Investigation of genetic diversity and stock structure of Aristeus alcocki Ramadan, 1938 (Decapoda: Aristeidae) populations in the Indian coast with microsatellite markers

Abstract Aristeus alcocki (Arabian red shrimp) forms the commercially important deep-water trawl fishery in the Indian waters. This species has not been the focus of major genetic studies in spite of our previous report on its populations suggesting significant differences. Hence, we investigated the genetic diversity and stock structure of Arabian red shrimp using nine microsatellite markers with 203 individuals collected from five locations along the Indian coast form the period of 2013–2016. The observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.70–0.98 (Mean: 0.85) and 0.56–0.85 (Mean: 0.69), respectively indicating significant genetic diversity among the sampled locations. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed >99 % of genetic variability within the individuals. Cluster analysis suggested the absence of genetic distances between the locations grouping all the individuals into a single cluster. Absence of large-scale genetic differentiation is probably governed by the mixing of waters along the coastline, habitat, currents and migratory patterns of these species have been discussed. Future studies on this species should consider it as a single stock for adopting fishery management strategies in the Indian coast.