DNA barcoding and morphometric of Rastrelliger spp. in North Maluku Sea, Indonesia

High exploration activity is feared to have an impact to mackerel populations. A sustainable management approach should be taken to provide information about the status of mackerel populations. Study of mackerel population status can be carried out through genetic information. The DNA of the fish samples were collected at traditional fish markets (Morotai, Bacan and Ternate). Laboratory works such as extraction, amplification, electrophoresis and DNA sequencing were analysis at the Indonesian Biodiversity Laboratory (Bionesia). The molecular characteristics of Rastrelliger kanagurta were 374 base pairs (bp). The composition of nucleotides showed the similarity of frequencies between species. Phylogenetic relationship of R. kanagurta in North Maluku Sea suggested that there was any differentiation. The genetic diversity of R. kanagurta was high with a total number of haplotypes and diverse nucleotide diversity. The minimum spawning networks (MSN) found 5 haplotype networks from a total of 12 samples. Morphological measurements of standard length, head height, body width, pectoral fin length and tail were found to have variable values. The length of the weight of the fish is obtained of b = 3, indicating that the growth pattern was isometric or weight gain was equivalent to the growth of the fish length.Keywords: Biodiversity, conservation, ecology, morphology, species