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Molecular analyses reveal a lack of genetic structuring in the scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini (Griffith & Smith, 1834) along the Indian coast

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Abstract

The scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini (Griffith and Smith, 1834), is an important species along the Indian coast both in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. As per the IUCN Red List Assessment, the scalloped hammerhead shark is categorized as “globally endangered.” We investigated the intra-specific genetic diversity and population genetic structure of S. lewini along the Indian coast (Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal) by analyzing mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase 1 and control region sequences, respectively. Furthermore, comparisons of the sequence data generated from the present study with the sequences of S. lewini retrieved from GenBank revealed the presence of three (3) haplogroups corresponding to Indian/Indo-Pacific, Atlantic, and Pacific regions. A lack of genetic differentiation within the Indian coast and significant differentiation between ocean basins (FST; 0.80; p < 0.001) indicated female philopatry as mitochondrial DNA is maternally inherited. Hammerhead sharks are inherently vulnerable to fishing practices directly and indirectly (as bycatch) due to their evolutionary distinct features like cephalofoil. Specialized species-specific management measures are urgently needed to protect these precious resources of the oceans.

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Acknowledgments

This study was conducted as part of the institute project MBTD/GEN/25 receiving funding support from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The authors place on record their sincere gratitude to Dr. P. Vijayagopal, Head-in-Charge, Marine Biotechnology Division and Director, CMFRI for the encouragement to carry out this investigation. Wilson Sebastian received Senior Research Fellowship from ICAR-NICRA project and Lakshmi P. Mukundan received research fellowship from Kerala Biotechnology Commission.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ICAR- Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Ernakulam North P.O., Kochi, Kerala, 682018, India

    Sandhya Sukumaran, Wilson Sebastian, Lakshmi P. Mukundan, Muktha Menon, K. V. Akhilesh, P. U. Zacharia & A. Gopalakrishnan

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  1. Sandhya Sukumaran
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  2. Wilson Sebastian
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  3. Lakshmi P. Mukundan
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  4. Muktha Menon
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  5. K. V. Akhilesh
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  6. P. U. Zacharia
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  7. A. Gopalakrishnan
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Contributions

The study received funding support from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sandhya Sukumaran.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed by the authors.

Sampling and field studies

All necessary permits for sampling and observational field studies have been obtained by the authors from the competent authorities and are mentioned in the acknowledgements, if applicable. The study is compliant with CBD and Nagoya protocols.

Data availability

All data generated during this study are included in this published article. Information regarding sequences generated out of the present study has been deposited in NCBI, GenBank.

Author contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. SS, WS, and LPM carried out the laboratory work and data analysis. SS wrote the first draft of the manuscript. MM, AKV, and PUZ collected samples various locations of Indian coast and contributed in writing up the manuscript. AG has critically gone through the manuscript and provided suggestions. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Communicated by S. Weigmann

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Sukumaran, S., Sebastian, W., Mukundan, L.P. et al. Molecular analyses reveal a lack of genetic structuring in the scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini (Griffith & Smith, 1834) along the Indian coast. Mar. Biodivers. 50, 18 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-020-01040-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-020-01040-4

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