Mitochondrial DNA Diversity And Divergence Among Sharpnose Sharks, Rhizoprionodon Terraenovae, From The Gulf Of Mexico And Mid-Atlantic Bight

Authors

Edward J. Heist, Virginia Institute of Marine Science
John Musick, Virginia Institute of Marine Science
John Graves, Virginia Institute of Marine ScienceFollow

Document Type

Article

Department/Program

Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Publication Date

1996

Journal

Fishery Bulletin

Volume

94

Issue

4

First Page

664

Last Page

668

Abstract

The Atlantic sharpnose shark, Rhizoprionodon terraenovae, is a small coastal shark that is harvested in both directed and nondirected fisheries throughout its range. Because pups of this species are found both along the southeastern U.S. Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico, it is possible that multiple isolated breeding stocks exist. Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of mitochondrial DNA was used to test the hypothesis that Atlantic sharpnose sharks from the U.S. Atlantic coast and the western Gulf of Mexico have identical mitochondrial haplotype frequencies and therefore no apparent genetic stock structure. Seven mitochondrial haplotypes were detected among 52 individuals. The distribution of haplotypes between samples did not differ significantly from homogeneity (P=0.694), indicating that the null hypothesis of a single breeding population could not be rejected.

Keywords

Population-Structure; Of-Mexico; History; Biology

Recommended Citation

Heist, Edward J.; Musick, John; and Graves, John, Mitochondrial DNA Diversity And Divergence Among Sharpnose Sharks, Rhizoprionodon Terraenovae, From The Gulf Of Mexico And Mid-Atlantic Bight (1996). Fishery Bulletin, 94(4), 664-668.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/vimsarticles/590