The value of multi-year sampling for detecting fine-scale population genetic structure in marine fishes: A case study of juvenile southern flounder
- 1Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America
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.
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BibTeX
@article{harned2026value,
title = {{The value of multi-year sampling for detecting fine-scale population genetic structure in marine fishes: A case study of juvenile southern flounder}},
author = {Sydney P. Harned and Jamie L. Mankiewicz and Russell J. Borski and John Godwin and Martha O. Burford Reiskind},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0348919},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0348919},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The value of multi-year sampling for detecting fine-scale population genetic structure in marine fishes: A case study of juvenile southern flounder
AU - Sydney P. Harned
AU - Jamie L. Mankiewicz
AU - Russell J. Borski
AU - John Godwin
AU - Martha O. Burford Reiskind
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/22
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0348919
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0348919
AB - 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.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -