Population genetic structure and larval dispersal strategy of portunid crab Charybdis bimaculata in Yellow sea and East China sea

Abstract

Larval dispersal may have an important effect on genetic structure of benthic species. However, different species may choose different larval dispersal strategy. To examine the population genetic structure and larval dispersal strategy of portunid crab Charybdis bimaculata, a 658 base pair (bp) fragment of mtDNA COI gene was sequenced in this species. In total, 67 individuals were collected from 5 locations in Yellow Sea and East China, and 24 haplotypes were obtained. Mean haplotype diversity and nucleotide diversity for the five populations ranged from 0.2000 ± 0.1541 (Zhoushan) to 0.8333 ± 0.1265 (Nanji island), and from 0.0003 ± 0.0005 (Zhoushan) to 0.0026 ± 0.0019 (Nanji island). Analysis of molecular variance and pairwise F_ST revealed no significant differentiation between the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea in C. bimaculata, supporting high larval dispersal ability in this species, rejecting larval retention. Mismatch distribution revealed that C. bimaculata had undergone population expansion. Larval drift in the ocean currents, and recent range expansion could be the reasons for little genetic structure in the studied area.

• Charybdis bimaculata
• COI
• larval dispersal
• ocean current

Declaration of interest

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41006075), State 863 High-Technology R&D Project of China (2009AA09Z401), Special Fund for Marine scientific Research in the Public Interest (201005013), Education Department of Zhejiang Province Outstanding Young Teachers Program, the Open Foundation from Ocean Fishery Science and Technology in the Most Important Subjects of Zhejiang (20100104), grant from Key Laboratory of South China Sea Fishery Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture (LSF2011-11), and Key Lab of Mariculture and Enhancement of Zhejiang Province. The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.