Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2025

DOI

10.1073/pnas.2513012122

Publication Title

PNAS

Volume

122

Issue

46

Pages

e2513012122

Abstract

Genetic diversity is a crucial component of biodiversity, and as such, its maintenance and preservation is of high conservation concern. Tropical environments are undergoing intense rates of environmental change, and these changes may be driving large declines in genetic diversity. However, data on genetic diversity are highly skewed towards temperate regions. The degree to which diversity loss has occurred in tropical species, particularly marine species, remains an open and important question. Here, we directly compare genomic data from modern and museum collections of two commercially-harvested nearshore marine fishes (Equulites laterofenestra and Gazza minuta) gathered from a single location in the Philippines, spanning a century of intense environmental change. These data reveal a marked loss in genetic diversity and evidence for multiple orders of magnitude reductions in effective population size (Ne) in both species, indicating substantial genomic erosion. Such a decline highlights the long-lasting genomic consequences of anthropogenic activity and sheds light on an, until-now, invisible loss of diversity from the most biodiverse ocean region.Significance Statement Recent reports have shown that genetic diversity in marine fishes has declined either slightly or not at all during the Anthropocene. However, almost all studies investigating marine genetic diversity loss have been from temperate latitudes, whereas tropical marine environments experience some of the most intense human impacts. Here, we directly compare genomic data from modern and historical specimens of two commercially-harvested fishes from the Philippines. We show that marine species in the tropics have already lost substantial genetic diversity and may have undergone severe bottlenecks over the past century. These results shine a light on the previously invisible loss of genetic diversity in the most biodiverse region of the ocean, and they emphasize the evolutionary consequences of the Anthropocene.

Comments

Significance Statement: Recent reports have shown that genetic diversity in marine fishes has declined either slightly or not at all during the Anthropocene. However, almost all studies investigating marine genetic diversity loss have been from temperate latitudes, whereas tropical marine environments experience some of the most intense human impacts. Here, we directly compare genomic data from modern and historical specimens of two commercially-harvested fishes from the Philippines. We show that marine species in the tropics have already lost substantial genetic diversity and may have undergone severe bottlenecks over the past century. These results shine a light on the previously invisible loss of genetic diversity in the most biodiverse region of the ocean, and they emphasize the evolutionary consequences of the Anthropocene.

Rights

Copyright © 2025 the Author(s). Published by PNAS. This article is distributed under Creative CommonsAttribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License 4.0(CC BY- NC- ND)

Data Availability

Article states: "This article contains supporting information online at https://www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.2513012122/-/DCSupplemental.

Original Publication Citation

Clark, R. D., Reid, B. N., Garcia, E., Malabag, M., Waples, R. S., Abesamis, R. A., Baldisimo, J. G. P., Bucol, A. A., Fitz, K. S., Magnuson, S. F., Muallil, R. N., Nanola, C. L., Roberts, R., Whalen, J. C., Bird, C. E., Carpenter, K. E., & Pinsky, M. L. (2025). Anthropocene genetic diversity loss in the marine tropics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(46), e2513012122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2513012122

ORCID

0000-0002-1334-3753 (Garcia), 0000-0002-3615-025X (Baldisimo), 0000-0003-1263-4847 (Whalen), 0000-0003-3618-1811 (Carpenter)

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