Population genetics of the yellow abalone, Haliotis corrugata, in Cedro and San Benito Islands: a preliminary survey

摘要

The yellow abalone, Haliotis corrugata, is one of the principal species caught in Central Baja California, Mexico. Around the Cedros and San Benito Islands, the yellow abalone is mainly distributed in three zones: the North (Punta North) and South (San Agustin) of Cedros Island and around the small islands of San Benito. The main goal of this work was to characterize genetically the populations of the yellow abalone in these three zones as a baseline to help the fishery. Allozyme electrophoresis ateight loci was carried out with six samples from two years in the three localities. The average number of alleles per locus was 2.3 with a 67 percent polymorphism. Mean unbiased heterozygosity ranged from 0.15 to 0.25, which is similar to that of otherabalone species. Only three out of 34 cases did not agree with the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium a and there was no tendency for either heterozygote excess or deficit. It was concluded that H. corrugata shows differentiation between localities and these maybe considered as independent populations for fishery management.