Fisheries Research

Not AvailableParapenaeopsis stylifera (H. Milne Edwards, 1837), popularly known as Kiddi shrimp, constitutes an important fishery resources along the Indian coast with wide geographical distribution. Despite its economic importance, the genetic stock structure of the species is not investigated so far. Knowledge on genetic structure is essential for formulating sustainable management and conservation measures. Present study is carried out to characterize the five geographically isolated stocks of P. stylifera along the Indian coast using microsatellite markers. Eleven polymorphic microsatellites were developed in P. stylifera and used for genetic stock characterization. Including all the stocks, a total of 174 alleles were observed with a mean of 15.81 alleles per locus. Mean observed (Ho) and expected (He) heterozygosity values ranged from 0.641 to 0.692 and 0.710?0.743, respectively. Six loci shown deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and no significant linkage disequilibrium between loci pairs were detected. Pair-wise FST, AMOVA and Structure analyses indicated low genetic structure between the stocks of east (Bay of Bengal) and west (Arabian Sea) coasts of India. Based on the present study, P. stylifera stocks of east and west coast of India can be proposed as single management units (MUs), which require single monitoring and management practices