Identification of naturally occurring hybrids between two overexploited sciaenid species along the South African coast

Abstract

Hybridization between fish species can play a significant role in evolutionary processes and can influence management and conservation planning, however, this phenomenon has been widely understudied, especially in marine organisms. The distribution limits of two sciaenid species (silver kob, Argyrosomus inodorus, and dusky kob, A. japonicus) partly overlap along the South African coast, where both species have undergone severe depletion due to overfishing. Following the identification of a number of possible cases of species misidentification or hybridization (21 out of 422 individuals), nuclear and mitochondrial DNA data (12 microsatellite loci and 562 bp of the COI gene) were analysed to investigate the genetic composition of these individuals. Results indicated a field-based species misidentification rate of approximately 2.8% and a rate of natural hybridization of 0.7%. Interestingly, all hybrid fish resulted from first-generation (F1) hybridization events, which occurred exclusively between silver kob females and dusky kob males. Whether hybridization is the result of natural events (such as secondary contact following a shift in distribution range), or anthropogenic activities (size-selective pressure due to overfishing), these findings have important implications for critical recovery and future management of these species in the wild.