Isolation and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite markers from the spotted eagle ray (Aetobatus narinari)

Ten polymorphic microsatellites were isolated from the spotted eagle ray using an enrichment protocol. Primers were designed and tested on 30 individual samples collected in eastern Gulf of Mexico waters off Sarasota, FL. The number of alleles for these loci ranged from 2 to 19 and observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.345 to 0.966. All loci conformed to Hardy-Weinberg and linkage equilibrium. These markers are the first published microsatellites from A. narinari and will be valuable to studies investigating the population structure and conservation genetics of this near threatened species.