A study analyzes the barriers in the gene flow among marine species in the Mediterranean

The fronts, oceanographic discontinuities that are delimited by marine currents, affect the genetic separation of organisms in the different areas of the Mediterranean, albeit not homogeneously. From a conservation point of view, fronts should be considered frontiers that set independent management units, like regions. In order to protect the Mediterranean, protected areas should be established within all those management units creating a network of connected areas. Therefore all populations would have a connectivity to guarantee their survival. Otherwise, the future of isolated populations is their mid-term disappearance, due an increase of kinship.

These are some of the conclusions of a study published in the journal PLOS ONE and carried out by scientists from the Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio) and the Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC). The experts have analysed the genetic differentiation among populations  of fish, crustaceans and molluscs in the Mediterranean.

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