title: Demographic response of cutlassfish (Trichiurus japonicus and T. nanhaiensis) to fluctuating palaeo-climate and regional oceanographic conditions in the China seas.
abstract: Glacial cycles of the Quaternary have heavily influenced the demographic history of various species. To test the evolutionary impact of palaeo-geologic and climatic events on the demographic history of marine taxa from the coastal Western Pacific, we investigated the population structure and demographic history of two economically important fish (Trichiurus japonicus and T. nanhaiensis) that inhabit the continental shelves of the East China and northern South China Seas using the mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences and Bayesian Skyline Plot analyses. A molecular rate of 2.03% per million years, calibrated to the earliest flooding of the East China Sea shelf (70-140 kya), revealed a strong correlation between population sizes and primary production. Furthermore, comparison of the demographic history of T. japonicus populations from the East China and South China Seas provided evidence of the postglacial development of the Changjiang (Yangtze River) Delta. In the South China Sea, interspecific comparisons between T. japonicus and T. nanhaiensis indicated possible evolutionary responses to changes in palaeo-productivity that were influenced by East Asian winter monsoons. This study not only provides insight into the demographic history of cutlassfish but also reveals potential clues regarding the historic productivity and regional oceanographic conditions of the Western Pacific marginal seas.
authors.affiliation: 1] State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, P. R. China [2] East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Shanghai, 200090, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Lijun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: 1] College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, P. R. China [2].
authors.forename: Aibing
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Georgia College &State University, Milledgeville, GA 31061, USA [2].
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Weese
authors.affiliation: 1] East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Shanghai, 200090, P. R. China [2].
authors.forename: Shengfa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Shanghai, 200090, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jiansheng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002681:China; D002980:Climate; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010473:Perciformes / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*; D058974:Phylogeography