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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 56(8)

Gene flow, colonisation and demographic history of the flat oyster Ostrea angasi

David A. Hurwood A C , Mike P. Heasman B and Peter B. Mather A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Natural Resource Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Gardens Point, GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, Qld 4001, Australia.

B New South Wales Fisheries, Port Stephens Fisheries Centre, Private Bag 1, Nelson Bay, NSW 2315, Australia.

C Corresponding author. Email: d.hurwood@qut.edu.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 56(8) 1099-1106 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF04261
Submitted: 12 October 2004  Accepted: 7 September 2005   Published: 22 November 2005

Abstract

The Australian flat oyster Ostrea angasi is currently being assessed for its potential as a species for culture in New South Wales. It is considered important to determine the population genetic structure of wild stocks among estuaries before translocation of juveniles (spat) for growout in order to avoid possible deleterious effects of hybridisation of genetically divergent stocks (i.e. outbreeding depression). Five estuaries were sampled in southern New South Wales as well as another four from across the natural range of the species in Australia. Sequence analysis of a 594 base pair fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene was used to determine the degree of population structuring inferred from pairwise ΦST estimates and spatial analysis of molecular variance analysis. The analyses revealed that there is no significant genetic differentiation among the sampled New South Wales estuaries (P > 0.05) and all eastern samples represent a geographically homogeneous population. This essentially removes any potential constraints on broodstock sourcing and spat translocation within this region. Although levels of differentiation among all sites varied, little divergence was evident across the entire range of the sample. Furthermore, the study revealed extremely low levels of divergence between O. angasi and its northern hemisphere congener, O. edulis, raising the possibility that O. angasi may have only recently colonised Australian estuaries.

Extra keywords: aquaculture, cytochrome oxidase I, Ostrea edulis, outbreeding depression, population structure.


Acknowledgments

We thank Nick Savva (Springbay Seafoods P/L, Tasmania), Xiaoxu Li (South Australian Aquaculture Research and Development Institute), Steve Feletti (Batemans Bay), David Maidment (Narooma), John Smith (Bermagui), Chris and Dominic Boyton (Merimbula), Mike ‘Banjo’ Young (Pambula), Matthew Muggleton (Yorke Regional Development Board, South Australia) and Phil Button (OceanFoods International P/L, Western Australia) for the supply of oyster tissue samples. Assistance in the laboratory from Juanita Renwick, Vincent Chand and Tanya Walsh is gratefully acknowledged. The manuscript was greatly improved through the comments of four anonymous reviewers.


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