Genetic Structure of the Veined Rapa Whelk (Rapana venosa) Populations Along the Coast of China

The veined rapa whelk (Rapana venosa) is a valuable and important fishery resource in China. In order to provide guidelines for fisheries management, the genetics population structure was assessed using 10 polymorphic allozyme loci from seven populations of R. venosa across the species' range on the Chinese coast. The mean allele richness ranged from 1.65 to 2.13, and the mean heterozygosity ranged from 0.086 to 0.149. Significant genetic differentiation was present, and the theta value was 0.016 across all populations. The nMDS plot of pairwise theta values, UPGMA dendrogram, and AMOVA analysis were in good agreement and identified three geographic subdivision groups. We propose that the genetic structure may be due to larval dispersal barriers and localized adaptation or a combination thereof. The implications of these results for the management of R. venosa populations are discussed.