A multidisciplinary approach to identify priority areas for the monitoring of a vulnerable family of fishes in Spanish Marine National Parks

BMC Evolutionary Biology

article

Planas, Miquel¹  Chamorro, Alexandro¹  Barreiro, Rodolfo²  Hernández-Urcera, Jorge¹  Alejo, Irene³  Nombela, Miguel³  García, Manuel Enrique¹  Pardo, Belén G.⁴  Peña, Viviana²  Díaz-Tapia, Pilar²  Cremades, Javier²  Piñeiro-Corbeira, Cristina²  Morales-Nin, Beatriz⁶  Bouza, Carmen⁴  Castejón-Silvo, Inés⁶  Vera, Manuel⁴  Regueira, Marcos¹  Ochoa, Verónica¹  Bárbara, Ignacio²  Terrados, Jorge⁶ 

[1] Department of Ecology and Marine Resources, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas (IIM-CSIC);BioCost Research Group, Universidade da Coruña;Department of Marine Geosciences and Territorial Planning, Marine Sciences Faculty, University of Vigo;Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela;Instituto de Acuicultura, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela;Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (CSIC-UIB)

关键词: National park;    Syngnathids;    Habitat;    Stable isotopes;    Genetic identification;    Conservation;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12862-020-01743-z

学科分类：护理学

来源: BioMed Central

【 摘 要 】

Syngnathid fishes (Actinopterygii, Syngnathidae) are flagship species strongly associated with seaweed and seagrass habitats. Seahorses and pipefishes are highly vulnerable to anthropogenic and environmental disturbances, but most species are currently Data Deficient according to the IUCN (2019), requiring more biological and ecological research. This study provides the first insights into syngnathid populations in the two marine Spanish National Parks (PNIA—Atlantic- and PNAC—Mediterranean). Fishes were collected periodically, marked, morphologically identified, analysed for size, weight, sex and sexual maturity, and sampled for stable isotope and genetic identification. Due the scarcity of previous information, habitat characteristics were also assessed in PNIA. Syngnathid diversity and abundance were low, with two species identified in PNIA (Hippocampus guttulatus and Syngnathus acus) and four in PNAC (S. abaster, S. acus, S. typhle and Nerophis maculatus). Syngnathids from both National Parks (NP) differed isotopically, with much lower δ15N in PNAC than in PNIA. The dominant species were S. abaster in PNAC and S. acus in PNIA. Syngnathids preferred less exposed sites in macroalgal assemblages in PNIA and Cymodocea meadows in PNAC. The occurrence of very large specimens, the absence of small-medium sizes and the isotopic comparison with a nearby population suggest that the population of Syngnathus acus (the dominant syngnathid in PNIA) mainly comprised breeders that migrate seasonally. Mitochondrial cytochrome b sequence variants were detected for H. guttulatus, S. acus, and S. abaster, and a novel 16S rDNA haplotype was obtained in N. maculatus. Our data suggest the presence of a cryptic divergent mitochondrial lineage of Syngnathus abaster species in PNAC. This is the first multidisciplinary approach to the study of syngnathids in Spanish marine NPs. Habitat preferences and population characteristics in both NPs differed. Further studies are needed to assess the occurrence of a species complex for S. abaster, discarding potential misidentifications of genus Syngnathus in PNAC, and evaluate migratory events in PNIA. We propose several preferential sites in both NPs for future monitoring of syngnathid populations and some recommendations for their conservation.

【 授权许可】

CC BY|CC0