Most fisheries involving spiny lobsters of the genus Palinurus have been overexploited during the last decades, so there is a raising concern about management decisions for these valuable resources. A total of 13 microsatellite DNA loci recently developed in Palinurus elephas were assayed in order to assess genetic diversity levels in every known species of the genus. Microsatellite markers gave amplifications and showed polymorphism in all species, with gene diversity values varying from 0.650 ± 0.077 SD (Palinurus barbarae) to 0.792 ± 0.051 SD (Palinurus elephas). Most importantly, when depth distribution was taken into account, shallower water species consistently showed larger historical effective population sizes than their deeper-water counterparts. This could explain why deeper-water species are more sensitive to overfishing, and would indicate that overexploitation may have a larger impact on their long-term genetic diversity.
You have requested a machine translation of selected content from our databases. This functionality is provided solely for your convenience and is in no way intended to replace human translation. Neither BioOne nor the owners and publishers of the content make, and they explicitly disclaim, any express or implied representations or warranties of any kind, including, without limitation, representations and warranties as to the functionality of the translation feature or the accuracy or completeness of the translations.
Translations are not retained in our system. Your use of this feature and the translations is subject to all use restrictions contained in the Terms and Conditions of Use of the BioOne website.
Vol. 30 • No. 4