Otolith chemistry indicates large-scale connectivity in Chilean jack mackerel (Trachurus murphyi), a highly mobile species in the Southern Pacific Ocean

Chemistry in material laid down prior to capture along the edges of otoliths of Chilean jack mackerel (Trachurus murphyi) showed strong spatial heterogeneity corresponding to hydrographic structure across putative population boundaries between (i) the western and eastern South Pacific Ocean, and (ii) Chile and Peru. Yet the chemistry of the otolith nucleus, in material laid down during early life, showed no evidence supporting the existence of these boundaries. Instead, jack mackerel from New Zealand had similar nucleus chemistry to most sampling areas off South America; and those off southern Peru showed similar nucleus chemistry to most sampling areas off Chile. Strong differences were found between southern and northern Peru, and cluster analysis indicated this was caused by a group of fish off northern Peru with chemistry found nowhere else. Most other fish grouped in two clusters, which showed properties suggesting correspondence with a major spawning zone in oceanic water off central Chile, and a smaller area in coastal water off northern Chile, characterized by similar sea surface temperature, lack of westward transport, and low kinetic energy. Rather than discrete populations separated by boundaries, these results suggest complex spatial structure defined by environmentally mediated survival and connectivity: fish caught off New Zealand may be of South American origin; the spawning zone off central Chile may supply fisheries around the South Pacific; and spawning off northern Chile may be an important source of fish caught locally and in Peru. However, northern Peru does not supply areas further south.