Morphological characteristics and genetic diversity of <i>Terapon jarbua</i> (Forrskäl, 1775) in Central, Vietnam

Many environmental factors affect the morphology of migratory fish species, such as salinity, water flow rate, and temperature. However, studies on changes in fish morphology under environmental variations from salt water to brackish water are still limited in many fish species, especially in Terapon jarbua . This study aims to investigate the differences in the morphological parameters of T. jarbua between the coastal sea (seawater) and lagoon (brackish water); and between male and female fish based on a landmark morphological approach. Additionally, the genetic diversity of T. jarbua populations in Central Vietnam was elucidated using the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I (mtDNA COI) sequence as a molecular marker. The analytical results indicated no sexual dimorphism in the T. jarbua…