RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Inferring the Demographic History of Japanese Eel (<em>Anguilla japonica</em>) from Genomic Data: Insights for Conservation and Fisheries Management
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.11.18.468312
DO 10.1101/2021.11.18.468312
A1 Leanne Faulks
A1 Prashant Kaushik
A1 Shoji Taniguchi
A1 Masashi Sekino
A1 Reiichiro Nakamichi
A1 Yuki Yamamoto
A1 Hiroka Fujimori
A1 Chiaki Okamoto
A1 Sakie Kodama
A1 Ayu Daryani
A1 Angel Faye Manwong
A1 Ishmerai Galang
A1 Noritaka Mochioka
A1 Kiyo Araki
A1 Motoo Suzuki
A1 Yoshitsugu Kaji
A1 Takumi Ichiki
A1 Tetsuya Matsunaga
A1 Hiroshi Hakoyama
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/11/22/2021.11.18.468312.abstract
AB Assessing the status or population size of species is a key task for wildlife conservation and the sustainable management of harvested species. In particular, assessing historical changes in population size provides an evolutionary perspective on current population dynamics and can help distinguish between anthropogenic and natural causes for population decline.Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica) is an endangered yet commercially important catadromous fish species. Here we assess the demographic history of Japanese eel using the pairwise and multiple sequentially Markovian coalescent methods.The analyses indicate a reduction in effective population size (Ne) from 38 000 to 10 000 individuals between 4 and 1 Ma, followed by an increase to 80 000 individuals, between 1 Ma and 22−30 kya. Approximately 22−30 kya there is evidence for a reduction in Ne to approximately 60 000 individuals. These events are likely due to changes in environmental conditions, such as sea level and oceanic currents, especially around the last glacial maximum (19−33 kya).The results of this study suggest that Japanese eel has experienced at least two population bottlenecks, interspersed by a period of population growth. This pattern of demographic history may make Japanese eel sensitive to current and future population declines. Conservation management of Japanese eel should focus on practical ways to prevent further population decline and the loss of genetic diversity that is essential for the species to adapt to changing environmental conditions such as climate change.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.