Resource partitioning as a factor limiting gene flow in hybridizing populations of Dolly Varden char (Salvelinus malma) and bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus)

2001 ◽  
Vol 58 (10) ◽  
pp. 2037-2047 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Hagen ◽  
Eric B Taylor

Dolly Varden char (Salvelinus malma) and bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) hybridize in areas of secondary contact in northwestern North America but maintain their genetic integrity in spite of gene flow. We examined juvenile stream ecology and adult reproductive ecology of these species in sympatry to test for specializations to alternative niches that may act as a basis for natural selection against hybrids. Juvenile Dolly Varden occupied deeper, faster water and foraged more during daytime in the drift, whereas bull trout used shallower, slower water and made more nighttime foraging attempts towards the substrate. The species showed extensive diet overlap (Schoener's index = 0.7–0.9), and we found evidence for density compensation between species among sites. Our results suggest no obvious basis for selection against hybrids at the juvenile stream-rearing life-history stage. Bull trout, however, are adfluvial, whereas Dolly Varden are permanent stream residents. Bull trout are also much larger at maturity (50–80 cm vs. 12–15 cm) and build redds in faster, deeper water using larger substrate sizes. Consequently, hybrid genotypes may be selected against in these alternative life-history niches or during reproduction owing to their intermediate size at maturity and size-dependent spawning habitat use and mate choice.

1991 ◽  
Vol 48 (11) ◽  
pp. 2191-2211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon R. Haas ◽  
J. D. McPhail

Dolly Varden char in North America separate into two species: Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma (Walbaum)) and bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus (Suckley)). Principal component analyses reveal two distinct morphotypes, and a linear discriminant function is derived (based on three field measureable variables) for their consistent classification. No single character can always distinguish both species, although branchiostegal ray number often will. The morphology of the two species remains relatively constant across their large ranges. The two species occur in strict sympatry in several areas with no evidence of interbreeding. The two species also exist parapatrically or syntopically and appear to exhibit broad scale competitive exclusion in these situations. Dolly Varden are distributed largely along the coast and range further north, while bull trout are mostly interior and range further south. Laboratory crosses demonstrate that the morphology of both species remain distinctive when they are reared under similar conditions and that their artificial hybrids are morphologically intermediate. No such natural hybrids were conclusively found, and there is no evidence of introgression.


2001 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 406-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric B Taylor ◽  
Zoë A Redenbach ◽  
Allan B Costello ◽  
Susan J Pollard ◽  
Charlie J Pacas

Partitioning within-species genetic diversity is fundamental to conservation of the bioheritage, current viability, and evolutionary potential of individual taxa. We conducted a hierarchical analysis of genetic diversity in Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma) and bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) involving analysis of hybrid zones between Dolly Varden and bull trout, analysis of phylogenetic structure within species across their native ranges using mitochondrial DNA, and a microsatellite DNA survey of population subdivision of bull trout within single watersheds. Our analyses documented hybridization and some introgression between Dolly Varden and bull trout across a geographically widespread zone of secondary contact between the two species. Both species were subdivided into two major mtDNA lineages, and one lineage in Dolly Varden may have arisen through introgression with bull trout. Bull trout have low levels of microsatellite diversity within populations, but there was substantial interpopulation variation in allele frequencies. Allele frequency distributions suggested that recent, severe bottlenecks occur frequently in bull trout populations. Our results illustrate partitioning of genetic variation at distinct levels of biological organization (species, phylogeographic lineages, local populations), and we address how such nested variation is fundamental to conservation of biodiversity.


2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (10) ◽  
pp. 1477-1493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Les N. Harris ◽  
Robert Bajno ◽  
Colin P. Gallagher ◽  
Itsuro Koizumi ◽  
Lucy K. Johnson ◽  
...  

The northern Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma malma) displays variable life-history types and occupies freshwater habitats with varying levels of connectivity. Here, we assayed microsatellite DNA variation in northern Dolly Varden from the western Canadian Arctic to resolve landscape and life-history variables driving variation in genetic diversity and population structure. Overall, genetic variation was highest in anadromous populations and lowest in those isolated above waterfalls, with stream-resident forms intermediate between the two. Anadromous and isolated populations were genetically divergent from each other, while no genetic differentiation was detectable between sympatric anadromous and stream-resident forms. Population structure was stable over 25 years, hierarchically organized, and conformed to an isolation-by-distance pattern, but stream-isolated forms often deviated from these patterns. Gene flow occurred primarily among Yukon North Slope populations and between sympatric anadromous and resident forms. These results were sex-dependent to some extent, but were influenced more by reproductive status and life history. Our study provides novel insights into the life history, population demographic, and habitat variables that shape the distribution of genetic variation and population structure in Arctic fluvial habitats while providing a spatial context for management and conservation.


2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshiaki Yamamoto ◽  
Noritaka Hirohashi ◽  
Eiji Fujiwara ◽  
Tatsuya Suzuki ◽  
Hatsuna Maruta ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 187 (3) ◽  
pp. 774-781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey L Cullen ◽  
Gary D Grossman

Abstract Although intraspecific interactions likely affect habitat choice and foraging behaviour in animals, our knowledge regarding how these factors interact is frequently limited to either lab or field studies, but not both. We observed pairs of dominant and subordinate drift-foraging Dolly Varden char (Salvelinus malma) in an Alaskan stream, and quantified intraspecific interactions and foraging behaviour. Dominant individuals had higher foraging rates, occupied slower holding velocities and were displaced shorter distances during bouts compared to subordinate individuals. Individuals initiated bouts more frequently from the downstream position, than from lateral or upstream positions. Dominant individuals were more likely to occupy the upstream position after a bout than subordinates, which ensures that dominants have the first opportunity to capture drifting prey.


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