{"id":633,"date":"2020-03-16T06:04:25","date_gmt":"2020-03-16T06:04:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wiomsa.org\/researchsupport\/?page_id=633"},"modified":"2025-06-08T19:40:58","modified_gmt":"2025-06-08T19:40:58","slug":"phase-ii-genetic-connectivity-and-its-implications-for-the-design-and-management-of-marine-protected-areas-in-the-east-african-ecoregion","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wiomsa.org\/researchsupport\/phase-ii-genetic-connectivity-and-its-implications-for-the-design-and-management-of-marine-protected-areas-in-the-east-african-ecoregion\/","title":{"rendered":"Phase III – Genetic Connectivity and its Implications for the Design and Management of Marine Protected Areas in the East African Ecoregion"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Genetic Connectivity and its Implications for the Design and Management of Marine Protected Areas in the East African Ecoregion<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Keywords<\/h6>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Country Covered<\/h6>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Genetic Stock Structure of Reef Fishes, Population Genetics of Scarus ghobban and Siganus sutor, Dispersal and Connectivity of Reef Fish in the WIO, Stock Assessment for Coral Reef Fisheries, Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism, Fish Genetics, Mitochondrial DNA Analysis , Connectivity , Currents and Fish Dispersal, Fisheries Management, Genetic Diversity, Marine Protected Areas , Impacts of Fishing , Resilience of Coral Reef Fish Populations, Conservation Genetics , Economic Coral Reef Species, Molecular Tools, Biodiversity Assessment, Sustainable Fish Stock Management in WIO, Implications of Genetic Isolation on Marine Species, Spawning Aggregation Protection Strategies<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Kenya, Tanzania, Mauritius and Seychelles<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Coastal Oceans, Research and Development in the Indian Ocean (CORDIO) East Africa<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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January 2007 \u2013 December 2009<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Abstract<\/h6>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Genetic studies on stock structure and dispersal and connectivity patterns are essential for the design of management strategies for coral reef fisheries. The overall aim of the project was to assess the population structure and genetic stock composition of reef associated fish species along the Eastern seaboard of Africa (Kenya and Tanzania) and islands of the WIO (Mauritius, Rodrigues, Seychelles). Specific objectives of this project were (i) to evaluate the potential impact of genetic flow among the islands, between the islands and the East African mainland coasts through dispersal by the South Equatorial Current (SEC), and along the East African coastline via the East African Coastal Current (EACC); and (ii) to generate data on commercially important fish species for use at national fisheries departments for sustainable fish stock management through identification of local breeding populations. The project targeted to benefit scientific communities, policy and decision makers.<\/p>

During the study, a series of activities were undertaken; (i) examination of genetic stock composition of Scarus ghobban<\/em> and Siganus sutor<\/em> using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP), (ii) assessment of genetic connectivity of S. ghobban<\/em> and S. sutor<\/em> using DNA sequence analysis using (mtDNA), (iii) creation of bathymetric data using GeoMap App (www.geomapapp.org\/<\/a>) and study of population structure (FST) based on calculations of genetic distances between pairs of populations using ARLEQUIN v3. The project was implemented in five countries in the WIO region, comprising of two mainland countries (Kenya and Tanzania) and three WIO islands (Mauritius, Rodrigues, Seychelles).<\/p>

The project revealed important scientific findings.including (i) S. ghobban<\/em> and S. sutor<\/em> displayed a high degree of population genetic structuring, (ii) S. ghobban<\/em> showed a high diversity of mtDNA, a condition that signifies the species long-term survival and adaptability in the region, (iii) based on mismatch analysis, S. ghobban<\/em> exhibited a recent demographic expansion in the region and displayed a relatively high level of gene flow which is a consistent condition for reef fishes with a pelagic larval phase, (iv) in combination, different genetic markers AFLP and mtDNA for S. ghobban<\/em> revealed two events of range expansions (70-130 Ka) forming two major mtDNA clades found at most of the study sites and (v) mtDNA data for S. sutor<\/em> showed that the oceanic islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues are genetically different from mainland sites in Kenya, with less genetic diverse island population indicating negative implications for resilience to environmental perturbations.<\/p>

This project has produced significant information relative to management options of S. ghobban <\/em>and S. sutor<\/em> in the WIO region. Of the such tangible outputs include (i) the evidence of genetic structure showing that both S. ghobban <\/em>and S. sutor<\/em> exhibit several genetically defined stocks with limited genetic exchange over an ecological time-scale (tens to hundreds of years) and that islands specifically show evidence of restricted migration between neighboring sites; hence, high fishing pressure can lead to local loss of the species, which may have consequences both for human food consumption, economy and ecosystem function, (ii) the less intensively fished species, S. ghobban<\/em>, showed evidence of mixed stock fisheries, particularly along the East African coast and in most sites they occurred in high stocks indicating relatively high degree of resilience against local depletion, (iii) Siganus sutor<\/em>, which is an intensively fished species had comparatively fewer stocks per site. Fisheries that target spawning aggregations of this species may lead to local extinction of this specie.<\/p>

Spin-off of the project include the development of an infrastructure for molecular work (regional network of marine scientists and laboratories), which serves to expose students from the region to applications of genetics in conservation and management.<\/p>

The projects recommended future genetic research in Madagascar and Mozambique and also to consider other species, particularly those that are economically important. Furthermore, for sustainable management of fish stocks in the region, especially on island sites like Mauritius and Rodriguez with few dominant stocks, it is recommended that a number of small marine protected areas, preferably no take zones, be established around these islands for protecting fish populations at the local scale. Moreover, fish spawning aggregations should be identified and given the necessary protection.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u2022 Assess the genetic flow among reef fish populations between the islands and the East African mainland, influenced by currents like the South Equatorial Current (SEC) and East African Coastal Current (EACC).
\u2022 Produce genetic data on commercially important fish species (Scarus ghobban and Siganus sutor) to inform national fisheries departments for sustainable stock management.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u2022 Genetic Stock Composition Analysis: Conduct examinations of the genetic stock composition of Scarus ghobban and Siganus sutor using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP).
\u2022 DNA Sequence Analysis: Assess genetic connectivity of these species through mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
\u2022 Bathymetric Data Collection: Create bathymetric data using GeoMap App to map underwater topography relevant to fish habitats.
\u2022 Population Structure Analysis: Analyze the population structure by calculating genetic distances between populations using FST values in ARLEQUIN v3 software.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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