Meta‐analysis reveals lower genetic diversity in overfished populations |
| |
Authors: | Malin L Pinsky Stephen R Palumbi |
| |
Institution: | 1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, , Princeton, NJ, 08544 USA;2. Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources & Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, , New Brunswick, NJ, 08901 USA;3. Department of Biology, Stanford University, , Pacific Grove, CA, 93950 USA |
| |
Abstract: | While population declines can drive the loss of genetic diversity under some circumstances, it has been unclear whether this loss is a general consequence of overharvest in highly abundant marine fishes. We compiled data from 11 049 loci across 140 species and found that allelic richness was lower in overfished populations within 9 of 12 genera and families. A multiple linear regression showed that allelic richness was on average 12% lower (P < 0.0001) in overharvested populations after accounting for the effects of body size, latitude and other factors. Heterozygosity was on average 2% lower (P = 0.030). Simulations confirmed that these patterns are consistent with a recent bottleneck in abundant species and also showed that our analysis likely underestimates the loss of rare alleles by a factor of two or three. This evidence suggests that overharvest drives the decay of genetic diversity across a wide range of marine fishes. Such reductions of genetic diversity in some of the world's most abundant species may lead to a long‐term impact of fishing on their evolutionary potential, particularly if abundance remains low and diversity continues to decay. |
| |
Keywords: | conservation genetics fish fisheries management population dynamics |
|
|