Population genetic structure and body shape assessment of Pagrus pagrus (Perciformes: Sparidae) from the Buenos Aires coast of the Argentine Sea

PORRINI, LEONARDO PABLO; IUDICA, CELIA M.; ARISTIZABAL ABUD, EDDIE; FERNANDEZ IRIARTE, PEDRO

NEOTROPICAL ICHTHYOLOGY

SOC BRASILEIRA ICTIOLOGIA

Lugar: Porto Alegre; Año: 2015 vol. 13 p. 431 - 438

1679-6225

This study centers on the analysis of the morphological and genetic variation of the common sea bream Pagrus pagrus, and compares the two main areas of concentration: the northern (35 ºS- 38 °S) and the southern zones (39 °S- 41 °S) of the Buenos Aires coast of the Argentine Sea. Body shape characterization presented two significantly different morphotypes (Wilks? Lambda = 0.224, P < 0.0001). Northern specimens showed a higher middle area while southern ones were smaller and their caudal peduncle was shorter. The northern and southern areas did not yield significant genetic differences, not even in the control region of the mitochondrial DNA or the microsatellite loci, thereby revealing that P. pagrus is not genetically structured. However, the phenotypic variation in the morphological patterns between both areas, characterized by environmental differences, would define two stocks for Pagrus pagrus from the Buenos Aires coast.