TY - JOUR

T1 - New insights on the population genetic structure of the great scallop (Pecten maximus) in the English Channel coupling microsatellite data and demogenetic simulations.

AU - Handal, William

AU - Szostek, Claire

AU - Hold, Natalie

AU - Andrello, Marco

AU - Thiébaut, Eric

AU - Ewan, Harney

AU - Lefebvre, Gwendoline

AU - Elodie, Borcier

AU - Jolivet, Aurélie

AU - Nicolle, Amandine

AU - Boyé, Aurélien

AU - Foucher, Eric

AU - Boudry, Pierre

AU - Charrier, Grégory

PY - 2020/10/31

Y1 - 2020/10/31

N2 - 1. The great scallop (Pecten maximus) is a commercially important bivalve in Europe, particularly in the English Channel, where fisheries are managed at regional and local scales through the regulation of fishing effort. In the long term, knowledge about larval dispersal and gene flow between populations is essential to ensure proper stock management. Yet, previous population genetic studies have reported contradictory results.2. In this study, scallop samples collected across the main fishing grounds along the French and English coasts of the English Channel (20 samples with temporal replicates for three sites, n = 1059 individuals), and the population genetic structure was analysed using 13 microsatellite loci. Coupling empirical genetic data with demogenetic modelling based on a biophysical model simulating larval exchanges among scallop beds revealed a subtle genetic differentiation between south-west English populations and the rest of the English Channel, which was consistent with larval dispersal simulations.3. The present study provides a step forward in the understanding of great scallop population biology in the English Channel, underlining the fact that even in a context of potentially high gene flow and recent divergence times since the end of the last glacial maximum, weak but significant spatial genetic structure can be identified at a regional scale.

AB - 1. The great scallop (Pecten maximus) is a commercially important bivalve in Europe, particularly in the English Channel, where fisheries are managed at regional and local scales through the regulation of fishing effort. In the long term, knowledge about larval dispersal and gene flow between populations is essential to ensure proper stock management. Yet, previous population genetic studies have reported contradictory results.2. In this study, scallop samples collected across the main fishing grounds along the French and English coasts of the English Channel (20 samples with temporal replicates for three sites, n = 1059 individuals), and the population genetic structure was analysed using 13 microsatellite loci. Coupling empirical genetic data with demogenetic modelling based on a biophysical model simulating larval exchanges among scallop beds revealed a subtle genetic differentiation between south-west English populations and the rest of the English Channel, which was consistent with larval dispersal simulations.3. The present study provides a step forward in the understanding of great scallop population biology in the English Channel, underlining the fact that even in a context of potentially high gene flow and recent divergence times since the end of the last glacial maximum, weak but significant spatial genetic structure can be identified at a regional scale.

U2 - 10.1002/aqc.3316

DO - 10.1002/aqc.3316

M3 - Article

VL - 30

SP - 1841

EP - 1853

JO - Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems

JF - Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems

SN - 1099-0755

IS - 10

ER -