Inter and intra-population phenotypic and genotypic structuring in the European whitefish Coregonus lavaretus, a rare freshwater fish in Scotland

Adams, C.E. et al. (2016) Inter and intra-population phenotypic and genotypic structuring in the European whitefish Coregonus lavaretus, a rare freshwater fish in Scotland. Journal of Fish Biology, 88(2), pp. 580-594. (doi: 10.1111/jfb.12855) (PMID:26748995)

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Abstract

This study revealed between-lake genetic structuring between Coregonus lavaretus collected from the only two native populations of this species in Scotland, U.K. (Lochs Eck and Lomond) evidenced by the existence of private alleles (12 in Lomond and four in Eck) and significant genetic differentiation (FST = 0·056) across 10 microsatellite markers. Juvenile C. lavaretus originating from eggs collected from the two lakes and reared in a common-garden experiment showed clear phenotypic differences in trophic morphology (i.e. head and body shape) between these populations indicating that these characteristics were, at least partly, inherited. Microsatellite analysis of adults collected from different geographic regions within Loch Lomond revealed detectable and statistically significant but relatively weak genetic structuring (FST = 0·001–0·024) and evidence of private alleles related to the basin structure of the lake. Within-lake genetic divergence patterns suggest three possibilities for this observed pattern: (1) differential selection pressures causing divergence into separate gene pools, (2) a collapse of two formerly divergent gene pools and (3) a stable state maintained by balancing selection forces resulting from spatial variation in selection and lake heterogeneity. Small estimates of effective population sizes for the populations in both lakes suggest that the capacity of both populations to adapt to future environmental change may be limited.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Dodd, Dr Jennifer and Bean, Professor Colin and Adams, Professor Colin and Lyle, Mr Alexander
Authors: Adams, C.E., Bean, C.W., Dodd, J.A., Down, A., Etheridge, E.C., Gowans, A.R.D., Hooker, O., Knudsen, R., Lyle, A., Winfield, I.J., and Praebel, K.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
Journal Name:Journal of Fish Biology
Publisher:Wiley
ISSN:0022-1112
ISSN (Online):1095-8649
Published Online:08 January 2016

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