Genetic evidence supports a range extension for the Brazilian cownose ray Rhinoptera brasiliensis in the western North Atlantic

Helen K Weber; Christian M Jones; Matthew J Ajemian; Michael P McCallister; Brent L Winner; Gregg R Poulakis; Dana M Bethea; Lisa D Hollensead; Daniel Zapf; John D Swenson; Jill M Hendon; Toby S Daly-Engel; Nicole M Phillips

doi:10.1111/jfb.14582

Genetic evidence supports a range extension for the Brazilian cownose ray Rhinoptera brasiliensis in the western North Atlantic

J Fish Biol. 2021 Feb;98(2):577-582. doi: 10.1111/jfb.14582. Epub 2020 Nov 13.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ School of Biological, Environmental and Earth Sciences, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA.
² National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Mississippi Laboratories, Pascagoula, Mississippi, USA.
³ Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University, Fort Pierce, Florida, USA.
⁴ Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA.
⁵ Charlotte Harbor Field Laboratory, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Port Charlotte, Florida, USA.
⁶ NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Regional Office, Office of Protected Resources, Saint Petersburg, Florida, USA.
⁷ Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, Tampa, Florida, USA.
⁸ Department of Environmental Quality, North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, Washington, North Carolina, USA.
⁹ Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA.
¹⁰ Center for Fisheries Research and Development, The University of Southern Mississippi, Ocean Springs, Mississippi, USA.
¹¹ Department of Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Florida, USA.

Abstract

We report 24 new records of the Brazilian cownose ray Rhinoptera brasiliensis outside its accepted geographic range. Sequencing of a 442-base pair portion of the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 gene for 282 Rhinoptera samples revealed eight records off the east coast of the USA and 16 from the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Both sexes of all life stages were documented in all seasons over multiple years in the Indian River and Lake Worth lagoons, Florida, indicating that their range extends further in the western North Atlantic than previously described.

Keywords: American cownose ray; Indian River Lagoon; ND2; Rhinoptera bonasus; elasmobranch; mitochondrial DNA.

MeSH terms

Animal Distribution*
Animals
Atlantic Ocean
Female
Florida
Gulf of Mexico
Male
NADH Dehydrogenase / genetics*
Rivers
Skates, Fish / classification
Skates, Fish / genetics*

Substances

NADH Dehydrogenase

Abstract

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding