Marine Ecology Progress Series
MEPS is a leading hybrid research journal on all aspects of marine, coastal and estuarine ecology. Priority is given to outstanding research that advances our ecological understanding.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08492
copiedMulti-disciplinary fingerprints reveal the harvest location of cod Gadus morhua in the northeast Atlantic
- Ruth M. Higgins
- Bret S. Danilowicz
- Juan A. Balbuena
- Anna K. Daníelsdóttir
- Audrey J. Geffen
- Wim G. Meijer
- J. Modin
- Francisco E. Montero
- Christophe Pampoulie
- Diana Perdiguero-Alonso
- Arnd Schreiber
- Magnús Ö. Stefánsson
- Bryan Wilson
ABSTRACT: Using multiple biological markers to establish the fingerprint of a harvest location, individual cod Gadus morhua L. can be classified to their population of origin without error. A combined approach to classification using otolith microchemistry, otolith shape analysis, body morphometry, microbacterial assemblages, internal and external parasites, and microsatellite DNA was found to be more powerful than by any single technique. Binomial and multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to distinguish wild from farmed fish and subsequently to determine the precise harvest origin of each individual. Two new approaches were used: one focusing on optimal or key variables from each discipline and the other using probability values derived on a technique-by-technique basis. Cod from widely separated origins were classified with high (up to 100% correct) placement success. Focusing on the placement of individual fish, this study represents a decisive advance toward identifying fish harvested from protected populations.
KEYWORDS
Ruth M. Higgins (Co-author)
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
- Instituto do Mar, Universidade dos Açores, Horta, 9901-862, Portugal
Bret S. Danilowicz (Co-author)
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
- College of Science and Technology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia 30458, USA
Juan A. Balbuena (Co-author)
- Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, PO Box 22085, 46071 Valencia, Spain
Anna K. Daníelsdóttir (Co-author)
- Marine Research Institute, Skúlagata 4, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland
- Matis, Skúlagata, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland
Audrey J. Geffen (Co-author)
- Deptartment of Biology, University of Bergen, PO Box 7803, 5020 Bergen, Norway
Wim G. Meijer (Co-author)
- School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Sciences, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
J. Modin (Co-author)
- Coastal Research Institute, Swedish Board of Fisheries, 74071 Öregrund, Sweden
Francisco E. Montero (Co-author)
- Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, PO Box 22085, 46071 Valencia, Spain
- Department of Animal Biology, Plant Biology, and Ecology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Campus Universitari, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
Christophe Pampoulie (Co-author)
- Marine Research Institute, Skúlagata 4, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland
Diana Perdiguero-Alonso (Co-author)
- Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, PO Box 22085, 46071 Valencia, Spain
Arnd Schreiber (Co-author)
- University of Karlsruhe, Adenauerring 20, Geb. 50.40, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
Magnús Ö. Stefánsson (Co-author)
- Marine Research Institute, Skúlagata 4, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland
Bryan Wilson (Co-author)
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
- School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Sciences, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland