Comparative phylogeography in marginal seas of the northwestern Pacific

The maturation of marine phylogeography depends on integration of comparative information across different regions globally. The northwestern Pacific, characterized by unique tectonic setting, however, is still underrepresented. This study seeks to highlight its phylogeographical history based on available population data, focusing on three seas: the East China Sea (ECS), the South China Sea (SCS), and the Sea of Japan (SOJ). We first conducted a literature survey to evaluate current research efforts, and then re-analysed the population structure, historical demography and genealogy for two selections of studies (namely ‘the ECS category’ and ‘the multiple-sea category’) to elucidate the evolutionary processes within and across the seas, respectively. For the ECS category, the meta-analyses revealed most studies displayed a shallow phylogeny, indicating a single origin from the sea. Significant population structure was commonplace, particularly in mollusk and crustacean studies, with pr...