Abstract
Pricklebacks (Family Stichaeidae) are generally cold-temperate fishes most commonly found in the north Pacific. As part of the California Conservation Genomics Project (CCGP), we sequenced the genome of the Monkeyface Prickleback, Cebidichthys violaceus, to establish a genomic model for understanding phylogeographic patterns of marine organisms in California. These patterns, in turn, may inform the design of marine protected areas using dispersal models based on forthcoming population genomic data. The genome of C. violaceus is typical of many marine fishes at less than 1 Gb (genome size = 575.6 Mb), and our assembly is near-chromosome level (contig N50 = 1 Mb, scaffold N50 = 16.4 Mb, BUSCO completeness = 93.2%). Within the context of the CCGP, the genome will be used as a reference for future whole genome resequencing projects, enhancing our knowledge of the population structure of the species and more generally, the efficacy of marine protected areas as a primary conservation tool across California's marine ecosystems.