Population genetic structure of dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) in the Gulf of California, using microsatellite loci

Abstract

We assayed genetic variations at five microsatellite loci of dolphinfish captured at five sites in 2005and eight sites in 2006 to detect genetic population structure of dolphinfish Coryphaena hippurus in theGulf of California and surrounding waters. Results show high genetic variation, similar to other pelagicfishes with large populations. Pairwise FST values and hierarchical AMOVA detected subtle but significantspatial and temporal heterogeneity, mainly in samples of 2005 and some of 2006. However, Bayesianassignment analysis failed to detect genetic differentiation, which was also supported by the Mantel testand gene flow estimates among the sampled sites. This suggests that, despite the slight heterogeneitydetected in this region, the dolphinfish forms a single panmictic population with high genetic variationand gene flow.