Resolving taxonomic uncertainty in vulnerable elasmobranchs: are the Madeira skate (Raja maderensis) and the thornback ray (Raja clavata) distinct species?

Rachel E. Ball; Barbara Serra-Pereira; Jim  Ellis; Martin J. Genner; Samuel  Iglesias; Andrew F. Johnson; Catherine S. Jones; Rob Leslie; Jennifer Lewis; Stefano Mariani; Gui Menezes; Francis Neat; Leslie R. Noble; David W. Sims; Andrew M. Griffiths

doi:10.1007/s10592-015-0806-1

Resolving taxonomic uncertainty in vulnerable elasmobranchs: are the Madeira skate (Raja maderensis) and the thornback ray (Raja clavata) distinct species?

Rachel E. Ball, Barbara Serra-Pereira, Jim Ellis, Martin J. Genner, Samuel Iglesias, Andrew F. Johnson, Catherine S. Jones, Rob Leslie, Jennifer Lewis, Stefano Mariani, Gui Menezes, Francis Neat, Leslie R. Noble, David W. Sims, Andrew M. Griffiths

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Abstract

Skates and rays constitute the most speciose group of chondrichthyan fishes, yet are characterised by remarkable levels of morphological and ecological conservatism. They can be challenging to identify, which makes monitoring species compositions for fisheries management purposes problematic. Owing to their slow growth and low fecundity, skates are vulnerable to exploitation and species exhibiting endemism or limited ranges are considered to be the most at risk. The Madeira skate Raja maderensis is endemic and classified as ‘Data Deficient’ by the IUCN, yet its taxonomic distinctiveness from the morphologically similar and more wide-ranging thornback ray Raja clavata is unresolved. This study evaluated the sequence divergence of both the variable control region and cytochrome oxidase I ‘DNA barcode’ gene of the mitochondrial genome to elucidate the genetic differentiation of specimens identified as R. maderensis and R. clavata collected across much of their geographic ranges. Genetic evidence was insufficient to support the different species designations. However regardless of putative species identification, individuals occupying waters around the Azores and North African Seamounts represent an evolutionarily significant unit worthy of special consideration for conservation management.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	565-576
Number of pages	12
Journal	Conservation Genetics
Volume	17
Issue number	3
Early online date	11 Feb 2016
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-015-0806-1
Publication status	Published - Jun 2016

Bibliographical note

We are grateful to all those who helped with sample collection. This includes the MEDITS survey programme (IEO Mallorca) for Mediterranean samples. Portugal mainland samples were collected under the EU Data Collection Framework (DCF, PNAB). Azores specimens from the Department of Oceanography and Fisheries (DOP) of the University of the Azores (UAc) were collected under the project DEMERSAIS “Monitorização das espécies demersais dos Açores” financed by the Azorean government, and the project DEECON “Unravelling population connectivity for sustainable fisheries in the Deep Sea” project approved by the European Science Foundation (ESF) under the EUROCORES programme (proposal No 06-EuroDEEP-FP-008 & SFRH-EuroDEEP/0002/2007). This study was funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Oceans 2025 Strategic Research Programme Theme 6 (Science for Sustainable Marine Resources). REB was supported by the Fisheries Society of the British Isles (FSBI), BSP was funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, SFRH/BPD/72351/2010 and JL was supported by The Alasdair Downes Marine Conservation Fund.

Correction to: Conservation Genetics (2016) 17:565–576 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-015-0806-1 Ball, R.E., Serra-Pereira, B., Ellis, J. et al. Conserv Genet (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-018-1094-3

Keywords

phylogeography
population genetics
phylogenetics
D-Loop
fisheries management
marine conservation

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Resolving taxonomic uncertainty in vulnerable elasmobranchs: are the Madeira skate (Raja maderensis) and the thornback ray (Raja clavata) distinct species?
© The Author(s) 2016 This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
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Cite this

Ball, R. E., Serra-Pereira, B., Ellis, J., Genner, M. J., Iglesias, S., Johnson, A. F., Jones, C. S., Leslie, R., Lewis, J., Mariani, S., Menezes, G., Neat, F., Noble, L. R., Sims, D. W., & Griffiths, A. M. (2016). Resolving taxonomic uncertainty in vulnerable elasmobranchs: are the Madeira skate (Raja maderensis) and the thornback ray (Raja clavata) distinct species? Conservation Genetics, 17(3), 565-576. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-015-0806-1

Ball, RE, Serra-Pereira, B, Ellis, J, Genner, MJ, Iglesias, S, Johnson, AF, Jones, CS, Leslie, R, Lewis, J, Mariani, S, Menezes, G, Neat, F, Noble, LR, Sims, DW & Griffiths, AM 2016, 'Resolving taxonomic uncertainty in vulnerable elasmobranchs: are the Madeira skate (Raja maderensis) and the thornback ray (Raja clavata) distinct species?', Conservation Genetics, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 565-576. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-015-0806-1

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title = "Resolving taxonomic uncertainty in vulnerable elasmobranchs: are the Madeira skate (Raja maderensis) and the thornback ray (Raja clavata) distinct species?",

abstract = "Skates and rays constitute the most speciose group of chondrichthyan fishes, yet are characterised by remarkable levels of morphological and ecological conservatism. They can be challenging to identify, which makes monitoring species compositions for fisheries management purposes problematic. Owing to their slow growth and low fecundity, skates are vulnerable to exploitation and species exhibiting endemism or limited ranges are considered to be the most at risk. The Madeira skate Raja maderensis is endemic and classified as {\textquoteleft}Data Deficient{\textquoteright} by the IUCN, yet its taxonomic distinctiveness from the morphologically similar and more wide-ranging thornback ray Raja clavata is unresolved. This study evaluated the sequence divergence of both the variable control region and cytochrome oxidase I {\textquoteleft}DNA barcode{\textquoteright} gene of the mitochondrial genome to elucidate the genetic differentiation of specimens identified as R. maderensis and R. clavata collected across much of their geographic ranges. Genetic evidence was insufficient to support the different species designations. However regardless of putative species identification, individuals occupying waters around the Azores and North African Seamounts represent an evolutionarily significant unit worthy of special consideration for conservation management.",

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author = "Ball, {Rachel E.} and Barbara Serra-Pereira and Jim Ellis and Genner, {Martin J.} and Samuel Iglesias and Johnson, {Andrew F.} and Jones, {Catherine S.} and Rob Leslie and Jennifer Lewis and Stefano Mariani and Gui Menezes and Francis Neat and Noble, {Leslie R.} and Sims, {David W.} and Griffiths, {Andrew M.}",

note = "We are grateful to all those who helped with sample collection. This includes the MEDITS survey programme (IEO Mallorca) for Mediterranean samples. Portugal mainland samples were collected under the EU Data Collection Framework (DCF, PNAB). Azores specimens from the Department of Oceanography and Fisheries (DOP) of the University of the Azores (UAc) were collected under the project DEMERSAIS “Monitoriza{\c c}{\~a}o das esp{\'e}cies demersais dos A{\c c}ores” financed by the Azorean government, and the project DEECON “Unravelling population connectivity for sustainable fisheries in the Deep Sea” project approved by the European Science Foundation (ESF) under the EUROCORES programme (proposal No 06-EuroDEEP-FP-008 & SFRH-EuroDEEP/0002/2007). This study was funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Oceans 2025 Strategic Research Programme Theme 6 (Science for Sustainable Marine Resources). REB was supported by the Fisheries Society of the British Isles (FSBI), BSP was funded by the Funda{\c c}{\~a}o para a Ci{\^e}ncia e a Tecnologia, SFRH/BPD/72351/2010 and JL was supported by The Alasdair Downes Marine Conservation Fund. Correction to: Conservation Genetics (2016) 17:565–576 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-015-0806-1 Ball, R.E., Serra-Pereira, B., Ellis, J. et al. Conserv Genet (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-018-1094-3",

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T2 - are the Madeira skate (Raja maderensis) and the thornback ray (Raja clavata) distinct species?

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AU - Serra-Pereira, Barbara

AU - Ellis, Jim

AU - Genner, Martin J.

AU - Iglesias, Samuel

AU - Johnson, Andrew F.

AU - Jones, Catherine S.

AU - Leslie, Rob

AU - Lewis, Jennifer

AU - Mariani, Stefano

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N1 - We are grateful to all those who helped with sample collection. This includes the MEDITS survey programme (IEO Mallorca) for Mediterranean samples. Portugal mainland samples were collected under the EU Data Collection Framework (DCF, PNAB). Azores specimens from the Department of Oceanography and Fisheries (DOP) of the University of the Azores (UAc) were collected under the project DEMERSAIS “Monitorização das espécies demersais dos Açores” financed by the Azorean government, and the project DEECON “Unravelling population connectivity for sustainable fisheries in the Deep Sea” project approved by the European Science Foundation (ESF) under the EUROCORES programme (proposal No 06-EuroDEEP-FP-008 & SFRH-EuroDEEP/0002/2007). This study was funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Oceans 2025 Strategic Research Programme Theme 6 (Science for Sustainable Marine Resources). REB was supported by the Fisheries Society of the British Isles (FSBI), BSP was funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, SFRH/BPD/72351/2010 and JL was supported by The Alasdair Downes Marine Conservation Fund. Correction to: Conservation Genetics (2016) 17:565–576 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-015-0806-1 Ball, R.E., Serra-Pereira, B., Ellis, J. et al. Conserv Genet (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-018-1094-3

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N2 - Skates and rays constitute the most speciose group of chondrichthyan fishes, yet are characterised by remarkable levels of morphological and ecological conservatism. They can be challenging to identify, which makes monitoring species compositions for fisheries management purposes problematic. Owing to their slow growth and low fecundity, skates are vulnerable to exploitation and species exhibiting endemism or limited ranges are considered to be the most at risk. The Madeira skate Raja maderensis is endemic and classified as ‘Data Deficient’ by the IUCN, yet its taxonomic distinctiveness from the morphologically similar and more wide-ranging thornback ray Raja clavata is unresolved. This study evaluated the sequence divergence of both the variable control region and cytochrome oxidase I ‘DNA barcode’ gene of the mitochondrial genome to elucidate the genetic differentiation of specimens identified as R. maderensis and R. clavata collected across much of their geographic ranges. Genetic evidence was insufficient to support the different species designations. However regardless of putative species identification, individuals occupying waters around the Azores and North African Seamounts represent an evolutionarily significant unit worthy of special consideration for conservation management.

AB - Skates and rays constitute the most speciose group of chondrichthyan fishes, yet are characterised by remarkable levels of morphological and ecological conservatism. They can be challenging to identify, which makes monitoring species compositions for fisheries management purposes problematic. Owing to their slow growth and low fecundity, skates are vulnerable to exploitation and species exhibiting endemism or limited ranges are considered to be the most at risk. The Madeira skate Raja maderensis is endemic and classified as ‘Data Deficient’ by the IUCN, yet its taxonomic distinctiveness from the morphologically similar and more wide-ranging thornback ray Raja clavata is unresolved. This study evaluated the sequence divergence of both the variable control region and cytochrome oxidase I ‘DNA barcode’ gene of the mitochondrial genome to elucidate the genetic differentiation of specimens identified as R. maderensis and R. clavata collected across much of their geographic ranges. Genetic evidence was insufficient to support the different species designations. However regardless of putative species identification, individuals occupying waters around the Azores and North African Seamounts represent an evolutionarily significant unit worthy of special consideration for conservation management.

KW - phylogeography

KW - population genetics

KW - phylogenetics

KW - D-Loop

KW - fisheries management

KW - marine conservation

U2 - 10.1007/s10592-015-0806-1

DO - 10.1007/s10592-015-0806-1

M3 - Article

SN - 1566-0621

VL - 17

SP - 565

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JO - Conservation Genetics

JF - Conservation Genetics

IS - 3

ER -

Resolving taxonomic uncertainty in vulnerable elasmobranchs: are the Madeira skate (Raja maderensis) and the thornback ray (Raja clavata) distinct species?

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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