Sex influence on the genetic structure of Greenland halibut,
Reinhardtius hippglossoides (Walbaum, 1792), in the North Atlantic
Abstract
Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) is a commercially
important species in the North Atlantic whose spatial population
structure has not yet been fully determined. To help resolve this issue
further, we genotyped individuals from across the North Atlantic using a
subset of previously identified, informative single nucleotide
polymorphic (SNP) markers. We assessed the population genetic structure
in the species in the largest part of its range using these SNPs, but
also considered the impacts of sex association in the markers. We
observed an important influence of sex in a proportion of the loci which
would likely confound signals of population structure made using them.
The use of a SNP set with sex-associated loci removed showed a
longitudinal pattern with two major clusters but with high levels of
admixture. The results support weak genetic structuring in this species
following an isolation by distance pattern. The study discusses the
consequences of ignoring sex when assessing population structure,
particularly in species with high sexual dimorphism.