Genetic diversity, admixture, and hatchery influence in Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) throughout western New York State
Abstract Although Brook Trout are distributed across most of eastern North America, population numbers have declined in many regions due to habitat loss, climate change, and competition with non‐native species. In New York State, Brook Trout habitat has been substantially reduced, with many areas sh...
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doaj-6299c8eeff17494db46106fa030aa5172021-03-02T08:03:18ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582019-07-019137455747910.1002/ece3.5237Genetic diversity, admixture, and hatchery influence in Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) throughout western New York StateStephanie Dowell Beer0Scott Cornett1Peter Austerman2Betsy Trometer3Thomas Hoffman4Meredith L. Bartron5U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Fishery Center Lamar PennsylvaniaNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation Allegany New YorkNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation Avon New YorkU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Lower Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office Basom New YorkU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Lower Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office Basom New YorkU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Fishery Center Lamar PennsylvaniaAbstract Although Brook Trout are distributed across most of eastern North America, population numbers have declined in many regions due to habitat loss, climate change, and competition with non‐native species. In New York State, Brook Trout habitat has been substantially reduced, with many areas showing complete extirpation of Brook Trout populations, predominantly in the western portion of the state. Small, fragmented populations are at risk of genetic diversity loss, inbreeding depression, and reduced fitness, leading to a greater potential for local extirpation. Genetic monitoring is a practical tool that can facilitate further conservation‐decision making regarding small populations. In this study, we used 12 microsatellite loci to examine 3,436 sampled Brook Trout, representing 75 sites from the Allegheny, Erie/Niagara, Genesee, Oswego, Lake Ontario, and Susquehanna drainage basins throughout western New York State. Three Brook Trout hatchery strains were also genetically characterized to evaluate the degree of hatchery introgression between wild populations and hatchery strains stocked in the region. Overall, estimates of genetic diversity varied widely: Allelic richness ranged from 2.23 to 7.485, and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.402 to 0.766. As observed for Brook Trout in other regions, we found a high degree of genetic differentiation among populations, with all comparisons except one showing significant FST values. Hatchery introgression was found to be minimal, with estimates ranging from 1.96% to 3.10% of wild individuals exhibiting membership proportions to a hatchery strain cluster exceeding 10% (q ≥ 0.10). Results from this investigation can be used to prioritize management efforts for Brook Trout in western New York State and act as a baseline to monitor future population trends.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5237effective population sizegene flowgenetic structurehatchery introgressionrelatednesssalmonid |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Stephanie Dowell Beer Scott Cornett Peter Austerman Betsy Trometer Thomas Hoffman Meredith L. Bartron |
spellingShingle |
Stephanie Dowell Beer Scott Cornett Peter Austerman Betsy Trometer Thomas Hoffman Meredith L. Bartron Genetic diversity, admixture, and hatchery influence in Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) throughout western New York State Ecology and Evolution effective population size gene flow genetic structure hatchery introgression relatedness salmonid |
author_facet |
Stephanie Dowell Beer Scott Cornett Peter Austerman Betsy Trometer Thomas Hoffman Meredith L. Bartron |
author_sort |
Stephanie Dowell Beer |
title |
Genetic diversity, admixture, and hatchery influence in Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) throughout western New York State |
title_short |
Genetic diversity, admixture, and hatchery influence in Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) throughout western New York State |
title_full |
Genetic diversity, admixture, and hatchery influence in Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) throughout western New York State |
title_fullStr |
Genetic diversity, admixture, and hatchery influence in Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) throughout western New York State |
title_full_unstemmed |
Genetic diversity, admixture, and hatchery influence in Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) throughout western New York State |
title_sort |
genetic diversity, admixture, and hatchery influence in brook trout (salvelinus fontinalis) throughout western new york state |
publisher |
Wiley |
series |
Ecology and Evolution |
issn |
2045-7758 |
publishDate |
2019-07-01 |
description |
Abstract Although Brook Trout are distributed across most of eastern North America, population numbers have declined in many regions due to habitat loss, climate change, and competition with non‐native species. In New York State, Brook Trout habitat has been substantially reduced, with many areas showing complete extirpation of Brook Trout populations, predominantly in the western portion of the state. Small, fragmented populations are at risk of genetic diversity loss, inbreeding depression, and reduced fitness, leading to a greater potential for local extirpation. Genetic monitoring is a practical tool that can facilitate further conservation‐decision making regarding small populations. In this study, we used 12 microsatellite loci to examine 3,436 sampled Brook Trout, representing 75 sites from the Allegheny, Erie/Niagara, Genesee, Oswego, Lake Ontario, and Susquehanna drainage basins throughout western New York State. Three Brook Trout hatchery strains were also genetically characterized to evaluate the degree of hatchery introgression between wild populations and hatchery strains stocked in the region. Overall, estimates of genetic diversity varied widely: Allelic richness ranged from 2.23 to 7.485, and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.402 to 0.766. As observed for Brook Trout in other regions, we found a high degree of genetic differentiation among populations, with all comparisons except one showing significant FST values. Hatchery introgression was found to be minimal, with estimates ranging from 1.96% to 3.10% of wild individuals exhibiting membership proportions to a hatchery strain cluster exceeding 10% (q ≥ 0.10). Results from this investigation can be used to prioritize management efforts for Brook Trout in western New York State and act as a baseline to monitor future population trends. |
topic |
effective population size gene flow genetic structure hatchery introgression relatedness salmonid |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5237 |
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