Abstract
Lionfish (Pterois volitans) have rapidly invaded the tropical Atlantic and spread across the wider Caribbean in a relatively short period of time. Because of its high invasion capacity, we used it as a model to identify the connectivity among nine marine protected areas (MPAs) situated in four countries in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. This study provides evidence of local genetic differentiation of P. volitans in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. A total of 475 lionfish samples were characterized with 12 microsatellites, with 6–20 alleles per locus. Departures from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) were found in 10 of the 12 loci, all caused by heterozygous excess. Moderate genetic differentiation was observed between Chiriviche, Venezuela and Xcalak, México localities (F ST = 0.012), and between the Los Roques and the Veracruz (F ST = 0.074) sites. STRUCTURE analysis found that four genetic entities best fit our data. A unique genetic group in the Gulf of Mexico may imply that the lionfish invasion unfolded both in a counterclockwise manner in the Gulf of Mexico. In spite of the notable dispersion of P. volitans, our results show some genetic structure, as do other noninvasive Caribbean fish species, suggesting that the connectivity in some MPAs analyzed in the Caribbean is limited and caused by only a few source individuals with subsequent genetic drift leading to local genetic differentiation. This indicates that P. volitans dispersion could be caused by mesoscale phenomena, which produce stochastic connectivity pulses. Due to the isolation of some MPAs from others, these findings may hold a promise for local short‐term control of by means of intensive fishing, even in MPAs, and may have regional long‐term effects.
Highlights
The lionfish species complex is composed of two congeneric species (Pterois volitans and Pterois miles) that were initially introduced on the coast of Florida
It is known that populations that present a recent bottleneck show apparent excess of heterozygotes (Cornuet & Luikart, 1996; Sakai et al, 2001), our analyses found heterozygosis in all loci; it is likely to be a reflection of the founder effect noted in other studies (Freshwater et al, 2009)
Our findings demonstrate that there is genetic differentiation on both regional, local, and fines scales
Summary
The lionfish species complex is composed of two congeneric species (Pterois volitans and Pterois miles) that were initially introduced on the coast of Florida. Studies of lionfish in the Caribbean have explored the use of molecular technologies for the analysis of the populations of P. volitans/miles from different approaches (Betancur-R et al, 2011; Bors, Herrera, Morris, & Shank, 2019; Butterfield et al, 2015; Johnson, Bird, Johnston, Fogg, & Hogan, 2016; Pérez-Portela et al, 2018; Toledo-Hernández et al, 2014; Freshwater et al, 2009). The main objective of this study was to explore the level of genetic connectivity among P. volitans populations in Marine Protected Areas in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, using specific microsatellite markers for P. volitans/ miles (Schultz, Fitzpatrick, Wilson Freshwater, & Morris, 2013). The rapid dispersion of this specie and environmental geographical barriers could influence locally differentiated populations, making it possible to evaluate connectivity matrices Investigating this hypothesis may help us understand the dispersal behavior of this invasive species on a local scale and help develop guidelines for effective local and regional management
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