Abstract
The Epinephelidae form a group of species of high biological and economical interests. It´s phylogeographic patterns are not well known especially the distributed populations in the western region of the Atlantic Ocean. Among the representatives is a small species called Cephalopholis fulva, Coney, which presents a wide geographical distribution, polychromia, hermaphroditism and is quickly becoming a large target for the exploration of commercial fishing. The genetic and historical demography were obtained through the partial sequence analysis of Control Region from six locations on the coastline of Brazil from the northeast coast to the southwest coast, including the oceanic islands of Rocas Atoll and Fernando de Noronha Archipelago. The analyzed samples revealed a high genetic variability and a strong gene flow among the sampled locations. Additionally, the genetic data revealed that population expansions probably occurred due to the changes in the sea levels that occurred during the Pleistocene. The large population connectivity found in Coney constitutes relevant conditions for their biological conservation.
Highlights
Some species of the Epinephelidae family show peculiar biological characteristics which make them vulnerable to climate changes, Genetic population studies are scarce for Epinephelidae, despite the family’s increasing commercial exploitation (Rivera et al 2004, Zatcoff et al 2004, Maggio et al 2006, Silva-Oliveira et al 2008)
A total of 388 bp of hypervariable region 1 (HVR-1) sequence was resolved on 204 specimens (Genbank accession numbers of haplotypes: KC831794 - KC831953) from six geographical localities revealing 94 parsimony informative sites and 153 nucleotide substitutions (23 transversions and 130 transitions)
E. itajara is a critically endangered species, and according to the authors, its low diversity values were related to high fishing pressure and loss of habitat
Summary
Some species of the Epinephelidae family show peculiar biological characteristics which make them vulnerable to climate changes, Genetic population studies are scarce for Epinephelidae, despite the family’s increasing commercial exploitation (Rivera et al 2004, Zatcoff et al 2004, Maggio et al 2006, Silva-Oliveira et al 2008). The Epinephelidae family consists of around 160 species distributed in 15 genders (Nelson 2006). This group has representatives of different sizes. The biological characteristics of the Coney such as their small size, abundance and broad geographic distribution through Atlantics Western coast makes this species indicated for phylogeographic analysis. Polychromatism is a characteristic of this species, not entirely known in all its extension, it has indications of possible adaptive value, related to the aggressive mimicry of some colors (Sazima et al 2005)
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