A priority nursery area for the conservation of the scalloped hammerhead shark Sphyrna lewini in Mexico

Written By Karina Busto

Photo Credit: © Abel Trejo Ramírez

A priority nursery area for the conservation of the scalloped hammerhead shark Sphyrna lewini in Mexico

Juan P. Rodriguez-Arana Favela | Sebastián Hernández | Rogelio González-Armas | Felipe Galván-Magaña | Arturo Tripp-Valdez | Mauricio Hoyos-Padilla | James T. Ketchum

Journal of Fish Biology 2022; 1-5

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.15227

Abstract

This study describes the genetic diversity and level of genetic differentiation of the scalloped hammerhead shark Sphyrna lewini from eight putative nursery areas in the Mexican Pacific Ocean, using the mtDNA control region. Genetic analyses revealed a particular spatial divergence between La Reforma and all the remaining sites, with five exclusive haplotypes and the highest genetic diversity. This pattern may be interpreted as the signature of regional female philopatry, relatively to a particular female-mediated gene flow for La Reforma, which shows a strong subdivision in the Gulf of California.

Keywords: Genetic structure, Haplotypes, Philopatry, Variability

Karina Busto
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