Abstract The South China Sea (SCS) is part of the Indo-West Pacific Ocean, which is regarded as harboring a high diversity of fish. However, our knowledge of true fish diversity especially among pelagic and deep-sea families is still insufficient. Here, we used DNA barcoding and DNA identification to investigate the fish diversity and distribution in the three most important fisheries regions in the South China Sea, Xisha Islands (Paracel Islands), Dongsha Islands (Pratas Islands) and Nansha Islands (Spratly Islands). We identified a total of 109 species in our samples based on morphological characterization, yet 307 DNA barcodes using the 602 base-pair fragments of the COI gene suggested 116 putative species by one of DNA taxonomic approaches (GMYC). The intraspecific divergences (K2P pairwise distances) averaged 0.25 % (ranged 0 - 0.89 %), while congeneric divergences averaged 4.56 %, (ranged 1.18 %–9.56 %). The results suggest that COI-based barcoding can be effectively used for marine fish identification in the South China Sea and that it allows a realistic idea of diversity and management of fishery resources.

中文翻译：

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利用 DNA 分类法评估南海鱼类多样性

摘要 南海（SCS）是印度洋-西太平洋的一部分，被认为是鱼类的栖息地。然而，我们对真正的鱼类多样性的了解仍然不足，尤其是在远洋和深海家庭中。在这里，我们利用 DNA 条形码和 DNA 鉴定来调查南海三个最重要的渔业区西沙群岛（西沙群岛）、东沙群岛（普拉塔斯群岛）和南沙群岛（南沙群岛）的鱼类多样性和分布。我们根据形态特征在我们的样本中总共鉴定了 109 个物种，但使用 COI 基因的 602 个碱基对片段的 307 个 DNA 条形码表明通过 DNA 分类学方法 (GMYC) 之一暗示了 116 个假定物种。种内差异（K2P 成对距离）平均为 0.25 %（范围为 0 - 0.89 %），而同类差异平均为 4.56%，（范围为 1.18%–9.56%）。结果表明，基于 COI 的条形码可以有效地用于南海海洋鱼类的识别，并且它可以实现渔业资源多样性和管理的现实想法。