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Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Genetic structure of Sydney Cockle Anadara trapezia: Implications for stock assessment and restoration of extirpated populations
Fisheries Research, Vol.295, pp.1-12
2026
Abstract
Sydney Cockle (Anadara trapezia) is distributed throughout south-eastern Australian estuaries, and subject to increasing fisheries interest. Population structure for the species is uncertain, but there is mounting evidence of both harvest and environmental conditions impacting populations. Aquaculture-aided enhancement (AAE) is being considered as a tool to support ongoing management of the species. This study developed a novel single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker panel for Sydney Cockle, and applied this to evaluate population structure across south-eastern Australia and inform future AAE. Sample collection targeted locations where the species had previously been found and spanned > 1100 km of coastline, but sampling efforts also revealed the potential extirpation of Sydney Cockle across a large swath of coastline. Analyses did not provide evidence for genetic structure across the region investigated. Overall F-ST was low (0.004), and the pairwise comparisons suggested only minor genetic distances among locations (F-ST <= 0.037). Furthermore, discriminant analysis and a likelihood-based clustering analysis did not indicate that any population subdivision was present. The SNP data revealed little evidence for any intra-estuarine structure or discontinuous stock structure across the sampled area, and there was no relationship between genetic distance and geographic distance. Similar results were obtained when stringent filters used to remove any bias in the data were removed. The south-eastern Australian estuaries supporting Sydney Cockle can be considered as connected units within minimal genetic differentiation, however the management of persistent local populations may require considerations broader than genetic structure. The genetic markers developed, and associated population analysis, provide a solid foundation for genetic resource management of any future AAE efforts for the species.
Details
- Title
- Genetic structure of Sydney Cockle Anadara trapezia: Implications for stock assessment and restoration of extirpated populations
- Authors
- Matthew D. Taylor (Corresponding Author) - New South Wales Department of Primary IndustriesMatthew Freeman - University of the Sunshine CoastRowan C. Chick - New South Wales Department of Primary IndustriesLaura Parker - New South Wales Department of Primary IndustriesWayne O'Connor - New South Wales Department of Primary IndustriesSankar Subramanian - University of the Sunshine Coast
- Publication details
- Fisheries Research, Vol.295, pp.1-12
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Date published
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.fishres.2026.107675
- ISSN
- 1872-6763
- Copyright note
- © 2026 Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
- Data Availability
- Data will be made available on request.
- Grant note
- This work was supported by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation on behalf of the Australian Government (project 2021/003) and the NSW Recreational Fishing Trust. Sampling was conducted under s37 permit P01/0059 and covered by Animal Research Authority 22–02, issued by the NSW Department of Primary Industries.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991216251402621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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