Using Otolith Phenotipic Variability to Infer Potential Population Differences of Scomber colias in the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

In the last decade there has been a growing interest in the Atlantic chub mackerel, Scomber colias, due to a noticeable expansion of this species in the East Atlantic Ocean from areas of greater abundance off northwest Africa to Atlantic Iberian waters and the Mediterranean Sea (ICES, 2021). To implement sustainable management measures in the current global warming situation it is crucial not only to identify biologically-meaningful management units, but also to understand otolith morphological variability along its geographic distribution areas. We analysed the otolith shape variability in S. colias considering four origins in as one metapopulation.