Cryptic Genetic Divergence in Scolopsis taenioptera (Perciformes: Nemipteridae) in the Western Pacific Ocean

We studied the phylogeny, population structure, and demographic history of Scolopsis taenioptera in the western Pacific Ocean. Using the 80 samples collected from four locations, we obtained the nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and cytochrome b genes. We identified two distinct lineages showing a clear phylogeographic break that was possibly due to the Pleistocene sea-level change. One lineage was distributed in Iloilo (Philippines) and the other in Terengganu (Malaysia), Rayong (Thailand), and Ha Long Bay (Vietnam). The Terengganu and Rayong populations showed clear signs of demographic expansion; the Iloilo and Ha Long Bay populations were relatively stable or spatially expanded as geographically subdivided populations.This study was conducted under a Memorandum of Agreement for joint research made by and among the Department of Agriculture of the Republic of the Philippines (DA), University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV), Kagoshima University Museum, RIHN and Tokai University, facilitated by S. L. Sanchez [Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), DA]. P.J. Alcala (DA) provided a Prior Informed Consent Certificate, and I.P. Cabacaba and S.M.S. Nolasco (BFAR, DA) provided a Fish Specimen Export Certificate (no. 2016-39812). We thank the staff of the Office of the Vice-Chancellor for Research and Extension, UPV, and the UPV Museum of Natural Sciences, College of Fisheries, UPV, including S.S. Garibay, V.G. Urbina, L.H. Mooc, C.J.N. Rubido and E.P. Abunal, and graduate students of the College of Fisheries, UPV for their support of this research collaboration. Malaysian specimens were collected during the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Tokyo Asian Core Program, ‘Establishment of Research and Education Network on Coastal Marine Science in Southeast Asia’, supported by the Ministry of Higher Education, Putrajaya, Universiti Putra Malaysia and Universiti Malaysia Terengganu. The Thai specimens were collected with the supports of the Training Department, Southeast Fisheries Development Center, Bangkok, and the Eastern Marine and Research Center, Rayong. The Vietnamese specimens were collected with the support of the Institute of Marine Environment and Resources, and the Ha Long Bay Management Department and with a permission of use of the specimens by the Biodiversity Conservation Agency, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Vietnam. This study was supported by the projects ‘Coastal Area Capability Enhancement in Southeast Asia’ of RIHN (no. 14200061) and ‘Biological Properties of Biodiversity Hotspots in Japan’ of the National Museum of Nature and Science, the JSPS Asian Core Program ‘Establishment of Research and Education Network on Coastal Marine Science in Southeast Asia’, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C:26450265) and Young Scientists (B:26840131) from JSPS, the fund for international collaboration (NDT.16 TW/16; VAST04.08/17-18) from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Hanoi, and Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology Grant in Marine Sciences and Technology (VAST 06.04/18-19)