International Journal of Marine Science, 2025, Vol.15, No.2, 75-91 http://www.aquapublisher.com/index.php/ijms 75 Review Article Open Access The Origin and Global Spread of Scomberomorus spp.: The Intersection of Ecological Adaptation and Fisheries Management QiongWang1, JinniWu2 1 Center for Tropical Marine Fisheries Research, Hainan Institute of Tropical Agricultural Resouces, Sanya, 572025,Hainan, China 2 Aquatic Biology Research Center, Cuixi Academy of Biotechnology, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China Corresponding author: jinni.wu@cuixi.org International Journal of Marine Science, 2025, Vol.15, No.2, doi: 10.5376/ijms.2025.15.0008 Received: 22 Feb., 2025 Accepted: 18 Mar., 2025 Published: 31 Mar., 2025 Copyright © 2025 Wang and Wu, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Wang Q., and Wu J.N., 2025, The origin and global spread of Scomberomorus spp.: the intersection of ecological adaptation and fisheries management, International Journal of Marine Science, 15(2): 75-91 (doi: 10.5376/ijms.2025.15.0008) Abstract The genus Scomberomorus spp. is a marine fish group with outstanding economic and ecological value, widely distributed in tropical and temperate shallow sea waters around the world. This study combines recent research results of molecular phylogenetics, paleo-oceanology and ecology, explores the phylogenetic origin and global diffusion path of mackerel, summarizes its ecological adaptation mechanism to the environment, and analyzes the fishery development status and management challenges. Phylogenetic, molecular evidence shows that the genus Mackerel contains about 18 effective species, originating from the shallow sea areas of the paleotropics, and then spread to oceans around the globe through currents and geographical channels. Quaternary climate fluctuations and sea level changes shape the historical distribution pattern of mackerels: sea level rise after the last ice age promoted population expansion and gene exchange. Spanish mackerel has evolved its physiological properties of temperature and salt resistance, efficient predation and swimming ability, and reproductive strategies that adapt to different environments to cope with the changing marine environment. At present, mackerel has a clear geographical distribution pattern around the world, and human activities have also led to the secondary spread of a few populations. Genetic studies show that gene exchanges frequently between populations in the mackerel area and high overall genetic diversity, but there are differences in population structures in different sea areas. Global climate change has exacerbated uncertainty in the marine environment, and seawater warming and acidification may affect the migration behavior and survival of mackerels. In the future, cross-regional collaborative management based on ecological and genetic research needs to be strengthened, and sustainable fishery quotas and habitat protection measures are implemented to ensure the long-term use of mackerel resources and ecological security. Keywords Spanish mackerel; Phylogenetic; Diffusion; Ecological adaptation; Fishery management; Climate change 1 Introduction The genus Scomberomorus, commonly known as Spanish mackerel or seerfish, comprises medium to large-sized predatory fish in the family Scombridae. These species are widely distributed in coastal and continental shelf waters of tropical and temperate regions around the world. The genus includes approximately 18 recognized species, such as the well-known Japanese Spanish mackerel (S. niphonius), narrow-barred Spanish mackerel (S. commerson), Indo-Pacific king mackerel (S. guttatus), and Atlantic Spanish mackerel (S. maculatus). They are found across the Asia-Pacific, Indian Ocean, and Atlantic coasts. Renowned for their rapid swimming and aggressive predation, Scomberomorus species are key targets in many coastal fisheries and hold significant importance in global fisheries (Zeng et al., 2022). The genus Spanish mackerel has both paleontological research value and practical fishery management significance. On the one hand, its extensive geographical distribution and highly migratory characteristics make it a typical representative species for studying the origin and diffusion of marine animals; through molecular phylogenetic, its evolutionary path in the geological historical period can be traced to understand the impact of marine geographical changes on species differentiation (Jeena et al., 2022; Abdussamad et al., 2023). On the other hand, Spanish mackerel are also important catches for humans, and fishermen in many coastal countries rely highly on such fish resources to make a living. In recent years, with the increase in fishing intensity and changes in the climate environment, the population of Spanish mackerel in some sea areas has decreased significantly.
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