Distribution and population structure in the naked goby Gobiosoma bosc (Perciformes: Gobiidae) along a salinity gradient in two western Atlantic estuaries.

ABSTRACT: Many species of fish produce larvae that undergo a prolonged dispersal phase. However, evidence from a number of recent studies on demersal fishes suggests that the dispersal of propagules may not be strongly correlated with gene flow. Instead, other factors like larval behavior and the availability of preferred settlement habitat may be more important to maintaining population structure. We used an ecologically important benthic fish species, Gobiosoma bosc (naked goby), to investigate local and regional scale population structure and gene flow along a salinity gradient (∼3 ppt to ∼18 ppt) in two North Carolina estuaries. G. bosc is an abundant and geographically widespread species that requires complex but patchy microhabitat (e.g. oyster reefs, rubble, woody debris) for re

SUBMITTER: Moore CS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6086083 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature