Population genetic structure of Brazilian shrimp species (Farfantepenaeus sp., F. brasiliensis, F. paulensis and Litopenaeus schmitti:: Decapoda: Penaeidae)

Penaeid shrimps are important resources for worldwide fisheries and aquaculture. In the Southwest Atlantic, Farfantepenaeus brasiliensis, F paulensis, F subtilis, Farfantepenaeus sp. and Litopenaeus schmitti are among the most important commercially exploited species. Despite their high commercial value, there is little information available on the different aspects of their biology or genetics and almost no data on their stock structure. We used allozymes to estimate variability levels and population genetic structure of F. brasiliensis, F pautensis, L. schmitti and the recently detected species Farfantepenaeus sp. along as much as 4,000 km of Brazilian coastline. No population heterogeneity was detected in F brasiliensis or L. schmitti along the studied area. In contrast, F, values found for Farfantepenaeus sp. and F. paulensis indicate that the populations of those two species are genetically structured, comprising different fishery stocks. The largest genetic differences in F. paulensis were found between Lagoa dos Patos (South) and the two populations from Southeast Brazil. In Farfantepenaeus sp., significant differences were detected between the population from Recife and those from Fortaleza and Ilheus.