Heterozygosity fitness correlations and generation interval of the Norway lobster in the Aegean Sea, eastern Mediterranean

Background

Comprehensively detailed information on population dynamics for benthic species is crucial since potential admixture of individuals could shift the genetic subdivision and age structure during a full breeding period. The apparent genetic impact of the potential recruitment strategy of Norway lobster Nephrops norvegicus is still under research. For this reason the present study was focused on genetic variation of the species over a given continuous year period in a semi-enclosed gulf of the Aegean Sea.

Results

Analyses revealed that the relative smaller size class in females and the apparent faster growth of males may represent a key-role differential strategy for the two sexes, whereas females tend to mature slower. Heterozygosity fitness correlations (HFCs) showed substantially significant associations suggesting that inbreeding depression for females and outbreeding depression for males are the proximate fitness mechanisms, respectively.

Conclusions

Nephrops norvegicus uniformal genetic composition (background of high gene flow), could be attributed to potential population recolonization, due to a hypothesized passive larval movement from deeper waters, which may suggest that some offspring of local residents and potential male non-breeders from other regions admixture randomly.

Habitat and ecology of Nephrops norvegicus

This review summarizes the data on habitat, population ecology and ecosystem roles of Nephrops norvegicus. The species has a broad range in the northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean, although it is possible that small or isolated patches of suitable habitat may not be occupied due to restrictions on larval supply. Nephrops densities are related to the silt-clay content of sediments, with interactions between habitat quality and density indicating competition for resources. An analysis of density-size interactions across fishery functional management units (FUs) suggests that growth is suppressed at high densities due to competition (e.g. in the western Irish Sea), although recruitment dynamics or size-selective mortality may also shape the size structure of populations. Nephrops biomass available across FUs may be similar, reflecting a constant yield due to the inverse relationship between individual size and population density. Gaps in the understanding of Nephrops' ecology reflect uncertain ageing criteria, reliance on fisheries-dependent data and few if any undisturbed habitats in which to examine fisheries-independent interactions.

Light intensity determines temporal niche switching of behavioral activity in deep-water Nephrops norvegicus (Crustacea: Decapoda)

The temporal distribution of behavioral programs throughout the 24-h day, known as temporal niche of a species, is determined by ecological factors that directly affect the adaptive value of the timing of specific behaviors. Temporal niche switching has been described in several species and is likely adaptive in habitats where the daily timing of those factors changes. Benthic species whose habitats span a wide range of water depths are exposed to considerable depth-dependent environmental changes. Temporally scheduled trawl surveys of the Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus, reveal that animals emerge from burrows at night on the shallow shelf (10-50 m deep), at crepuscular hours on the lower shelf (50-200 m), and at daytime on the slope (200-400 m). The mechanisms underlying nocturnality/diurnality switches are chiefly unknown, and Nephrops offers a unique model for their study. The depth-dependent decrease in luminance is a likely candidate determining the temporal distribution of behavior. The authors explored this possibility in the laboratory by exposing Nephrops to light:dark (LD) cycles of 470-nm monochromatic lighting that mimic conditions at the 100-m-deep shelf (10 lux) or the 300-m slope (0.1 lux). Two groups of animals were respectively exposed to each light intensity according to the following protocol: an initial 12:12 LD stage followed by constant darkness (DD), followed in turn by a second 12:12 LD stage. Activity at the burrow opening (door-keeping = DK), as well as full emergence (E), was continuously monitored. Under 10-lux LD cycles, most animals showed nocturnal DK activity-with some being crepuscular or diurnal-and all animals showed nocturnal E activity. In contrast, both behaviors were clearly diurnal in animals under 0.1-lux LD cycles. The phase of the nocturnal and diurnal DK rhythms detected respectively at 10 and 0.1 lux upon release into DD revealed that these rhythms are entrained circadian rhythms. The present data indicate that nocturnality/diurnality switches in Nephrops in its natural habitat, evidenced by captures at different depths, are likely determined by light intensity. This temporal niche switching involves different patterns of photic entrainment, leading to bona fide circadian diurnal or nocturnal phenotypes, as well as exogenous masking of behavioral outputs.

Mitochondrial DNA variation in Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean populations of Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus

Analysis of the genetic structure of the Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus), a marine crustacean with high commercial value, was undertaken to gain information regarding the differentiation of Atlantic from Mediterranean populations of marine invertebrates. Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of two mitochondrial DNA segments, 3.6 kilobases in total, was performed. Twelve populations from the North Sea, Irish Sea, Portuguese coast and Aegean Sea were analysed. Low levels of differentiation were found among them (F(ST) = 0.018, P < 0.001) and there were no signs of an Atlantic-Mediterranean divide or of an isolation-by-distance scheme of differentiation. Possible reasons for these low levels of differentiation can be found in the recent expansion of N. norvegicus populations. This is supported by the mismatch distribution of pairwise haplotype differences, as well as by the high mean haplotype diversity (h = 0.93) combined with medium nucleotide diversity (pi = 0.0057) (in comparison to values for marine crustaceans or teleosts) found in this study. This combination of high levels of haplotype diversity with moderate to low levels of nucleotide diversity has also been frequently attributed to a recent time of divergence for various marine species. No evidence was found for a Mediterranean refugium during glaciation periods, separate from the Atlantic, as has been reported for some marine species. The Irish Sea population was the most differentiated as a result of reduced levels of diversity. Results are also discussed in the light of future management of N. norvegicus stocks.