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Historical population demography of red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) from the northern Gulf of Mexico based on analysis of sequences of mitochondrial DNA

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Abstract

We evaluated stock structure and demographic (population) history of red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) in the northern Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) via analysis of mitochondrial (mt)DNA sequences from 360 individuals sampled from four cohorts (year classes) at three localities across the northern Gulf. Exact tests of genetic homogeneity and analysis of molecular variance both among cohorts within localities and among localities were non-significant. Nested clade analysis provided evidence of different temporal episodes of both range expansion and restricted gene flow due to isolation by distance. A mismatch distribution of pairwise differences among mtDNA haplotypes and a maximum-likelihood coalescence analysis indicated a population expansion phase that dated to the Pleistocene and probably represents (re)colonization of the continental shelf following glacial retreat. The spatial distribution of red snapper in the northern Gulf appears to have a complex history that likely reflects glacial advance/retreat, habitat availability and suitability, and hydrology. Habitat availability/suitability and hydrology may partially restrict gene flow among present-day red snapper in the northern Gulf and give rise to a metapopulation structure with variable demographic connectivity. This type of population structure may be difficult to detect with commonly used, selectively neutral genetic markers.

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Acknowledgements

Work was supported in part by an award from the Gulf and South Atlantic Fisheries Development Foundation (Project 70-04-20000/11824), the National Marine Fisheries Service (Marfin Project 87-FF-0426), and the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Project H-6703). Views expressed in the paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect views of the sponsors. This paper is no. 40 in the series ‘Genetic Studies in Marine Fishes’ and contribution no. 130 of the Center for Biosystematics and Biodiversity at Texas A&M University.

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  1. Center for Biosystematics and Biodiversity, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University, TAMU 2258, College Station, TX, 77843-2258, USA

    Christin L. Pruett, Eric Saillant & John R. Gold

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  1. Christin L. Pruett
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  2. Eric Saillant
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  3. John R. Gold
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Correspondence to John R. Gold.

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Communicated by P.W. Sammarco, Chauvin

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Pruett, C.L., Saillant, E. & Gold, J.R. Historical population demography of red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) from the northern Gulf of Mexico based on analysis of sequences of mitochondrial DNA. Marine Biology 147, 593–602 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-005-1615-8

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