Otolith-temperature estimates in Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) from the Mediterranean Sea: Insights from clumped isotope measurements.

The subpopulation and/or contingent structure of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) within the Mediterranean Sea is undefined, leading to uncertainty regarding the best strategy for an effective assessment and management of this highly exploited stock. This study aimed to reconstruct temperatures experienced by Atlantic bluefin tuna during the early life period (<3.5 months) using clumped isotope temperature proxy, an innovative geothermometer for carbonates, that does not require previous knowledge of other environmental parameters such as water oxygen composition.

Spatial dynamics and mixing of bluefin tuna in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea revealed using next-generation sequencing.

The Atlantic bluefin tuna is a highly migratory species emblematic of the challenges associated with shared fisheries management. In an effort to resolve the species' stock dynamics, a genomewide search for spatially informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was undertaken, by way of sequencing reduced representation libraries. An allele frequency approach to SNP discovery was used, combining the data of 555 larvae and young-of-the-year (LYOY) into pools representing major geographical areas and mapping against a newly assembled genomic reference.

Molecular Identification of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus, Scombridae) Larvae and Development of a DNA Character-Based Identification Key for Mediterranean Scombrids.

The Atlantic bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus, is a commercially important species that has been severely over-exploited in the recent past. Although the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean stock is now showing signs of recovery, its current status remains very uncertain and as a consequence their recovery is dependent upon severe management informed by rigorous scientific research. Monitoring of early life history stages can inform decision makers about the health of the species based upon recruitment and survival rates.

New Nuclear SNP Markers Unravel the Genetic Structure and Effective Population Size of Albacore Tuna (Thunnus alalunga).

In the present study we have investigated the population genetic structure of albacore (Thunnus alalunga, Bonnaterre 1788) and assessed the loss of genetic diversity, likely due to overfishing, of albacore population in the North Atlantic Ocean. For this purpose, 1,331 individuals from 26 worldwide locations were analyzed by genotyping 75 novel nuclear SNPs. Our results indicated the existence of four genetically homogeneous populations delimited within the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.