DNA Barcoding of Fish in Mischief Reef—Fish Diversity of a Reef Fish Community From Nansha Islands

Binbin Shan,Gongjun Zhang,Yu Zhao,Yan Liu,Dianrong Sun,Qiaer Wu,Changping Yang

doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.618954

Abstract

Development of effective conservation and management strategies requires assessments of ecosystem biodiversity status, especially in understudied hotspots of global fish diversity. Coral reefs are important habitats for fishes, with biodiversity hotspots known globally. We present the first data on molecular diversity of fishes of Mischief Reef, the largest atoll in the Nansha Islands. Partial sequences (650 bp) of mitochondrial COI gene (Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I) are used to identify 209 individuals, representing 101 species, referable to 62 genera, 27 families, 8 orders, and 1 class. The most abundant orders are the Perciformes (176 specimens, 84.21%), Tetraodontiformes (13 specimens, 6.22%), and Beryciformes (13 specimens, 6.22%). Mean Kimura 2-Parameter genetic distances within genera, families, and orders are 4.51, 13.90, and 17.63%, respectively. We record Monotaxis heterodon from this region for the first time—a species that may previously have been misidentified as M. grandoculis. In addition, we recognized possible cryptic species of Lethrinus olivaceus based on significantly diverging barcode sequences. Barcode data provide new insights into fish diversity of Mischief Reef, important for developing further researches on this fauna, and for its conservation.

Highlights

Coral reefs represent some of the most diverse of marine habitats and have been identified as biodiversity hotspots around the globe (Wilson et al, 2008; Hubert et al, 2012)
As a core area of coral reefs in China, the Nansha Islands have a diverse array of species and rich mineral deposits and are well known for their tropical marine fisheries
Six specimens referred to L. olivaceus based on morphology were referred to two species using DNA

Summary

Introduction

Coral reefs represent some of the most diverse of marine habitats and have been identified as biodiversity hotspots around the globe (Wilson et al, 2008; Hubert et al, 2012). Some coral reef fishes have become critically endangered, threatened by a variety of activities, such as over-exploitation, habitat destruction, and pollution (Hixon, 2011; Friedlander et al, 2018). Assessing the biodiversity of reef fishes is of critical importance in guiding conservation policy (Dawson et al, 2011). Reliance on morphological characters to identify species can prove problematic because reef fishes are dominated by about 30 families, mostly perciform labroids, acanthuroids, chaetodontoids, and gobioids, many of which differ sexually, ontogenetically, or in general phenotypic plasticity (Radulovici et al, 2010).

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Results

Conclusion