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Limited population structure in Northern and Spotted Wolffishes (Anarhichas denticulatus and A. minor) despite low apparent dispersal potential

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Abstract

Northern and Spotted Wolffishes (Anarhichas denticulatus and A. minor) are demersal marine fishes listed as “threatened” in Canadian waters. Both species have unusually large benthic eggs and large size at hatch, which should reduce passive dispersal. We examined population differentiation with microsatellite and AFLP loci across the ranges of both species in the North Atlantic Ocean. Although significant population structure was documented, differentiation was less than expected based on knowledge of life history characteristics. Significant differentiation was found in Northern Wolffish between the Barents Sea and other samples based on both microsatellite and AFLP data. In contrast, population structure in the Spotted Wolffish was notably weaker, particularly with microsatellites. Both species were characterized by low genetic diversity for marine fishes and had significantly lower genetic diversity than the congeneric Atlantic Wolffish. This finding was consistent with the conservation status of these three species and suggests potential vulnerability to over-exploitation in Northern and Spotted Wolffishes.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by an NSERC Discovery grant as well as funding from the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans Biotechnology Strategy to P.B., and a Dalhousie Graduate Scholarship M.R.M. We want to thank the many people involved in sample collections, including Arran McPherson, Tom Hurlbut, Jeff K McRuer, Frank Collier, Diane Archambault, Linda Currie, Ásgeir Gunnarsson, Ole Jørgensen, Asgeir Aglen, Petter Fossum, Michaela Aschan, Jason Spingle, Halvor Knutsen, and Inge Fossen. Help in the lab was provided by Ian Paterson as well as summer student Faiza Siddiqi.

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  1. Megan R. McCusker

    Present address: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON, M1C 1A4, Canada

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  1. Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, 1459 Oxford Street, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada

    Megan R. McCusker & Paul Bentzen

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Correspondence to Megan R. McCusker.

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Communicated by T. Reusch.

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McCusker, M.R., Bentzen, P. Limited population structure in Northern and Spotted Wolffishes (Anarhichas denticulatus and A. minor) despite low apparent dispersal potential. Mar Biol 158, 1869–1878 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-011-1698-3

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