{
  "abstract": "Understanding population structure is critical for effective fisheries management in species with complex life histories and variable recruitment. Southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma) is a valuable flatfish species with declining populations in the Southeast United States. Improved management may depend on a better understanding of fine-scale and temporal population genetic structure in this region; however, such structure remains poorly characterized. To address our lack of understanding of the spatial and temporal population structure of this important species, we used double digest reduced-representation genome sequencing (ddRADSeq) on juveniles from estuaries in North Carolina and Texas between 2014 and 2023. We found significant genetic differentiation between the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic populations, supporting the management of these regions as distinct stocks. By contrast, we detected significant variance in genetic structure within Texas and North Carolina populations that was not consistent across sampling years between estuaries in close proximity. The population genetic structure of southern flounder suggests significant, temporally variable genetic differences within estuarine locations that may result from variation in larval dispersal and recruitment patterns. Our findings highlight the value of integrating fine-scale, multi-year genetic data to capture temporal dynamics and avoid misleading conclusions based on single-year or broad-scale sampling.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America"
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Sydney P. Harned"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jamie L. Mankiewicz"
    },
    {
      "name": "Russell J. Borski"
    },
    {
      "name": "John Godwin"
    },
    {
      "name": "Martha O. Burford Reiskind"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/433w294qv813r.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0348919",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "433w294qv813r",
  "issns": [
    "1932-6203"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0348919",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1311|Genetic diversity and population structure"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Developmental biology/Life cycles/Larvae"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Developmental biology/Modes of reproduction/Sexual reproduction/Spawning"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Evolutionary biology/Population genetics"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Genetics"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Genetics/Population genetics"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Marine biology/Marine fish"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Organisms/Eukaryota/Animals/Vertebrates/Fish/Marine fish"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Population biology/Population genetics"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Zoology/Animals/Vertebrates/Fish/Marine fish"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Earth sciences/Marine and aquatic sciences/Marine biology/Marine fish"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/People and places/Geographical locations/North America/United States/North Carolina"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/People and places/Geographical locations/North America/United States/Texas"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Physical sciences/Mathematics/Statistics/Statistical methods/Multivariate analysis/Principal component analysis"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Research and analysis methods/Mathematical and statistical techniques/Statistical methods/Multivariate analysis/Principal component analysis"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214034543",
  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0348919&type=printable",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-22",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/433w294qv813r.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:43Z",
      "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pone.0348919",
      "source": "plos",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0348919"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:developmental biology",
      "subfield": "developmental-biology"
    },
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:marine biology",
      "subfield": "ecology"
    },
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:genetics",
      "subfield": "genetics-genomics"
    }
  ],
  "title": "The value of multi-year sampling for detecting fine-scale population genetic structure in marine fishes: A case study of juvenile southern flounder",
  "title_text": "The value of multi-year sampling for detecting fine-scale population genetic structure in marine fishes: A case study of juvenile southern flounder",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:43Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/433w294qv813r",
  "venue": "PLOS One",
  "versions": []
}