Seifu Seyoum

• Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Morphological data are used to describe a new nematode species, Heterocheilus floridensis sp. n. (Heterocheilidae) from the digestive tract of the Florida manatee Trichechus manatus latirostris (Harlan) (Trichechidae, Sirenia) from Florida, USA. Examination by light and scanning electron microscopy revealed that the new species differs from the rel...

The southern varieties of the American eelgrass, Vallisneria americana, are vital contributors to aquatic ecosystems throughout Florida and other areas within the southeastern United States. Recent discovery of cryptic non-native Vallisneria in natural waterbodies of central and southeast Florida has raised concerns for the biosecurity of native Am...

The marine aquarium trade in the United States operates primarily in Florida, and though the trade’s effects on many marine taxa are largely unknown, local declines have been observed for some harvested species. To reverse local declines in the abundance of the giant Caribbean sea anemone Condylactis gigantea, state managers prohibited harvest of t...

The species-level taxonomy of fat snooks (Centropomus parallelus and Centropomus mexicanus), which are distributed in coastal waters from Florida to Brazil and parts of the Gulf of Mexico, was explored with mitochondrial DNA 16S rRNA and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 sequencing and multilocus microsatellite DNA genotyping. The existence of a novel...

Mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase (COI) and microsatellite DNA loci were used to better explain the speciation events, history of hybridization, and genetic population structure of the stone crabs Menippe adinaWilliams & Felder, 1986 and M. mercenaria (Say, 1817–1818). A survey of a 670-bp COI sequence of 711 stone crabs collected from Texas to...

Three species of sparids in the western Atlantic, sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus), sea bream (A. rhomboidalis), and pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides), share overlapping habitats, spawning seasons, and spawning grounds, providing opportunities for interaction among these species. Three regions of mitochondrial DNA and three nuclear DNA intron se...

Sheepshead, Archosargus probatocephalus (Walbaum, 1792), have long been separated into three subspecies based on meristic traits, particularly counts of pigmented bars on the sides of the body. Here, we evaluate sheepshead genetic variation—both mtDNA and microsatellite—in the domain of the two morphologically defined subspecies, Archosargus probat...

Florida pompano has been identified as a promising candidate for commercial-scale aquaculture production, but to date, little information is available regarding captive broodstock spawning characteristics. Genetic markers were tested for their power in monitoring mating outcomes and potential in analysing heritability of rapid growth trait in Trach...

The spotted seatrout, Cynoscion nebulosus (Cuvier, 1830), lives almost entirely within natal estuaries, and although many genetic studies identify fine-scale population structure, they do not provide a consensus as to the number of stocks, the stock boundaries, or their connectivity. Two perceived limitations of previous studies were addressed. To...

Background: The sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus) is found in nearshore waters from Nova Scotia, Canada, to Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. In the southeastern United States two subspecies are recognized based on a number of meristic characters, primarily counts of melanistic pigment bars. The only previous study based on mtDNA control-region se...

Hogfish (Labridae: Lachnolaimus maximus) is distributed across several biogeographic regions, but its stock structure has been poorly documented, confounding stock assessment and management of this reef fishery species. In this study the genetic structure of hogfish over a portion of its southeastern U.S. range was examined by using a suite of 24 m...

We isolated 40 microsatellite markers for the endangered Atlantic, and Pacific goliath grouper, Epinephelus itajara and E. quinquefasciatus. Loci were characterized using samples of E. itajara (n = 52) and E. quinquefasciatus (n = 10). Twenty-nine loci were polymorphic. For E. itajara and E. quinquefasciatus, respectively, mean numbers of alleles p...

Knowledge of changes in the interdependence of a species' populations for continued existence (connectivity) and of the forces driving connectivity patterns is critical for management and conservation of the species. Population genetics can be used to investigate population connectivity. Combining population genetics with climatic, environmental, a...

While investigating hybridization in shoal bass Micropterus cataractae in the Chipola River, Florida, we encountered a distinctive genetic signature from an unknown taxon. We soon pinpointed the signature’s source to a novel form of bass inhabiting the rivers of the East Gulf Coastal Plain. Superficially, these bass resemble spotted bass M. punctul...

We used a PCR-based technique to isolate 18 microsatellite loci for the largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides. These loci were characterized using sampled populations in Florida and Wisconsin. The mean number of alleles at a locus was 8 for the sample from Florida and 5 for the samples from Wisconsin. The observed heterozygosities were 0.57 and 0....

Four species of Cynoscion occur in the waters off the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of North America, where they are targeted by commercial and recreational fisheries. Previous studies have not resolved the phylogenetic relationships of the four species, largely due to uncertainty as to whether the spotted seatrout, Cynscion nebulosus, or silver seatrou...

This article documents the addition of 171 microsatellite marker loci and 27 pairs of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sequencing primers to the Molecular Ecology Resources Database. Loci were developed for the following species: Bombus pauloensis, Cephalorhynchus heavisidii, Cercospora sojina, Harpyhaliaetus coronatus, Hordeum vulgare, Lachnol...

This article documents the addition of 171 microsatellite marker loci and 27 pairs of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sequencing primers to the Molecular Ecology Resources Database. Loci were developed for the following species: Bombus pauloensis, Cephalorhynchus heavisidii, Cercospora sojina, Harpyhaliaetus coronatus, Hordeum vulgare, Lachnol...

Endemic Florida Mottled Duck (Anas fulvigula fulvigula) appear to be hybridizing introgressively with domesticated Mallards (A. platyrhynchos), which are frequently released or escape captivity and have established feral populations throughout Florida. To investigate this possible conservation threat, we isolated and characterized 59 polymorphic lo...

This article documents the addition of 299 microsatellite marker loci and nine pairs of single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) EPIC primers to the Molecular Ecology Resources (MER) Database. Loci were developed for the following species: Alosa pseudoharengus, Alosa aestivalis, Aphis spiraecola, Argopecten purpuratus, Coreoleuciscus splendidus, Garra...

Five diagnostic codominant nuclear DNA markers and a diagnostic mitochondrial DNA marker were used to survey weakfish (Cynoscion regalis) and sand seatrout (C. arenarius), with particular focus on heretofore uncharacterized juvenile populations along the Florida (FL) Atlantic coast. Geographic and reproductive ranges of weakfish and sand seatrout w...

Relationships among the seven recognized subspecies of the widespread African cichlid Oreochromis niloticus (L.) were investigated using restriction endonuclease analysis of mitochondrial DNA. Changes in nomenclature are based on estimates of sequence divergence and concordant results from phenetic, cladistic, and maximum likelihood analyses of mol...

The species in the genus Centropomus (snook or robalo) have a broad distribution in the New World and are important aquatic top predators and key species throughout their range. They are among the most valuable fish throughout their range, particularly in Florida, where they are designated game fish since 1957. Misidentification of the Centropomus...

Fifteen polymorphic microsatellite DNA loci for Atlantic tarpon, Megalops atlanticus, were isolated by using PIMA, a polymerase chain reaction-based technique. The number of alleles at each locus ranged from two to 24 (mean = 7.7) in 65 specimens from Tampa Bay, Florida. Observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.27 to 0.92 (mean = 0.60)...

We describe 10 microsatellite loci for Panulirus argus (Caribbean spiny lobster). The number of alleles at each locus ranged from four to 39 (mean = 21.8) in 89 juvenile specimens collected at two different times at a recruitment site in south Florida. Levels of expected and observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.48 to 0.96 (mean = 0.83) and from...

Here we describe 18 polymorphic microsatellite loci for Trichechus manatus latirostris (Florida manatee), isolated using a polymerase chain reaction-based technique. The number of alleles at each locus ranged from two to four (mean = 2.5) in specimens from southwest (n = 58) and northeast (n = 58) Florida. Expected and observed heterozygosities ran...

Twelve polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated for the bonefish, Albula vulpes using a polymerase chain reaction-based procedure. The number of alleles ranged from two to 23 (mean = 8.8) in 37 specimens from south Florida. Observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.07 to 0.77 (mean = 0.42) and from 0.07 to 0.84 (mean = 0.48), respec...

Managers of restocking and stock enhancement programs have dual needs with respect to unit-stock identification: (1) identifying boundaries of genetically discrete stocks for responsible genetic management, and (2) delineating demographically discrete stocks. The reality, however, is that the temporal/spatial boundaries of genetic and demographic s...

What is a genetic tag?Types of genetic tagMethodologies for obtaining and utilizing genetic tagsUses of genetic tags for aquacultureGenetic tags and aquaculture - the need and the future

Including genetic considerations in stock enhancement can reduce the probability that enhanced (admixed) populations will undergo damaging genetic alteration through the stock enhancement effort. Avoiding alterations in genetic diversity, decreases in fitness, and reductions in effective population size (N e ) of admixed populations and their wild-...

Here we describe 13 polymorphic, dinucleotide microsatellite loci for Trachinotus carolinus (Florida pompano), isolated by using PIMA, a polymerase chain reaction-based technique. The number of alleles at each locus ranged from 3 to 29 (mean = 11.4) in 45 specimens collected from bay and nearshore waters around St Petersburg, Florida. Levels of exp...

Here we describe 32 di-, tri- and tetranucleotide microsatellite loci isolated by PIMA, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based procedure, for the common snook (Centropomus undecimalis). Five loci were monomorphic, and the remaining loci averaged 6.7 alleles per locus in a sample of 45 common snook. For polymorphic loci, expected heterozygosities r...