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On the absence of genetic differentiation between morphotypes of the ballan wrasse Labrus bergylta (Labridae)

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Abstract

The ballan wrasse, Labrus bergylta (Labridae), is a protogynous hermaphrodite fish common in the north-eastern Atlantic from Norway to Morocco. It is a commercially important resource for local fisheries and is currently being used as cleaner fish to control sea lice in salmon farms in northern Europe. Two distinct colour patterns have been recently reported in the literature: plain and spotted. These individuals follow strikingly different life history strategies raising the question of whether they represent one or two independent taxonomic units. Analyses of mitochondrial (18S, COI and control region) and nuclear (S7) markers revealed no genetic differences between these morphotypes. Alternative explanations for the origin and persistence of distinct morphotypes are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the help of Patricia Carvalho during field work at Madeira and Sérgio Bexiga, Catarina Craveiro, Filipe Tadeu, Ana Patrícia Rafael, Catarina Chaves and Inês Castanheira with DNA sequencing. This study was funded by the Eco-Ethology Research Unit’ Strategic Plan (PEst-OE/MAR/UI0331/2011)—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia—FCT (partially FEDER funded). F.A. (SFRH/BPD/63170/2009) and S.M.F. (SFRH/BPD/84923/2012) were supported by FCT grants. D.V.R. was supported by a Marie Curie Intra European Fellowship within the 7th European Community Framework Programme (Grant No. 625852).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ISPA Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, 1149-041, Lisbon, Portugal

    F. Almada, S. M. Francisco & J. I. Robalo

  2. Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia

    L. Casas & X. Irigoien

  3. Institute of Marine Research (IMR), Flødevigen Marine Research Station, 4817, His, Norway

    D. Villegas-Ríos

  4. Institute of Marine Research (IIM-CSIC), Vigo, Spain

    F. Saborido-Rey

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  1. F. Almada
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  2. L. Casas
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Correspondence to F. Almada.

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Responsible Editor: M. Taylor.

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Primers and polymerase chain reaction conditions used for Labrus bergylta (PDF 363 kb)

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Almada, F., Casas, L., Francisco, S.M. et al. On the absence of genetic differentiation between morphotypes of the ballan wrasse Labrus bergylta (Labridae). Mar Biol 163, 86 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-016-2860-8

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