Combining shells and sequences to untangle taxonomy of abalone in Sabah, Malaysia
Abalone, herbivorous marine mollusks of significant economic and ecological importance, exhibit considerable morphological plasticity. This poses a challenge for accurate species identification, which in turn could undermine the assessment of impacts from harvesting. The present study employed an in...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1577263/full |
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| author | Nur-Syahirah Mamat Nur-Syahirah Mamat Yuzine Esa Yuzine Esa Julia D. Sigwart Julia D. Sigwart Siti-Azizah Mohd Nor Nur Leena W. S. Wong Nur Leena W. S. Wong Nazia Abdul Kadar Fabrizio Marcondes Machado Siti Amalia Aisyah Abdul-Halim Ahmad Ammar Akhyar Aminarrashid |
| author_facet | Nur-Syahirah Mamat Nur-Syahirah Mamat Yuzine Esa Yuzine Esa Julia D. Sigwart Julia D. Sigwart Siti-Azizah Mohd Nor Nur Leena W. S. Wong Nur Leena W. S. Wong Nazia Abdul Kadar Fabrizio Marcondes Machado Siti Amalia Aisyah Abdul-Halim Ahmad Ammar Akhyar Aminarrashid |
| author_sort | Nur-Syahirah Mamat |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abalone, herbivorous marine mollusks of significant economic and ecological importance, exhibit considerable morphological plasticity. This poses a challenge for accurate species identification, which in turn could undermine the assessment of impacts from harvesting. The present study employed an integrative approach combining geometric morphometrics and DNA barcoding to address potential taxonomic ambiguities in abalone populations from Sabah, Malaysia. Especially in this megadiverse region, it could be expected that multiple species may co-occur. Morphometric analysis of 135 specimens, using 14 shell landmarks, confirmed that all individuals clustered within the Haliotis asinina group when compared with data from Haliotis glabra. This was supported by genetic analyses, which demonstrated 99% sequence similarity among novel CO1 sequences and previously published DNA barcodes from H. asinina. Despite overlapping morphological traits between H. asinina and similar congeners, the integrative approach conclusively identified all specimens as H. asinina. Although there are some limits to shell-based taxonomy, quantitative approaches to both morphological and genetic data can resolve species boundaries. These results underscore the importance of employing integrative methods in biodiversity assessments and conservation strategies for tropical abalone species. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-49a6e9b952864fbe8b363c9be6755108 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-49a6e9b952864fbe8b363c9be67551082025-08-20T03:45:44ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452025-06-011210.3389/fmars.2025.15772631577263Combining shells and sequences to untangle taxonomy of abalone in Sabah, MalaysiaNur-Syahirah Mamat0Nur-Syahirah Mamat1Yuzine Esa2Yuzine Esa3Julia D. Sigwart4Julia D. Sigwart5Siti-Azizah Mohd Nor6Nur Leena W. S. Wong7Nur Leena W. S. Wong8Nazia Abdul Kadar9Fabrizio Marcondes Machado10Siti Amalia Aisyah Abdul-Halim11Ahmad Ammar Akhyar Aminarrashid12International Institute of Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences (I-AQUAS), Universiti Putra Malaysia, Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, MalaysiaDepartment of Marine Zoology, Senckenberg Research Institute and Museum, Frankfurt, GermanyInternational Institute of Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences (I-AQUAS), Universiti Putra Malaysia, Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, MalaysiaDepartment of Aquaculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang, Selangor, MalaysiaDepartment of Marine Zoology, Senckenberg Research Institute and Museum, Frankfurt, GermanyQueen’s University Belfast, Marine Laboratory, Portaferry, Northern Ireland, United KingdomInstitute of Climate Adaptation and Marine Biotechnology (ICAMB), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, MalaysiaInternational Institute of Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences (I-AQUAS), Universiti Putra Malaysia, Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, MalaysiaDepartment of Aquaculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang, Selangor, MalaysiaBorneo Marine Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, MalaysiaDepartamento de Biologia Animal, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), São Paulo, BrazilDepartment of Aquaculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang, Selangor, MalaysiaDepartment of Aquaculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang, Selangor, MalaysiaAbalone, herbivorous marine mollusks of significant economic and ecological importance, exhibit considerable morphological plasticity. This poses a challenge for accurate species identification, which in turn could undermine the assessment of impacts from harvesting. The present study employed an integrative approach combining geometric morphometrics and DNA barcoding to address potential taxonomic ambiguities in abalone populations from Sabah, Malaysia. Especially in this megadiverse region, it could be expected that multiple species may co-occur. Morphometric analysis of 135 specimens, using 14 shell landmarks, confirmed that all individuals clustered within the Haliotis asinina group when compared with data from Haliotis glabra. This was supported by genetic analyses, which demonstrated 99% sequence similarity among novel CO1 sequences and previously published DNA barcodes from H. asinina. Despite overlapping morphological traits between H. asinina and similar congeners, the integrative approach conclusively identified all specimens as H. asinina. Although there are some limits to shell-based taxonomy, quantitative approaches to both morphological and genetic data can resolve species boundaries. These results underscore the importance of employing integrative methods in biodiversity assessments and conservation strategies for tropical abalone species.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1577263/fullabalonemarine gastropodsmolluskintegrative taxonomymorphometricsgenetic analysis |
| spellingShingle | Nur-Syahirah Mamat Nur-Syahirah Mamat Yuzine Esa Yuzine Esa Julia D. Sigwart Julia D. Sigwart Siti-Azizah Mohd Nor Nur Leena W. S. Wong Nur Leena W. S. Wong Nazia Abdul Kadar Fabrizio Marcondes Machado Siti Amalia Aisyah Abdul-Halim Ahmad Ammar Akhyar Aminarrashid Combining shells and sequences to untangle taxonomy of abalone in Sabah, Malaysia Frontiers in Marine Science abalone marine gastropods mollusk integrative taxonomy morphometrics genetic analysis |
| title | Combining shells and sequences to untangle taxonomy of abalone in Sabah, Malaysia |
| title_full | Combining shells and sequences to untangle taxonomy of abalone in Sabah, Malaysia |
| title_fullStr | Combining shells and sequences to untangle taxonomy of abalone in Sabah, Malaysia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Combining shells and sequences to untangle taxonomy of abalone in Sabah, Malaysia |
| title_short | Combining shells and sequences to untangle taxonomy of abalone in Sabah, Malaysia |
| title_sort | combining shells and sequences to untangle taxonomy of abalone in sabah malaysia |
| topic | abalone marine gastropods mollusk integrative taxonomy morphometrics genetic analysis |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1577263/full |
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