New insight into the genetic structure of an iconic species: the spiny lobster, Palinurus elephas
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.05539.106Keywords:
Palinurus elephas, Mediterranean, microsatellites, fisheries, genetic, stock managementAbstract
The spiny lobster, Palinurus elephas (Fabricius 1787) is both a key economic resource and a coastal marine species of conservation concern in the Mediterranean Sea, primarily due to overfishing. To enhance biological understanding and support the integration of fisheries management with conservation efforts, a genetic study was conducted on populations around Corsica (France, Mediterranean Sea). A total of 85 individuals were collected from five sampling sites around the island, in collaboration with local fishermen’s associations. These individuals were genotyped at 21 microsatellite loci. An additional 15 specimens from the Atlantic coast (Brittany, France) were included as an outgroup. Genetic analyses revealed low levels of differentiation among Corsican samples, with no evidence of geographic genetic structuring or isolation by distance around the island. Unexpectedly, the Atlantic population showed no pronounced genetic divergence from the Mediterranean populations. However, a significant overall deviation from panmixia was detected. Variation partitioning of redundancy analyses suggest that this pattern is likely driven by irregular annual recruitment events originating from multiple breeding aggregations, resulting in subtle genetic differentiation among locations and year classes.
Downloads
References
Babbucci M., Buccoli S., Cau A., et al. 2010. Population structure, demographic history, and selective processes: Contrasting evidences from mitochondrial and nuclear markers in the European spiny lobster Palinurus elephas (Fabricius, 1787). Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 56: 1040-1050. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2010.05.014 PMid:20510378
Belkhir L.C., Raufaste N., Bonhomme F. 2004. GENETIX 4.05, Logiciel Sous Windows TM Pour la Génétique des Populations. In: Laboratoire Génome P, Interactions, CNRS UMR 5171. Université de Montpellier II, Montpellier.
Benestan L., Fietz K., Loiseau N. et al. 2021. Restricted dispersal in a sea of gene flow. Proc. R. Soc. B 288: 20210458. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.0458 PMid:34004134 PMCid:PMC8131118
Berrebi P., Jesenšek D., Laporte M., et al. 2022. Restoring marble trout genes in the Soča River (Slovenia). Conserv. Genet. 23: 481-494. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-022-01430-0
Borcard D., Legendre P., Drapeau P. 1992. Partialling out the Spatial Component of Ecological. Ecology. 73: 1045-1055. https://doi.org/10.2307/1940179
Buranelli R.C., Felder D.L., Mantelatto F.L. 2019. Genetic diversity among populations of the Western Atlantic mangrove crab Ucides cordatus (Linnaeus, 1763) (Decapoda: Brachyura: Ocypodidae): Evidence for panmixia and useful data for future management and conservation. J. Crustac. Biol. 39 : 386-395. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcbiol/ruz036
Calderón I., Pita L., Brusciotti S., et al. 2012. Time and space: Genetic structure of the cohorts of the common sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus in Western Mediterranean. Mar. Biol. 159: 187-197. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-011-1799-z
Calderón I., Turon X. 2010. Temporal genetic variability in the Mediterranean common sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 408: 149-159. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08576
Cannas R., Cau A., Deiana A.M., et al. 2006. Discrimination between the Mediterranean spiny lobsters Palinurus elephas and P. mauritanicus (Crustacea: Decapoda) by mitochondrial sequence analysis. Hydrobiologia. 557: 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-005-9301-x
Caron F., Laporte M., Bernatchez L. 2022. Inventaire ichtyologique du bassin versant de la zone du Chêne et de la forêt de la Seigneurie de Lotbinière au moyen de l'ADN environnemental. Nat Can. 146 (2): 3-18. https://doi.org/10.7202/1091884ar
Crochelet E. 2015. Modélisation de la connectivité larvaire et implications en terme de gestion de l'environnement. Biodiversité et Ecologie. PhD thesis, Université de la Réunion, 168 pp. https://theses.hal.science/tel-01269631/document
Dorant Y., Cayuela H., Wellband K., et al. 2020. Copy number variants outperform SNPs to reveal genotype-temperature association in a marine species. Mol. Ecol. 29: 4765- 4782. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.15565 PMid:32803780
Ellis C.D., Hodgson D.J., Daniels C.L., et al. 2017. Population genetic structure in European lobsters: Implications for connectivity, diversity and hatchery stocking. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 563: 123-137. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11957
Elphie H., Goñi R., Díaz D., et al. 2012. Detecting immigrants in a highly genetically homogeneous spiny lobster population (Palinurus elephas) in the northwest Mediterranean Sea. Ecol. Evol. 2: 2387-2396. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.349 PMid:23145326 PMCid:PMC3492767
Estoup A., Largiadèr C.R., Perrot E., et al. 1996. Rapid one-tube DNA extraction for reliable PCR detection of fish polymorphic markers and transgenes. Mol. Mar. Biol. Biotechnol. 5: 295-298.
Evanno G., Regnaut S., Goudet J. 2005. Detecting the number of clusters of individuals using the software STRUCTURE: A simulation study. Mol. Ecol. 14: 2611-2620. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2005.02553.x PMid:15969739
Faria J. 2012. Population structure and genetic diversity of three marine lobsters from the NE Atlantic and Mediterranean. PhD thesis, Universidade de Porto, 113 pp.
Faria J., Froufe E., Tuya F., et al. 2013. Panmixia in the endangered slipper lobster Scyllarides latus from the Northeastern Atlantic and Western Mediterranean. J. Crustac. Biol. 33: 557-566. https://doi.org/10.1163/1937240X-00002158
Fernández M.V. Heras S., Maltagliati F., et al. 2011. Genetic structure in the blue and red shrimp Aristeus antennatus and the role played by hydrographical and oceanographical barriers. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 421: 163-171. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08881
Follesa M.C., Cuccu D., Cannas R., et al. 2009. Movement patterns of the spiny lobster Palinurus elephas (Fabricius, 1787) from a central western Mediterranean protected area. Sci. Mar. 73: 499-506. https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.2009.73n3499
Forester B.R., Lasky J.R., Wagner H.H., et al. 2018. Comparing methods for detecting multilocus adaptation with multivariate genotype-environment associations. Mol. Ecol. 27 (9): 2215-2233. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.14584 PMid:29633402
Gibson-Hall E., Jackson A., Marshall C. 2018. European spiny lobster (Palinurus elephas). MarLIN - Mar. Life Inf. Netw. 29.
Goñi R. 2015. Palinurus elephas, Common spiny lobster, The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014: e.T169975A1281221.
Hedgecock D.1994. Temporal and spatial genetic structure of marine animal populations in the California Current. Calif. Coop. Ocean. Fish. Investig. Reports 35: 73-81.
Hogan J.D., Thiessen R.J., Heath D.D. 2010. Variability in connectivity indicated by chaotic genetic patchiness within and among populations of a marine fish. Mar. Ecol.Prog. Ser. 417: 263-275. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08793
Hunter 1999. Biology of the European spiny lobster, Palinurus elephas (Fabricius, 1787) (Decapoda, Palinuridae). Crustaceana 72: 545-565. https://doi.org/10.1163/156854099503609
Jackson N.D., Carstens B.C., Morales A.E., et al. 2017. Species delimitation with gene flow. Syst. Biol. 66: 799-812. https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syw117 PMid:28003535
Jombart T., Devillard S., Balloux F. 2010. Discriminant analysis of principal components: A new method for the analysis of genetically structured populations. BMC Genet. 11: 15. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2156-11-94 PMid:20950446 PMCid:PMC2973851
Kennington W.J., Cadee S.A., Berry O., et al. 2013. Maintenance of genetic variation and panmixia in the commercially exploited western rock lobster (Panulirus cygnus). Conserv. Genet. 14: 115-124. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-012-0433-z
Laporte M., Pavey S.A., Rougeux C., et al. 2016. RAD sequencing reveals within-generation polygenic selection in response to anthropogenic organic and metal contamination in North Atlantic Eels. Mol. Ecol. 25: 219-237. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.13466 PMid:26562221
Lecaillon G., Blin E., Lenfant P., et al. 2011. Des solutions opérationnelles et innovantes de restauration des populations de poissons marins côtiers associés à des aménagements littoraux. Coastal and Maritime Mediterranean Conference, Tanger, 6 pp. https://doi.org/10.5150/cmcm.2011.014
Legendre P., Legendre L. 2012. Numerical Ecology. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1006 pp.
Lourenço C.R., Nicastro K.R., McQuaid C.D., et al. 2017. Evidence for range wide panmixia despite multiple barriers to dispersal in a marine mussel. Sci. Rep. 7: 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-10753-9 PMid:28860631 PMCid:PMC5579014
Maltagliati F., Camilli L., Biagi F., et al. 1998. Genetic structure of Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus (L.) (Crustacea: Nephropidae), from the Mediterranean Sea. Sci. Mar. 62: 91-99. https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.1998.62s191
Marcias S. 2012. Misura della connettività e della dispersione dell'aragosta rossa Palinurus elephas (Fabricius, 1787) in Sardegna con l'uso di marcatori genetici STRs e mitocondriali. Ph.D. thesis, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, 138 pp.
Marengo M., Theuerkauff D., Patrissi M., et al. 2020. A Typical Mediterranean Fishery and an Iconic Species: focus on the common Spiny Lobster (Palinurus elephas, Fabricius, 1787) in Corsica. Oceanogr. Fish. Open access J. 12: 10-13. https://doi.org/10.19080/OFOAJ.2020.12.555827
Marin J. 1987. Exploitation, biologie et dymanique du stock de langouste rouge de corse Palinurus elephas Fabricus 327p. PhD thesis, Université d'Aix-Marseille II, 348 pp. https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/1036/687.pdf
Mérot C., Stenløkk K.S.R., Venney C., et al. 2023. Genome assembly, structural variants, and genetic differentiation between Lake Whitefish young species pairs (Coregonus sp.) with long and short reads Contributors. Mol. Ecol. 32: 1458-1477. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.16468 PMid:35416336 PMCid:PMC12530279
Muths D., Tessier E., Bourjea J. 2008. Contribution de la génétique des populations à l'étude de la connectivité régionale de certaines espèces de poissons commerciaux présents dans la Réserve Naturelle Marine de La Réunion : étude de faisabilité. Parc Marin, Le Port, 25 pp. https://ocean-indien.ifremer.fr/content/download/24587/file/Etufaisabilit%C3%A9_nov08.pdf
Nei M. 1978. Estimation of Average Heterozygosity and genetic distance from a small number of individuals. Genetics. 89: 583-590. https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/89.3.583 PMid:17248844 PMCid:PMC1213855
Oksanen J., Kindt R., Legendre P., et al. 2008. The vegan package. Community Ecol. Packag. 190 pp.
Palero F., Abelló P., Macpherson E., et al. 2008. Phylogeography of the European spiny lobster (Palinurus elephas): Influence of current oceanographical features and historical processes. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 48: 708-717. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2008.04.022 PMid:18515152
Palero F., Abelló P., Macpherson E., et al. 2011. Effect of oceanographic barriers and overfishing on the population genetic structure of the European spiny lobster (Palinurus elephas). Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 104: 407-418. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8312.2011.01728.x
Palero F., Pascual M. 2008. Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in Palinurus elephas. Mol. Ecol. Resour. 8: 1477-1479. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-0998.2008.02230.x PMid:21586081
Pascual M., Rives B., Schunter C., et al. 2017. Impact of life history traits on gene flow: A multispecies systematic review across oceanographic barriers in the Mediterranean Sea. PLoS One. 12 : 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0176419 PMid:28489878 PMCid:PMC5425013
Pere A. 2012. Déclin des populations de langouste rouge et baisse de la ressource halieutique en Corse - Causes et perspectives. PhD thesis, Corte, France. https://theses.fr/2012CORT0004
Pritchard J.K., Stephens M., Donnelly P. 2000. Inference of population structure using multilocus genotype data. Genetics. 155: 945-959. https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/155.2.945 PMid:10835412 PMCid:PMC1461096
Rice W.R. 1989. Analyzing tables of statistical tests. Evolution. 43: 223-225. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.1989.tb04220.x PMid:28568501
Robinson A.R., Leslie W.G., Theocharis A., et al. 2001. Mediterranean Sea Circulation. In: Steele J.H. (eds), Encycl. Ocean Sci. Academic press, pp. 1689-1705. https://doi.org/10.1006/rwos.2001.0376
Rodhouse P.G., Murphy E.J., Coelho M.L. 1998. Impact of fishing on life histories. In: Rodhouse, P.G.; Dawe, E.G.; O'Dor, R.K., (eds) Squid recruitment dynamics. The genus Illex as a model. The commercial Illex species. Influences on variability. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper. pp. 255-268.
Rousset F. 2008. GENEPOP'007: A complete re-implementation of the GENEPOP software for Windows and Linux. Mol. Ecol. Resour. 8: 103-106. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-8286.2007.01931.x PMid:21585727
Silva C.N.S., Villacorta-Rath C., Woodings L.N., et al. 2019. Advancing our understanding of the connectivity, evolution and management of marine lobsters through genetics. Rev. Fish Biol. Fish. 29: 669-687. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-019-09573-z
Slatkin M. 1995. A Measure of population subdivision based on microsatellite allele frequencies. Genet. 139: 457-462. https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/139.1.457 PMid:7705646 PMCid:PMC1206343
Von Bertalanffy L. 1938. A quantitative theory of organic growth (inquiries in growth laws. II). Hum. Biol. 10(2): 181-213.
Wang J. 2019. A parsimony estimator of the number of populations from a STRUCTURE-like analysis. Mol. Ecol. Resour. 19(4): 970-981. https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.13000 PMid:30681281
Whomersley P., Van der Molen J., Holt D., et al. 2018. Modelling the dispersal of spiny lobster (Palinurus elephas) larvae: Implications for future fisheries management and conservation measures. Front. Mar. Sci. 5: 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2018.00058
Downloads
Additional Files
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
© CSIC. Manuscripts published in both the print and online versions of this journal are the property of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, and quoting this source is a requirement for any partial or full reproduction.
All contents of this electronic edition, except where otherwise noted, are distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. You may read the basic information and the legal text of the licence. The indication of the CC BY 4.0 licence must be expressly stated in this way when necessary.
Self-archiving in repositories, personal webpages or similar, of any version other than the final version of the work produced by the publisher, is not allowed.
