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Conclusive evidence for panmixia in the A merican eel

2013; Wiley; Volume: 22; Issue: 7 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/mec.12143

1365-294X

J. M. Pujolar,

Aquaculture Nutrition and Growth

Eels are unique species in the biological world. The two N orth A tlantic eel species, the A merican eel ( A nguilla rostrata ) and the European eel ( A. anguilla ), occupy a broad range of habitats from the C aribbean to G reenland in the western A tlantic and from M orocco to I celand in the eastern A tlantic, respectively. North A tlantic eels have a catadromous life cycle, spawning only in the S argasso S ea and spending the majority of their lives in continental (fresh, brackish and coastal) waters. Despite such a wide distribution range, N orth A tlantic eels have been regarded as a textbook example of panmictic species. In contrast with the large amount of population genetic studies testing the panmixia hypothesis in the E uropean eel, a relatively modest effort has been given to study the population structure of the A merican eel. In this issue of Molecular Ecology , Côté et al . ( ) present the most comprehensive A merican eel data set to date, which includes samples of different life stages obtained throughout all its distribution range in N orth A merica. Results show a total lack of genetic differentiation among samples and provide decisive evidence for panmixia in the A merican eel.