Neutral and adaptive population structure of pink abalone (Haliotis corrugata): fishery management implications

The accurate definition of population units (stocks) and local adaptation are the cornerstones of fishery management. Unfortunately, this knowledge is unknown mainly for abalone species in the Northeast Pacific, where stocks have failed to recover. The pink abalone (Haliotis corrugata) is a fishing resource on the western coast of the Baja California Peninsula (BCP) and is currently catalogued as diminished with a recovery trending pattern. This research determined if the biological units matched the administrative and stock assessment units along the west coast of the BCP and the implications for fishery management. To test this hypothesis, a double digest restriction site-associated DNA sequencing approach was used to generate 1 733 neutral and 6 putative outlier loci for population genomic analysis. Neutral markers detected a smooth partition in two regional groups, the southern (San Juanico, La Bocana, Bahia Asuncion, Puerto Escondido, Punta Eugenia, and Natividad Island) and northern regions (Cedros Island, Faro San Jose, San Jeronimo Island, and Guadalupe Island). Putative outlier loci indicated evident differentiation of those groups. The population subdivision at 28 degrees latitude with both marker types was related to a biogeographic boundary. Results did not support the current administrative zones of pink abalone fisheries and contrasted with genetic homogeneity reports in the region.

Automated summary

This study used genomic analysis to determine whether the biological units of pink abalone along the western coast of the Baja California Peninsula matched the administrative and stock assessment units. The results showed significant genetic differentiation between the southern and northern regions, contrasting with the current administrative zones.