US-Pakistan Cooperative Research: Population Genetics of Benthosema Pterotum, A Mesopelagic Fish from the Arabian Sea

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0218248BernardiDescription: This award is for support of a joint research project between Dr. Giacomo Bernardi, Biology Department, University of California-Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California and Dr. Shahid Amjad, Department of Oceanography, The National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Karachi, Pakistan. They plan to study the population genetics of Benthosema pterotum, a mesopelagic fish from the Arabian Sea. The Arabian Sea has complex oceanography, which results in high biological productivity. In the open ocean, the topmost trophic level is represented by nekton such as marine mammals and large fishes such as tunas and mackerel. In the northwest Arabian Sea and adjacent Gulf of Oman, the topmost trophic level is represented by mesopelagic fishes. These are small, midwater species such as Lanternfishes (Myctophidae), Hatchetfishes (Sternoptychidae), and Bristlemouths (Gonostomatidae). The main species reported in abundance is the lanternfish Benthosema pterotum. This will be collected off the coast of Pakistan from the Gulf of Oman to the Central Arabian Sea. Specifically, the investigators plan to investigate the genetic differences between Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea populations of B. pterotum off the coast of Pakistan (smaller-scale). They will extract DNA, PCR amplify and sequence nuclear intron, and mitochondrial loci to establish patterns of population structure in B. pterotum. The sampling protocol will have approximately 500 individuals to have enough statistical validity. Scope: This award will allow a US team headed by the PI to collaborate with a Pakistani team from the NIO in a research project of significant scientific interest. The PIs will be working closely with young Pakistani scientists at NIO to train them for the optimum methods for fish surveys and to catch the specific species. These scientists will then carry out most of the fieldwork. They will also be trained in the new molecular techniques. Pakistan's ocean science is at a stage of development where this collaboration will greatly help. This project will have a positive impact on NIO and the fisheries departments in Pakistan. All countries bordering the northwestern Indian Ocean would like to harvest B. pterotum commercially. Improved understanding of its population genetics, and other knowledge that will follow from this pilot study, will help scientists in the region utilize this unexploited fishery resouce.