GENETIC SUBDIVISION OF AUSTRALIAN AND NEW-ZEALAND POPULATIONS OF JASUS-VERREAUXI (DECAPODA, PALINURIDAE) - PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE FROM THE MITOCHONDRIAL GENOME

The palinurid rock lobster, Jasus verreauxi, has a disjunct distribution, occurring on the east coast of Australia and in New Zealand. oceanic currents flowing across the Tasman Sea from Australia towards New Zealand and the long life of phyllosoma larvae suggests larval mixing and, consequently, genetic similarity between these populations. However, restriction endonuclease analysis of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of 25 late juvenile and adult lobsters showed that Australian and New Zealand haplotype assemblages are defined by two restriction sites, one confined to each locality. Genetic differentiation between Australian and New Zealand J. verreauxi was also supported by gene diversity analysis (G(ST)). In contrast to the results from a similar study of a congeneric species with an analogous distribution (J. edwardsii), these preliminary results suggest that larval exchange between adult populations across the Tasman Sea may be limited.