Mitochondrial genetic diversity, phylogeography and historical demography of Moroccan native freshwater fishes: a case study of the genus Luciobarbus Heckel, 1843

Conservation of biodiversity entails not just the preservation of specific taxa, but also genetic diversity. Despite the fact that molecular data appear to be crucial for freshwater fish conservation management, the information about genetic diversity of the genus Luciobarbus Heckel, 1843 populations in Morocco is still very rare. Accordingly, this study’s main purpose was to present genetic and biogeographic information of nine Luciobarbus species out of 15 Luciobarbus species native to Morocco. Sequencing of the complete cytochrome b gene (1140 bp) confirmed the presence of two evolutionary lineages of Luciobarbus in Morocco and displayed low to high level of genetic diversity within Luciobarbus populations. Populations with the largest size had the highest level of genetic diversity, according to our findings. Moreover, the “star-like” shape of the haplotype networks along with low and insignificant value of the Harpending raggedness index supported the hypothesis of population expansion in Luciobarbus populations. Nevertheless, additional investigations should ideally be undertaken separately for each species in order to untangle genetic diversity trends.