title: High Connectivity among Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus) Populations in the Western South Atlantic.
abstract: Population connectivity in the blue crab Callinectes sapidus was evaluated along 740 km of the Western South Atlantic coast. Blue crabs are the most exploited portunid in Brazil. Despite their economic importance, few studies report their ecology or population structure. Here we sampled four estuarine areas in southern Brazil during winter 2013 and summer 2014 in order to evaluate diversity, gene flow and structure of these populations. Nine microsatellite markers were evaluated for 213 adult crabs, with identification of seven polymorphic loci and 183 alleles. Pairwise FST values indicated low population structure ranging from -0.00023 to 0.01755. A Mantel test revealed that the geographic distance does not influence genetic (r = -0.48), and structure/migration rates confirmed this, showing that even the populations located at the opposite extremities of our covered region presented low FST and exchanged migrants. These findings show that there is a significant amount of gene flow between blue crab populations in South Brazil, likely influenced by local current dynamics that allow the transport of a high number of larvae between estuaries. Considering the elevated gene flow, the populations can be considered a single genetic stock. However, further information on population size and dynamics, as well as fishery demands and impacts at different regions, are necessary for harvest management purposes.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.
authors.forename: Ana Luzia Figueiredo
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6654-5597
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Lacerda
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kersanach
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.
authors.forename: Maria Cristina Silva
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Cortinhas
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.
authors.forename: Pedro Fernandes Sanmartin
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Prata
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.
authors.forename: Luiz Felipe Cestari
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Dumont
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.
authors.forename: Maíra Carneiro
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Proietti
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Ciências do Mar, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Ceará, Brasil.
authors.forename: Rodrigo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Maggioni
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: D'Incao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003386:Brachyura / Q000235:genetics*; D001938:Brazil; D063366:Estuaries; D051456:Gene Flow; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics*; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012621:Seasons