Population Genetic Structure of A Marine Pelagic Egg Producer and Popular Marine Aquarium Species, the Mandarinfish Synchiropus splendidus.

The mandarinfish Synchiropus splendidus is extensively collected in Southeast Asia (mainly in the Philippines) and highly favoured for the marine aquarium trade. Males are more popular than females for their large first dorsal fins and the fishery is not managed. To examine possible population replenishment dynamics arising as a result of selective fishing, the effects of sex-selective fishing on sex ratios and population connectivity were considered. This study determined the sex ratios and analyzed the population genetic structure from mandarinfish collected at six locations: one from Palau, where the species is not exploited, and five from Bohol in the Philippines, where the species has long been heavily fished. The findings reported very low male to female ratios (0.12 to 0.30) from four of the five locations in Bohol, with relatively more males to females in the specimens collected from Palau (2.3). The analyses from allozymes (43 alleles from 10 loci) and microsatellites (118 alleles from 5 loci) revealed that genetic connectivity was high among the five locations in the Philippines as well as with the specimens collected from the more-distant Palau. The genetic homogeneity observed across the geographical range considered is inconsistent with the hypothesized limited dispersal ability of the species and could be explained by recent species range expansion associated with sea level rise in the region. The results suggest that the present genetic structure, at least in the geographic region considered, may not be determined by current patterns of gene flow, but may, instead, be driven by recent sea-level changes associated with periods of glaciation. Caution is suggested to ensure that heavily localized fishing does not produce excessively biased adult sex ratios.