Premium
Can common species provide valuable information for conservation?
Author(s) -
WHITELEY ANDREW R.,
SPRUELL PAUL,
ALLENDORF FRED W.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
molecular ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.619
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1365-294X
pISSN - 0962-1083
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2006.02972.x
Subject(s) - biology , genetic structure , ecology , range (aeronautics) , habitat , habitat fragmentation , population , genetic variation , biochemistry , materials science , demography , sociology , gene , composite material
To demonstrate the importance of genetic data for multispecies conservation approaches, we examined the distribution of genetic variation across the range of the mountain whitefish ( Prosopium williamsoni ) at microsatellite and allozyme loci. The mountain whitefish is a common species that is particularly well suited for accurately revealing historical patterns of genetic structure and differs markedly from previously studied species in habitat requirements and life history characteristics. As such, comparing the population genetic structure of other native fishes to similar data from mountain whitefish could inform management and conservation strategies. Genetic variation for mountain whitefish was hierarchically distributed for both allozymes and microsatellites. We found evidence for a total of five major genetically differentiated assemblages and we observed subdivision among populations within assemblages that generally corresponded to major river basins. We observed little genetic differentiation within major river basins. Geographic patterns of genetic differentiation for mountain whitefish were concordant with other native species in several circumstances, providing information for the designation of conservation units that reflect concordant genetic differentiation of multiple species. Differences in genetic patterns between mountain whitefish and other native fishes reflect either differences in evolutionary histories of the species considered or differences in aspects of their ecology and life history. In addition, mountain whitefish populations appear to exchange genes over a much larger geographic scale than co‐occurring salmonids and are likely to be affected differently by disturbances such as habitat fragmentation.