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Cryptic isolation of Gulf of California shovelnose guitarfish evidenced by mitochondrial DNA

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Abstract

The shovelnose guitarfish Rhinobatos productus is an evolutionarily, ecologically, and economically important ray, with a continuous distribution from San Francisco, California (USA), to Mazatlan, Sinaloa, and in the Gulf of California (Mexico). Regional studies have revealed morphometric differences between shovelnose from the Gulf of California and the Pacific coast of Baja California, which may result from phenotypic plasticity in the presence of high levels of gene flow or from a degree of genetic differentiation in the presence of cryptic isolation within a continuous distribution. We used PCR-RFLP of the mitochondrial control region to assess the degree of genetic differentiation between Gulf of California and Pacific shovelnose guitarfish. We found very high levels of molecular diversity (averages: h=0.77, π=1.19%), which may be associated with historically large and stable populations, as well as very significant levels of genetic differentiation between gulf and Pacific samples (χ 2=64, P<0.0001; Φ ST=0.63, P<0.0001, mean nucleotide divergence d=2.47%). We found a deep phylogeographic break between haplotypes from the gulf and the Pacific, which may suggest the existence of cryptic species but clearly indicates more than one evolutionarily significant unit of R. productus. Our results show a pattern of genetic structure and levels of differentiation consistent with the geological history of the region. Furthermore, these findings have wide-ranging implications for the management and conservation of cartilaginous fish in Mexico, as they reveal the existence of biological diversity that will go unnoticed without the genetic scrutiny of intraspecific variation and that is highly relevant for much needed management and conservation efforts.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to UABCS elasmobranch team (EDT) for sample keeping, J. de la Rosa-Vélez (UABC), O. Sosa-Nishizaki, J. Olmos-Soto, A. Licea-Navarro and V. Díaz-Castañeda (CICESE) for access to their facilities, and N. Olivares-Bañuelos for help in laboratory work, and E.J. Heist for comments on the manuscript. This research was supported by grants from CICESE-CIBNOR to A.R.O. and E.B. and CONACYT-I36064-V to A.R.O. All sampling and experiments were performed with strict adherence to Mexican regulations.

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Author notes

  1. A. Rocha-Olivares

    Present address: , P.O. Box 434844, San Diego, CA 92143, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Oceanografía Biológica, CICESE, 22860, Ensenada, BC, Mexico

    J. Sandoval-Castillo & A. Rocha-Olivares

  2. Departamento de Biología Marina, UABCS, 23080, La Paz, BCS, Mexico

    C. Villavicencio-Garayzar

  3. Departamento de Ciencias Marinas, CIBNOR, 23090, La Paz, BCS, Mexico

    E. Balart

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  1. J. Sandoval-Castillo
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  2. A. Rocha-Olivares
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  3. C. Villavicencio-Garayzar
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  4. E. Balart
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Correspondence to A. Rocha-Olivares.

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Communicated by P.W. Sammarco, Chauvin

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Sandoval-Castillo, J., Rocha-Olivares, A., Villavicencio-Garayzar, C. et al. Cryptic isolation of Gulf of California shovelnose guitarfish evidenced by mitochondrial DNA. Marine Biology 145, 983–988 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-004-1378-7

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