AUTHOR=Hsu Kui-Ching , Yi Mu-Rong , Gu Sui , He Xiong-Bo , Luo Zhi-Sen , Kang Bin , Lin Hung-Du , Yan Yun-Rong 

TITLE=Composition, Demographic History, and Population Structures of Trichiurus

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.875042

DOI=10.3389/fmars.2022.875042

ISSN=2296-7745

ABSTRACT=<p>Sequences of the complete mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene were used to identify <italic>Trichiurus</italic> species and examine their population genetic structure and demographic history along the coast of China. Three <italic>Trichiurus</italic> species were found. <italic>Trichiurus japonicus</italic> lives in colder waters along the continental shelves in the China Seas, while <italic>Trichiurus nanhaiensis</italic> lives warmer waters along continental slopes in the South China Sea, and <italic>Trichiurus brevis</italic> lives in shallow and warmer waters in the South China Sea. The migrations of these species were mainly associated with feeding and spawning preferences. Two major wintering and spawning grounds in the East China Sea and South China Sea were found. All species showed a lack of population genetic structure resulting from their oceanodromous life cycle (the degree of population substructure index <italic>N</italic><sub>ST</sub> = 0.000–0.149), but the results of approximate Bayesian computational approaches suggested population declines or stabilization and differentiation. The results of the T<sub>MRCA</sub> (time to the most recent common ancestor) showed that during glaciations, the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea were completely exposed, and the South China Sea acted as a refugium. Thus, the populations of these three species experienced differentiation during glaciations. This study also examined the limitations of Bayesian skyline plot analysis.</p>