Bychowski, K. M., Higuchi, R. g., Palumbi, S. R., Prager, E. M., Sage, R. D., Stoneking, M. (1985). Mitochondrial DNA and two perspectives on evolutionary genetics. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 26: 375–400

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright, S. (1943). Isolation by distance. Genetics, Austin, Tex. 28: 114–138

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright, S. (1969). Evolution and the genetics of populations. Vol. II. The theory of gene frequencies. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Additional information

Communicated by N. H. Marcus, Tallahassee

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Gold, J.R., Richardson, L.R., Furman, C. et al. Mitochondrial DNA differentiation and population structure in red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) from the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean. Marine Biology 116, 175–185 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00350007

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00350007

Keywords

Navigation