Altogether, this system offers a compelling way to evaluate whether factors other than dispersal per se mediate recruitment in an estuarine-dependent species of fish with a larval dispersal phase. It also demonstrates the importance of exploring both smaller and larger scale population structure in marine organisms to better understand local and regional patterns of population connectivity and gene flow. The Gobiidae is the largest family of marine fishes, with nearly 2,000 species described worldwide, an estimated 320 of which are found in the Americas ( Van Tassell, 2011). Cryptic by nature, gobies are small (24.0 ppt) salinities may be more subject to processes that lower genetic diversity, like drift. To quantify population structure in these estuaries, we used the common mitochondrial barcoding gene Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI), which has been used as a tool for population genetics studies across multiple diverse taxa over the past 20+ years ( NCBI, 2014 Barcode of Life, 2018), and specifically has been proven effective for understanding the genetic diversity of marine fishes (e.g., Ward et al., 2005).
Furthermore, the use of this marker allowed us to explore our data in combination with other recent population genetics datasets for this species, like the Mila et al.
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