Title: Unidirectional trans-Atlantic gene flow and a mixed
spawning area shape the genetic connectivity of Atlantic bluefin tuna
Running title: Genetic connectivity of Atlantic bluefin
tuna
Natalia Díaz-Arce1*, Pierre-Alexandre
Gagnaire2, David E. Richardson3,
John F. Walter III4, Sophie
Arnaud-Haond5, Jean-Marc Fromentin5,
Deirdre Brophy6, Molly Lutcavage7,
Piero Addis8, Francisco Alemany9,
Robert Allman10, Simeon Deguara11,
Igaratza Fraile12, Nicolas Goñi12#,
Alex R Hanke13, F Saadet
Karakulak14, Ashley Pacicco15,
Joseph M Quattro16, Jay R Rooker17,
Haritz Arrizabalaga12 and Naiara
Rodríguez-Ezpeleta1,*
*Correspondence: ndiaz@azti.es;nrodriguez@azti.es;
1 AZTI Marine Research Division, Basque Research and
Technology Alliance (BRTA), Sukarrieta, Spain
2 ISEM, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD,
Montpellier, France
3 Northeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine
Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), Narragansett, RI, USA
4 Southeast Fisheries Sciences Center, National Marine
Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), Miami, FL, USA
5 MARBEC, Univ Montpellier, Ifremer, IRD, CNRS, Sète,
France
6 Marine and Freshwater Research Center, Atlantic
Technological University (ATU), Galway City, Ireland
7 Large Pelagics Research Center, School for the
Environment, University of Massachusetts Boston, Gloucester, MA, USA
8 Department of Environmental and Life Science,
University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
9 International Commission for the Conservation of
Atlantic Tunas, GBYP, Madrid, Spain
10 National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast
Fisheries Science Center, Panama City Laboratory, Panama City, FL, USA.
11 AquaBio Tech Ltd., Central Complex, Mosta, Malta
12 AZTI Marine Research Division, Basque Research and
Technology Alliance (BRTA), Pasaia, Spain
13 St Andrews Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans
Canada, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada
14 Faculty of Aquatic Sciences, Istanbul University,
Istanbul, Turkey
15 Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric
Studies Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Science,
University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
16 Department of Biological Sciences, University of
South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
17 Department of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University
at Galveston, Galveston, TX, USA
# Present address: Fisheries and Fish Resources,
Natural Resources Institute Finland, Turku, Finland