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Vol. 49 No. 4, 2010
Population Genetics of the Spotted Seahorse (Hippocampus kuda) in Thai Waters:
Implications for Conservation
Thadsin
Panithanarak1,*, Ratima Karuwancharoen1, Uthairat
Na-Nakorn2, and Thuy Thi Thu Nguyen3
1Institute
of Marine Science, Burapha University, Chonburi 20131, Thailand
2Department of Aquaculture, Faculty of Fisheries,
Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
3Network of Aquaculture Centers in Asia-Pacific,
Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
Thadsin Panithanarak, Ratima Karuwancharoen, Uthairat
Na-Nakorn, and Thuy Thi Thu Nguyen
(2010)
A population genetics approach was used to investigate the genetic
diversity of the spotted seahorse (Hippocampus
kuda) in Thai waters; specifically, the degree of genetic
differentiation and species evolution was inferred from sequence
analysis of 353 bp of the mitochondrial (mt)DNA control region.
The data were then used to identify discrete populations in Thai waters
for effective conservation and management. Spotted seahorses were
collected from 4 regions on the east and west coasts of the Gulf of
Thailand and a geographically separated region in the Andaman
Sea. Of the 101 mtDNA sequences analyzed, 7 haplotypes were
identified, 5 of which were shared among individuals from the east and
west coasts of the Gulf of Thailand. The remaining haplotypes
were restricted to individuals from the Andaman Sea. Nucleotide
and haplotype diversities were similar within the Gulf of Thailand
samples, whereas diversity was lower in the Andaman Sea sample.
Genetic differentiation appeared between pairs of samples from the Gulf
of Thailand and Andaman Sea (FST,
p < 0.0001). A
large genetic variance appeared among the 2 population groups (94.46%, ΦCT
= 0.94464, p <
0.01). A Neighbor-joining tree indicated that individuals from
the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea formed 2 phylogenetically distinct
groups, which were segregated into different population-based
clades. While results reported here indicate that populations
from the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea should be treated as separate
conservation units, a larger sample size from the Andaman Sea is
required to confirm this genetic partitioning and low level of
diversity observed in the present study.
Key words: Hippocampus kuda, Mitochondrial DNA
(mtDNA) control region, Spotted seahorses, Population genetics,
Thailand.
*Correspondence: Tel: 66-38-391671 ext. 140. Fax:
66-38-391674. E-mail:thadsin@hotmail.com
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