Data from: Sex matters: Otolith shape and genomic variation in deacon rockfish (Sebastes diaconus)

Little is known about intraspecific variation within the deacon rockfish
(Sebastes diaconus), a recently described species found in the northeast
Pacific Ocean. We investigated population structure among fish sampled
from two nearshore reefs (Siletz Reef and Seal Rock) and one offshore site
(Stonewall Bank) within a <50 km2 area off the Oregon coast. Fish
from the three sample sites exhibited small but statistically significant
differences based on genetic variation at >15,000 neutral loci,
whether analyzed independently or classified into nearshore and offshore
groups. Male and females were readily distinguished using genetic data and
92 outlier loci were associated with sex, potentially indicating
differential selection between males and females. Morphometric results
indicated that there was significant secondary sexual dimorphism in
otolith shape, but further sampling is required to disentangle potential
confounding influence of age. This study is the first step towards
understanding intraspecific variation within the deacon rockfish and the
potential management implications. Since differentiation among the three
sample sites was small, we consider the results to be suggestive of a
single stock. However, future studies should evaluate how the stock is
affected by differences in sex, age, and gene flow between the nearshore
and offshore environments.