• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.145-158
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• 2024

Life history characteristics, habitat landscape, and historical events are believed to have shaped the patterns of genetic variation in many taxa. The bony lip barb, Osteohilus vittatus, represent a potamodromous fish that complete all life cycle in freshwater and is widely distributed in Southeast Asia. It usually lives in small rivers and other freshwater habitats, and movement between habitats for either food or reproduction has been typical. These life history characteristics may promote gene flow, leading to less structured populations. However, many freshwater habitats are fragmented, which restricts gene flow. We investigate how this interplay has shaped patterns of genetic variation and phylogeographic structure within this species in the Sundaland, a biodiversity hotspot with a complex geological history, using mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (mtCOI) as a genetic marker. Forty-six mtCOI sequences of 506 bp long were collected from ten localities, eight geographically isolated and two connected. The sequences were used for population genetic and phylogeographic analyses. Our results showed a low genetic diversity within populations but high between populations. There was a deep phylogeographic structure among geographically isolated populations but a lack of such structure in the connected habitats. Among geographically isolated populations, sequence divergence was revealed, ranging from 1.8% between Java and Sumatra populations to 12.2% between Malaysia and Vietnam. An indication of structuring was also observed among localities that are geographically closer but without connectivity. We conclude that despite high dispersal capacity, the joint effects of historical events, long-term geographic isolation associated with sea level oscillation during the Pleistocene, and restricted gene flow related to lack of habitat connectivity have shaped the phylogeographic structure within the O. vittatus over the Sundaland.