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- Title
High genetic diversity and no inbreeding in the endangered copper redhorse, Moxostoma hubbsi (Catostomidae, Pisces): the positive sides of a long generation time.
- Authors
Lippé, Catherine; Dumont, Pierre; Bernatchez, Louis
- Abstract
The evolutionary potential of a species is determined by its genetic diversity. Thus, management plans should integrate genetic concerns into active conservation efforts. The copper redhorse ( Moxostoma hubbsi) is an endangered species, with an endemic distribution limited to the Richelieu River and a short section of the St Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada. The population, gradually fragmented since 1849, is characterized by a decline in population size and a lack of recruitment. A total of 269 samples were collected between 1984 and 2004 and genotyped using 22 microsatellite loci, which indicated that these fish comprise a single population, with a global FST value of only 0.0038. Despite a small census size (∼500), a high degree of genetic diversity was observed compared to common values for freshwater fishes (average number of 12.5 alleles/locus and average HO of 0.77 ± 0.08). No difference was observed between expected and observed pairwise values of relatedness (rxy: −0.00013 ± 0.11737), suggesting an outbred population. Long-term N e was estimated at 4476 whereas contemporary N e values ranged from 107 to 568, suggesting a pronounced yet gradual demographic decline of the population, as no bottleneck could be detected for the recent past. By means of simulations, we estimated N e would need to remain at more than ∼400 to retain 90% of the genetic diversity over 100 years. Overall, these observations corroborate other recent empirical studies confirming that long generation times may act as a buffering effect contributing to a reduction in the pace of genetic diversity erosion in threatened species.
- Subjects
QUEBEC (Province); COPPER redhorse; ENDANGERED species; ANIMAL breeding; ANIMAL diversity; CAPTIVE marine animals; CATOSTOMIDAE; BIODIVERSITY conservation; MARINE biology
- Publication
Molecular Ecology, 2006, Vol 15, Issue 7, p1769
- ISSN
0962-1083
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.1365-294X.2006.02902.x