Genetics in the Ocean's Twilight Zone: Population Structure of the Glacier Lanternfish Across Its Distribution Range.

ABSTRACT: The mesopelagic zone represents one of the few habitats that remains relatively untouched from anthropogenic activities. Among the many species inhabiting the north Atlantic mesopelagic zone, glacier lanternfish (Benthosema glaciale) is the most abundant and widely distributed. This species has been regarded as a potential target for a dedicated fishery despite the scarce knowledge of its population genetic structure. Here, we investigated its genetic structure across the North Atlantic and into the Mediterranean Sea using 121 SNPs, which revealed strong differentiation among three main groups: the Mediterranean Sea, oceanic samples, and Norwegian fjords. The Mediterranean samples displayed less than half the genetic variation of the remaining ones. Very weak or nearly absent

SUBMITTER: Quintela M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11540841 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature