Genetic diversity and spatial population structure of a deepwater snapper, Pristipomoides filamentosus in the south-west Indian Ocean

The crimson jobfish, Pristipomoides filamentosus Valenciennes, 1830 is an economically important demersal species largely distributed in the Indo-Pacific region. Pristipomoides filamentosus constitutes a significant portion of catch landed in demersal fisheries throughout the species’ distribution range. Despite the species’ economic importance, there is insufficient data to guide the species’ conservation management, especially within the south-western (SW) Indian Ocean region. The aims of the present study were to conduct a population genetic analysis to determine the spatial genetic structure of the species and, whether different management units could be established in the region, using an analysis of both mitochondrial DNA fragment (mtDNA), and nuclear microsatellite loci. A total of 193 fin clips were collected from Seychelles, Kenya, Tanzania, Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and South Africa, with each having an established fishery of the species. Both haplotype diversity ( h ) and expected heterozygosity ( H E ) for mtDNA and microsatellite loci respectively were generally high for all localities, except for Seychelles where both diversity indices were at the lowest (i.e. h = 0.429 ± 0.134; H E = 0.647 ± 0.059). Even though mtDNA failed to detect population differentiation, the hypervariable microsatellite loci consistently indicated presence of four genetic clusters irrespective of the clustering approach applied. Based on present results, we propose recognising the four clusters as distinct fisheries management units of the species in the SW Indian Ocean region.