Evolutionary Implications for Population Recovery of Thorny Skates in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean

The thorny skate is a vulnerable species found across the northern Atlantic Ocean (e.g., South Carolina in the US to the Barents Sea). Over the past five decades, their numbers have declined steeply in the Gulf of Maine and Canada and have shown no signs of recovery even with strict conservation measures over the last 20 years. In this region, thorny skates exhibit larger over all sizes (up to 105cm in total length) when compared to the rest of their range where individuals are generally smaller (up to 72cm total length). But the genetic underpinnings of this size differentiation are unknown. It’s possible that their genomes may provide greater understanding of these regional populations and possible solutions for conservation management.

In this study, a team of researchers conducted a whole genome sequencing of the thorny skate population from the Gulf of Maine to Canada. They found a “supergene”- a cluster of closely linked genes that are inherited together and control complex traits- that may be linked to the size differences. The supergene also suggests inbreeding within the population, something that may have led to its inability to recover from overfishing. This has important implications for conservation measures of thorny skate in the northwest Atlantic.

Read the full paper here.

Reference

Lesturgie, P., Denton, J.S.S., Corrigan, S., Kneebone, J., Laso-Jadart, R., Lynghammar, A., Fedrigo, O., Mona, S., and Naylor, G.J.P. (2025). Short-term evolutionary implications of an introgressed size-determining supergene in a vulnerable population. Nature Communications. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56126-z