Abstract
Accurate species identification is essential for the successful implementation of species conservation strategies and research. East Pacific horn sharks (genus Heterodontus) may be subject to overfishing and depletion in some areas, mandating an assessment of risk and vulnerability to exploitation. Unfortunately, morphological identification of the three eastern Pacific species can be challenging, creating uncertainty about species identifications and the true extent of their respective ranges. To address this problem, we developed a PCR-RFLP method to quickly and accurately identify the three species of Heterodontus occupying the coastlines and islands of the eastern Pacific (H. francisci, H. mexicanus, and H. quoyi). The PCR-RFLP assay requires only a single amplification of the mitochondrial NADH2 locus (1216 bp) and a single digestion step with restriction enzyme AluI. The assay was tested on 67 individuals representing all three species and resulted in unambiguous species identification for 100% of individuals tested.
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Acknowledgements
Funding for this project was provided by the W.T. Yoshimoto Foundation Endowed Fellowship in Animal Wildlife Conservation Biology. We thank F. Galván-Magaña, L. Silva-Buchanan, and the fishermen of Baja California and Baja California Sur, Mexico, for assistance in collections. Mexico collections were carried out under Permit No. PPF/DGOPA-006/19 with approval from the University of Hawaiʻi Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC Protocol No. 18-2798-2). We thank M. Hirschfeld (James Cook University, AUS) who provided tissue samples of H. quoyi from the Galapagos Islands (permits: MAE-DNB-CM-2016-0041; funding provided by the Galapagos Conservation Trust and the Rufford Foundation). Finally, we thank R. Toonen and members of the ToBo Lab for assistance and advise in lab protocols. This is contribution no. 1828 from the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, and contribution no. 11150 from the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa.
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Canfield, S.J., Bowen, B.W. A rapid PCR-RFLP method for species identification of the eastern Pacific horn sharks (genus Heterodontus). Conservation Genet Resour 13, 79–84 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12686-020-01172-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12686-020-01172-6