Gene flow and genetic structure of Sicyopterus lagocephalus in the south-western Indian Ocean, assessed by intron-length polymorphism

Sicyopterus lagocephalus is the most abundant sicydiine (amphidromous gobiid) in the rivers of volcanic islands in the south-western Indian Ocean. The species occurs in the Mascarene (Mauritius and La Réunion) and Comoros islands (Anjouan, Mayotte, etc.) and the post-larvae supply an economically important fishery. Because of the scarcity of available ecological and biological data, a genetic survey has been undertaken at the scale of the south-western Indian Ocean using intron-length polymorphism. Samples from La Réunion, Mauritius and Mayotte were used to assess the population genetic structure within islands and between nearby and remote islands. No genetic divergences were observed in samples at these different geographical scales. A lower number of rare alleles were observed in Mayotte samples suggesting a slight effect of their peripheral geographical position. However, no recent bottleneck was evidenced for these populations. High temporal divergences have been demonstrated in La Réunion as in previous studies indicating a temporal Wahlund effect. In the light of these results, the dispersion abilities, the connectivity of populations and the metapopulation functioning are discussed in relation to the regional environmental factors (dispersal barriers, habitat colonization, cyclones, long distance dispersal).