The escalating growth in illegal wildlife trade and anthropogenic habitat changes threaten the survival of pangolin species worldwide. All eight extant species have experienced drastic population size reductions globally with a high extinction risk in Asia. Consequently, forensic services have become critical for law enforcement, with a need for standardised and validated genetic methods for reliable identifications. The seizure of three tonnes of pangolin scales, believed to have originated from Africa, by Hong Kong Customs Authorities provided an opportunity for the application of DNA barcoding in identifying scales. Three mitochondrial DNA gene regions (COI, Cyt b, and D-loop) were amplified for a subsample of the confiscated material and compared with taxonomically verified references. All four African species were recovered as monophyletic with high interspecific uncorrected p-distance estimates (0.048–0.188) among genes. However, only three of four African species (Phataginus tricuspis, Phataginus tetradactyla, and Smutsia gigantea, originating from West and Central Africa) and one of four Asian species (Manis javanica from Southeast Asia) were identified among scales. Although the assignment of unknown scales to specific species was reliable, additional genetic tools and representative reference material are required to determine geographic origins of confiscated pangolin specimens.

The reef fish Myripristis berndti (Jordan & Everman 1903) is a pantropical species. A genetic analysis was conducted on 353 individuals from 10 localities distributed across the SW Indian Ocean (SWIO) in order to determine patterns of connectivity in the SWIO. Both the mtDNA sequences (711-bp cytochrome b sequences) and the microsatellites (8 newly developed loci) reveal spatial patterns of differentiation within the SWIO. There is, however, a discrepancy between the structure observed with each kind of marker. MtDNA revealed that 3 peripheral populations (NW Kenya, SE Reunion, and SW Europa) were isolated from the 7 more central populations, which form a more densely connected population network, while microsatellite data indicated a more restricted connectivity with significant differentiation between most pairs of localities. Higher genetic differences between Reunion and Europa were found, which might be explained by geography and isolation by distance pattern. In contrast, the genetic signature of Kenya-the most divergent locality identified by mtDNA basis but not with microsatellite-was probably the consequence of a particular colonisation history. These results indicate a much more restricted connectivity than previously thought for this species

Examining the genetic structure of species allows an estimate of the level of evolutionary connectivity between localities; this information is important for marine biodiversity protection, in particular, for the delineation of marine protected areas. In this context, a total of 601 Lutjanus kasmira (Forsskål, 1775) were sampled in 16 localities of the western Indian Ocean and analyzed with both mitochondrial cytochrome b sequencing and eight microsatellite loci genotyping. Both genetic markers indicate that differentiation was not significant even between samples separated by more than 4000 km. This absence of genetic differentiation among samples was favored by ecological plasticity of the species and is now ensured by resultant high levels of dispersal. Nevertheless, some significant genetic structure was detected for the areas of Mauritius and Moroni, as well as within populations in all localities, which will have to be explained by additional studies on local processes.