Genetic connectivity and hybridization with its siter species challenge the current management paradigm of white anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius)

Understanding the inter and intraspecific dynamics of fish populations is essential to promote effective management and conservation actions and to predict adaptation to changing conditions. This is possible through the analysis of thousands of genetic markers, which has proven useful to resolve connectivity among populations. Here, we have tackled this issue in the white anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius), which inhabits the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea and coexists with its morphologically almost identical sister species, the black anglerfish (L. budegassa). Our genetic analyses based on 16,000 SNP markers and 700 samples reveal that i) the white anglerfish from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean are genetically isolated, but that no differentiation can be observed within the later, and that ii) black and white anglerfish naturally hybridize, resulting in a population of about 20% of, most likely sterile, hybrids in some areas. These findings challenge the current paradigm of white anglerfish management, which considers three independent management units within the North East Atlantic and assumes that all mature fish have reproductive potential. Additionally, the northwards distribution of both species, likely due to temperature raises, calls for further monitoring of the abundance and distribution of hybrids to anticipate the effects of climate change in the interactions between both species and their potential resilience

The bioeconomics of homogeneous middleman groups as adaptive units: Theory and empirical evidence viewed from a group selection framework

Adaptation, Complex regulatory mechanisms, Major life transitions, Social norms, Institutions, Trust, Kinship, Ethnicity, Clubs, Multilevel selection, Cultural group selection, In-group cooperation, Between-group competition, Cultural bearing and transmission units, Dual-inheritance theory, Ethnocentrism, D23, D71, D86, L14, 017, Z12, Z13,

Is group selection necessary? An alternative interpretation of homogeneous Middleman groups: Comments on Janet Landa’s paper

Clubs, Group selection, Inclusive fitness, Social networks and norms, D71, Z13,

Play locally, learn globally: group selection and structural basis of cooperation

The evolution of cooperation, Global/local play, Global/local learning, Between-group variance, Within-group variance, B52, C72, D64,

A 4D natural selection model illuminates the enigma of altruism in the Shedao pit viper

Cooperation, Evolution, Mutualism, Island biogeography, Complexity, A13, B49, B59, C72, C91, D63, D64, J16, Z13,

Convergent cultural evolution and multilevel selection: Reply to comments on Janet Landa’s ‘The bioeconomics of homogenous middleman groups as adaptive units: Theory and empirical evidence viewed from a group selection framework’

Cultural diversity, Group selection, Proximate and ultimate causation, Fitness differences, The Law Merchant, K12, P51, Q57, Z1, Z12,

Evidence of stock connectivity, hybridization and misidentification in white anglerfish support the need of a genetics-informed fisheries management framework

Understanding population connectivity within a species as well as potential interactions with its close relatives is crucial to define management units and to derive efficient management actions. However, although genetics can reveal mismatches between biological and management units and other relevant but hidden information such as species misidentification or hybridization, the uptake of genetic methods by the fisheries management process is far from having been consolidated. Here, we have assessed the power of genetics to better understand the population connectivity of white (Lophius piscatorius) and its interaction with its sister species, the black anglerfish (Lophius budegassa). Our analyses, based on thousands of genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms, show three findings that are crucial for white anglerfish management. We found (i) that white anglerfish is likely composed of a single panmictic population throughout the Northeast Atlantic, challenging the three-stock based management, (ii) that a fraction of specimens classified as white anglerfish using morphological characteristics are genetically identified as black anglerfish (L. budegassa), and iii) that the two Lophius species naturally hybridize leading to a population of hybrids of up to 20% in certain areas. Our results set the basics for a genetics-informed white anglerfish assessment framework that accounts for stock connectivity, revises and establishes new diagnostic characters for Lophius species identification, and evaluates the effect of hybrids in the current and future assessments of the white anglerfish. Furthermore, our study contributes to provide additional evidence of the potentially negative consequences of ignoring genetic data for assessing fisheries resources.Versión del editor4,91