Environmental DNA reveals tropical shark diversity in contrasting levels of anthropogenic impact (2017)
Journal Article
Bakker, J., Wangensteen, O., Chapman, D., Boussarie, G., Boudo, D., Guttridge, T., …Mariani, S. (2017). Environmental DNA reveals tropical shark diversity in contrasting levels of anthropogenic impact. Scientific reports, 7, No. 16886. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-17150-2

Sharks are charismatic predators that play a key role in most marine food webs. Their demonstrated vulnerability to exploitation has recently turned them into flagship species in ocean conservation. Yet, the assessment and monitoring of the distribut... Read More about Environmental DNA reveals tropical shark diversity in contrasting levels of anthropogenic impact.

Biodiversity defrosted : unveiling non-compliant fish trade in ethnic food stores (2017)
Journal Article
Di Muri, C., Vandamme, S., Peace, C., Barnes, W., & Mariani, S. (2018). Biodiversity defrosted : unveiling non-compliant fish trade in ethnic food stores. Biological Conservation, 217, 419-427. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2017.11.028

Out of nearly 30,000 teleosts dwelling in our planet’s water bodies, only hundreds of them are commercially exploited and prevail on the global food market. Yet, our estimates of the species actually underpinning global trade is severely hampered by... Read More about Biodiversity defrosted : unveiling non-compliant fish trade in ethnic food stores.

Global trade statistics lack granularity to inform traceability and management of diverse and high-value fishes (2017)
Journal Article
Cawthorn, D., & Mariani, S. (2017). Global trade statistics lack granularity to inform traceability and management of diverse and high-value fishes. Scientific reports, 7(12852), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-12301-x

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and seafood supply chain fraud are multifaceted problems that demand multifaceted solutions. Here, we investigate the extent to which global fisheries trade data analyses can support effective seafood... Read More about Global trade statistics lack granularity to inform traceability and management of diverse and high-value fishes.

Harnessing mtDNA variation to resolve ambiguity in ‘Redfish’ sold in Europe (2017)
Journal Article
Shum, P., Moore, L., Pampoulie, C., Di Muri, C., Vandamme, S., & Mariani, S. (2017). Harnessing mtDNA variation to resolve ambiguity in ‘Redfish’ sold in Europe. PeerJ, 5, e3746. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3746

Morphology-based identification of North Atlantic Sebastes has long been controversial and misidentification may produce misleading data, with cascading consequences that negatively affect fisheries management and seafood labelling. North Atlantic Se... Read More about Harnessing mtDNA variation to resolve ambiguity in ‘Redfish’ sold in Europe.

Ecological and evolutionary consequences of alternative sex-change pathways in fish (2017)
Journal Article
Benvenuto, C., Coscia, I., Chopelet, J., Sala-Bozano, M., & Mariani, S. (2017). Ecological and evolutionary consequences of alternative sex-change pathways in fish. Scientific reports, 7(9804), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-09298-8

Sequentially hermaphroditic fish change sex from male to female (protandry) or vice versa (protogyny), increasing their fitness by becoming highly fecund females or large dominant males, respectively. These life-history strategies present different s... Read More about Ecological and evolutionary consequences of alternative sex-change pathways in fish.

Mislabeling seafood does not promote sustainability : a comment on Stawitz et al (2016) (2017)
Journal Article
Mariani, S., Cawthorn, D., & Hanner, R. (2017). Mislabeling seafood does not promote sustainability : a comment on Stawitz et al (2016). Conservation Letters, 10(6), 781-782. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12346

Recently, Stawitz et al. collated existing primary literature on DNA identification of finfish products and conducted a series of analyses to explore the environmental and economic ripples of species substitution. While we agree that the assessment o... Read More about Mislabeling seafood does not promote sustainability : a comment on Stawitz et al (2016).

Environmental and anthropogenic drivers of connectivity patterns : a basis for prioritizing conservation efforts for threatened populations (2016)
Journal Article
Gubili, C., Mariani, S., Weckworth, B., Galpern, P., McDevitt, A., Hebblewhite, M., …Musiani, M. (2017). Environmental and anthropogenic drivers of connectivity patterns : a basis for prioritizing conservation efforts for threatened populations. Evolutionary Applications, 10(2), 199-211. https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.12443

Ecosystem fragmentation and habitat loss have been the focus of landscape management due to restrictions on contemporary connectivity and dispersal of populations. Here, we used an individual approach to determine the drivers of genetic differentiati... Read More about Environmental and anthropogenic drivers of connectivity patterns : a basis for prioritizing conservation efforts for threatened populations.

The ART of mating : alternative reproductive tactics and mating success in a nest-guarding fish (2016)
Journal Article
Mascolino, S., Benvenuto, C., Gubili, C., Sacchi, C., Boufana, B., & Mariani, S. (2016). The ART of mating : alternative reproductive tactics and mating success in a nest-guarding fish. Journal of Fish Biology, 89(6), 2643-2657. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.13130

Fish use different modalities to access mates for reproduction, often referred to as Alternative Reproductive Tactics (ARTs). ARTs are an example of coexisting phenotypes, which have to hold some degree of reproductive success to persist in a populat... Read More about The ART of mating : alternative reproductive tactics and mating success in a nest-guarding fish.

Sex change and effective population size : implications for population genetic studies in marine fish (2016)
Journal Article
Coscia, I., Chopelet, J., Waples, R., Mann, B., & Mariani, S. (2016). Sex change and effective population size : implications for population genetic studies in marine fish. Heredity, 117, 251-258. https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.2016.50

Large variance in reproductive success is the primary factor that reduces effective population size (Ne) in natural populations. In sequentially hermaphroditic (‘sex-changing’) fish, the sex ratio is typically skewed and biased toward the ‘first’... Read More about Sex change and effective population size : implications for population genetic studies in marine fish.

A systematic analysis across North Atlantic countries unveils subtleties in cod product labelling (2016)
Journal Article
Bréchon, A., Hanner, R., & Mariani, S. (2016). A systematic analysis across North Atlantic countries unveils subtleties in cod product labelling. Marine Policy, 69, 124-133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2016.04.014

Over the last decade, the mislabelling of seafood products has come to prominence in the fields of food science and marine conservation. This study aims to determine whether differences in fish labelling accuracy can be explained by factors associate... Read More about A systematic analysis across North Atlantic countries unveils subtleties in cod product labelling.

Sushi barcoding in the UK : another kettle of fish (2016)
Journal Article
Vandamme, S., Griffiths, A., Taylor, S., Di Muri, C., Hankard, E., Towne, J., …Mariani, S. (2016). Sushi barcoding in the UK : another kettle of fish. PeerJ, 4, e1891. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1891

Although the spread of sushi restaurants in the European Union and United States is a relatively new phenomenon, they have rapidly become among the most popular food services globally. Recent studies indicate that they can be associated with very... Read More about Sushi barcoding in the UK : another kettle of fish.

Resolving taxonomic uncertainty in vulnerable elasmobranchs : are the Madeira skate (Raja maderensis) and the thornback ray (Raja clavata) distinct species? (2016)
Journal Article
Ball, R., Serra-Pereira, B., Ellis, J., Genner, M., Iglésias, S., Johnson, A., …Griffiths, A. (2016). Resolving taxonomic uncertainty in vulnerable elasmobranchs : are the Madeira skate (Raja maderensis) and the thornback ray (Raja clavata) distinct species?. Conservation Genetics, 17(3), 565-576. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-015-0806-1

Skates and rays constitute the most speciose group of chondrichthyan fishes, yet are characterised by remarkable levels of morphological and ecological conservatism. They can be challenging to identify, which makes monitoring species compositions for... Read More about Resolving taxonomic uncertainty in vulnerable elasmobranchs : are the Madeira skate (Raja maderensis) and the thornback ray (Raja clavata) distinct species?.

Establishment of a coastal fish in the Azores : recent colonisation or sudden expansion of an ancient relict population? (2015)
Journal Article
expansion of an ancient relict population?. Heredity, 115, 527-537. https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.2015.55

The processes and time scales associated with ocean-wide changes in the distribution of marine species have intrigued biologists since Darwin’s earliest insights into biogeography. The Azores, a mid-Atlantic volcanic archipelago located more than 1... Read More about Establishment of a coastal fish in the Azores : recent colonisation or sudden expansion of an ancient relict population?.

Three-dimensional post-glacial expansion and diversification of an exploited oceanic fish (2015)
Journal Article
Shum, P., Pampoulie, C., Kristinsson, K., & Mariani, S. (2015). Three-dimensional post-glacial expansion and diversification of an exploited oceanic fish. Molecular Ecology, 24(14), 3652-3667. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.13262

Vertical divergence in marine organisms is being increasingly documented, yet much remains to be done to understand the role of depth in the context of phylogeographic reconstruction and the identification of management units. An ideal study system... Read More about Three-dimensional post-glacial expansion and diversification of an exploited oceanic fish.

Spatio-temporal variability in the population structure in North-east Atlantic stocks of horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus) (2015)
Journal Article
Bozano, M., Mariani, S., Barratt, C., Sacchi, C., Boufana, B., & Coscia, I. (2015). Spatio-temporal variability in the population structure in North-east Atlantic stocks of horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus). Biology and Environment, 115B(3), 211-220. https://doi.org/10.3318/BIOE.2015.20

The long-term sustainability of fish stocks is dependent upon the identification of biologically meaningful demographic boundaries and, subsequently, appropriate assessment figures and management strategies. In the case of the horse mackerel, Trachur... Read More about Spatio-temporal variability in the population structure in North-east Atlantic stocks of horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus).

Divergence by depth in an oceanic fish (2014)
Journal Article
Shum, P., Pampoulie, C., Sacchi, C., & Mariani, S. (2014). Divergence by depth in an oceanic fish. PeerJ, 2, e525. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.525

Despite the striking physical and environmental gradients associated with depth variation in the oceans, relatively little is known about their impact on population diversification, adaptation and speciation. Changes in light associated with increasi... Read More about Divergence by depth in an oceanic fish.

Mass media influence and the regulation of illegal practices in the seafood market (2014)
Journal Article
Mariani, S., Ellis, J., O'Reilly, A., Bréchon, A., Sacchi, C., & Miller, D. (2014). Mass media influence and the regulation of illegal practices in the seafood market. Conservation Letters, 7(5), 478-483. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12085

Following media exposure on the issue of seafood mislabeling in Ireland, results of repeated forensic testing of cod product labeling suggest that media attention played an important role in determining significant improvements in the supermarket ret... Read More about Mass media influence and the regulation of illegal practices in the seafood market.

Multiple paternity in the starry smooth-hound shark Mustelus asterias (Carcharhiniformes: Triakidae) (2013)
Journal Article
Farrell, E., O'Sullivan, N., Sacchi, C., & Mariani, S. (2014). Multiple paternity in the starry smooth-hound shark Mustelus asterias (Carcharhiniformes: Triakidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 111(1), 119-125. https://doi.org/10.1111/bij.12179

Multiple paternity was investigated in the starry smooth-hound shark, Mustelus asterias Cloquet, 1821. Analysis of 12 pregnant females and their embryos, at four microsatellite loci, showed that at least 58% carried multiply-sired litters. Paternal s... Read More about Multiple paternity in the starry smooth-hound shark Mustelus asterias (Carcharhiniformes: Triakidae).

Genetic structure of pike (Esox lucius) reveals a complex and previously unrecognized colonization history of Ireland (2013)
Journal Article
Pedreschi, D., Kelly-Quinn, M., Caffrey, J., O'Grady, M., & Mariani, S. (2014). Genetic structure of pike (Esox lucius) reveals a complex and previously unrecognized colonization history of Ireland. Journal of Biogeography, 41(3), 548-560. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.12220

Aim: We investigated genetic variation of Irish pike populations and their relationship with European outgroups, in order to elucidate the origin of this species to the island, which is largely assumed to have occurred as a human-mediated introductio... Read More about Genetic structure of pike (Esox lucius) reveals a complex and previously unrecognized colonization history of Ireland.

Sex change and the genetic structure of marine fish populations (2009)
Journal Article
Chopelet, J., Waples, R., & Mariani, S. (2009). Sex change and the genetic structure of marine fish populations. Fish and Fisheries, 10(3), 329-343. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-2979.2009.00329.x

The interaction between environmental forces and dispersal characteristics is largely responsible for the patterns of population structure in marine fish. Yet, crucial gaps in knowledge on life-histories and the relative contributions of numerous e... Read More about Sex change and the genetic structure of marine fish populations.