Genetic panmixia and demographic dependence across the North Atlantic in the deep-sea fish, blue hake (Antimora rostrata)

The efficient investment of resources and effort into conservation strategies depends on the accurate identification of management units. At the same time, understanding the processes by which population structure evolves requires an understanding of the conditions under which panmixia may exist. Here, we study a species with an unusual, apparently sex-biased pattern of distribution, and test the hypothesis that distribution processes associated with this pattern (for example, congregating at a single dominant spawning site or periodic mixing during reproduction) could lead to panmixia over a large geographic range. Using 13 microsatellite markers, we compared 393 blue hake (Antimora rostrata) from 11 sample sites across a geographic range of over 3000 km, and found no evidence of population structure. We estimated current effective population size and found it to be large (similar to 15 000) across the sampled area. In addition, we used simulation models to test expectations about demographic correlation among populations and our ability to detect relevant levels of gene flow. All data were consistent with the interpretation of long-range panmixia. Heredity (2011) 106, 690-699; doi: 10.1038/hdy.2010.108; published online 18 August 2010