The lack of available genetic resources for species of conservation concern is a significant barrier to assessments of their genetic diversity, which can provide unique insights into population health, demography, and resilience. Highly variable microsatellite markers are typically developed de novo as part of population genetic studies and are rarely tested systematically for their broader applicability, limiting their potential use in a conservation context. Here, we develop a new panel of cDNA-linked microsatellite loci for the pot-bellied seahorse (Hippocampus abdominalis), and systematically screen these loci, together with other available seahorse markers, across a taxonomically-diverse sample of seahorse species. We characterize panels of 7–24 microsatellite loci for all seahorses, including a variety of IUCN-listed species that have not yet been the target of genetic analysis, and use these loci to obtain baseline data on their genetic diversity. The comparative analysis of these data identifies a number of genetically-depauperate lineages that should be considered priority areas for more in-depth genetic assessment.

缺乏可供保护的物种的遗传资源是评估其遗传多样性的重要障碍，这可以为人们提供有关种群健康，人口统计学和复原力的独特见解。高度可变的微卫星标记通常作为种群遗传学研究的一部分从头开发，很少针对其更广泛的应用进行系统的测试，从而限制了其在保护环境中的潜在用途。在这里，我们为大腹便便的海马（腹部海马）开发了一个由cDNA链接的微卫星基因座的新面板），并在分类学上多样化的海马物种样本中系统地筛选这些基因座以及其他可用的海马标记。我们对所有海马（包括尚未成为遗传分析目标的IUCN所列物种）的7–24个微卫星基因座进行了特征分析，并使用这些基因座获取有关其遗传多样性的基线数据。对这些数据进行的比较分析确定了许多遗传上无遗传的世系，应将其视为更深入的遗传评估的优先领域。