SeaChange: The evolutionary response of fish stocks to a changing ocean
General Genetics and Functional Genome Biology
Evolution, Anthropology
Final Report Abstract
Climate change and overexploitation threaten marine biodiversity worldwide. Studies suggest that small pelagic fish, with a great importance for commercial and subsistence fisheries, present a higher vulnerability to warming oceans. Yet, crucial information for management and conservation strategies for these groups is lacking. The SeaChange project aimed to address some gaps by studying Harengula sp., a sardine-like species vital to Brazilian coastal fisheries. I used genomic data to identify population structure and the demographic history of each identified lineage. Results revealed two distinct populations: one in the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, located around 400 km off the coast, and another in the Brazilian coast, spreading on more than 3,000 km of coastline. The large depth, combined with variability of sea-level during glacial cycles, seem to limit the gene flow between these two populations. Also, the demographic analysis results indicate that the Archipelago population is smaller than the coastal one. The coastal population shows a significant isolation by distance pattern, suggesting that gene flow in the species is limited by large geographical distances. Information about the smaller, disconnected, lineage in Fernando de Noronha can be used for management planning in the Archipelago. For the coastal population, the results suggest that the genetic divergence between the extremes of the distribution should be considered in management plans. Future studies will focus on the recent demographic history, investigating the effects of fisheries in the two populations.
Publications
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Genetic structure of the threatened Gray Parrotfish (Sparisoma axillare) in the Southwestern Atlantic. Coral Reefs, 42(1), 105-117.
Tovar, Verba Julia; Ferreira, Carlos E. L.; Pennino, Maria Grazia; Hagberg, Linda; Lopes, Priscila F. M.; Padovani, Ferreira Beatrice; Maia, Queiroz Lima Sergio & Stow, Adam
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Low population genetic structure is consistent with high habitat connectivity in a commercially important fish species (Lutjanus jocu). Marine Biology, 170(1).
Tovar, Verba Julia; Stow, Adam; Bein, Bernhard; Pennino, Maria Grazia; Lopes, Priscila F. M.; Ferreira, Beatrice P.; Mortier, Meghana; Maia, Queiroz Lima Sergio & Pereira, Ricardo J.
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Macrophyte islands as an experimental model: new perspectives and a step-by-step protocol to access assumptions of Island Biogeography theory and habitat fragmentation. Acta Biológica Paranaense, 52(1), 1.
Da Silva Pires, Tiago Henrique; Santorelli Junior, Sergio; De Mendonça Cardoso, Gabriel Henrique; Cezar, Florentino Alexandro; Beck, Farago Thatyla Luana & Tovar, Verba Julia
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Integration of genomic and ecological methods inform management of an undescribed, yet highly exploited, sardine species. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 291.
Coelho, Jéssica Fernanda Ramos; Mendes, Liana de Figueiredo; Di Dario, Fabio; Carvalho, Pedro Hollanda; Dias, Ricardo Marques; Lima, Sergio Maia Queiroz; Verba, Julia Tovar & Pereira, Ricardo J.
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Local attitudes towards conservation governance in a large tropical multiple-use Marine Protected Area in Brazil. Ocean & Coastal Management, 248, 106974.
De Oliveira, Júnior José Gilmar Cavalcante; de Oliveira, Santos Ana Paula; Malhado, Ana Claudia Mendes; Souza, Carolina Neves; Bragagnolo, Chiara; Santos, Aline Olímpio dos; Barros, Evelynne Letícia dos Santos Farias Cardoso de; Vieira, Felipe Alexandre Santos; Dantas, Inaê Farias Vieira; Aldabalde, Jacqueline Costa; Campos-Silva, João Vitor; Silva, Lima Johnny Antonio da; Verba, Júlia Tovar; dos Santos-Silva, Mikaella Roberta; Fabré, Nidia Noemi; Gamarra, Norah Costa; Ladle, Richard J. & Batista, Vandick da Silva
