한국산 돌가자미(가자미과)의 형태 및 유전변이

Abstract

The stone flounder, Platichthys bicoloratus (family Pleuronectidae), has a distribution restricted to the Northwest Pacific, including Korea, Japan, China, and Taiwan. Although P. bicoloratus is an important commercial fish in Korea, there have been no studies of its population structure for species conservation and management. The present study was performed to investigate morphological and molecular variations of P. bicoloratus collected from five locations in Korea: Goseong, Pohang, Yeosu, Seocheon, and Daecheongdo. With regard to meristic characters, significant differences were detected in the number of anal fin rays (Yeosu vs. Daecheongdo) and vertebrae (Goseong vs. Yeosu vs. Daecheongdo). Canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) revealed differences in standardized morphometric characters between Goseong and Pohang, Seocheon, and Daecheongdo. Pairwise ΦST and FST for the 720-bp cytochrome b sequence showed that Goseong differed from the remaining four locations, and was particularly distinguished from Daecheongdo (ΦST = 0.187, p < 0.001; FST = 0.203, p < 0.001). A Bayesian skyline plot suggested that P. bicoloratus had a low effective population size during the Pleistocene, and rapid population expansion occurred during interglacial periods. Our results suggest that there may be at least two populations of Korean P. bicoloratus, and that Goseong may require separate management from the others.