Evolution of Lake Whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) in North America during the Pleistocene: Evidence for a Nahanni Glacial Refuge Race in the Northern Cordillera Region

1992 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 760-768 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. Foote ◽  
J. W. Clayton ◽  
C. C. Lindsey ◽  
R. A. Bodaly

Lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) could have survived through (at least) the Illinoisan and Wisconsinan Pleistocene glacial maxima in an area in the vicinity of the present Nahanni National Park in the Northwest Territories of Canada according to the geological evidence. This possibility was addressed by an analysis of the genetic makeup of 43 lake whitefish populations in the Northwest Territories, the Yukon Territory, British Columbia, and Alberta. Populations in the lower Liard, Tetcela, Fraser, and upper Peace River systems as well as the headwaters of the Athabasca River were distinguished from both the Bering glacial refuge race populations inhabiting the Yukon and upper Liard River basins in the Yukon Territory and the Mississippi–Missouri glacial refuge race populations inhabiting most of the Northwest Territories, Alberta, and areas further to the east by a specific combination of electrophoretic mobility alleles. This evidence supports the hypothesis of the survival and subsequent dispersal of lake whitefish from a Nahanni glacial refugium. Possible dispersal routes and the limited extent of introgression among races are discussed.

1992 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 769-779 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Bodaly ◽  
J. W. Clayton ◽  
C. C. Lindsey ◽  
J. Vuorinen

We use electrophoretic data on dehydrogenase enzymes to examine the relatedness of sympatric populations of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) and provide evidence for the existence of a glacial refuge race of lake whitefish in eastern North America. This Acadian race is presently found in New England, the Gaspé peninsula of Québec, and New Brunswick. It probably survived glaciation in a refugium on the exposed coastal plain of northeastern North America. In areas of contact, most glacial races appear to introgress and do not coexist in sympatry. However, sympatric pairs of populations occur (or occurred) within the ranges of all races of lake whitefish. Allele frequencies for at least one enzyme system examined for most sympatric pairs were significantly different, indicating that these sympatric populations are wholly or substantially, isolated reproductively from each other. Both members of the population pairs examined in the Yukon Territory, Ontario, and Labrador were genetically characteristic of the glacial races of their region. This suggests that they are not the result of speciation due to geographic isolation in different glacial refugia. Thus, their origin appears to be postglacial, but may be older if present genetic similarities are due to recent gene flow between sympatric forms.


1975 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 404-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. C. Healey ◽  
C. W. Nicol

We found no significant differences in slope or intercept for the regression of loge fecundity on loge fork length among samples of whitefish from four lakes near Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. The equation describing the relationship between fecundity and fork length for these populations was:[Formula: see text]Five other populations for which length–fecundity relationships could be calculated had length exponents ranging from 3.20 to 4.38, suggesting a nonlinear relationship between weight and fecundity. Six of the nine populations as well as four others for which limited data were available all had similar relative fecundities. Fish from Buck Lake in Alberta and from Lake Erie had high relative fecundities while fish from Great Slave Lake had low relative fecundity.


1977 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 388-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Bodaly ◽  
C. C. Lindsey

The Peel River basin is a unique Canadian glacial refugium containing many relict fish populations. Peel River is presently tributary to the Mackenzie River system, but at least twice during Pleistocene glaciations it was diverted into headwaters of the Yukon River system, offering the possibility of two-way transfer of aquatic organisms between the Mackenzie and Yukon. Present fish distributions in the Peel basin are summarized. Biochemical and morphological evidence suggests that races of at least six species now inhabiting the area (Coregonus clupeaformis, Prosopium coulteri, Thymallus arcticus, Salvelinus namaycush, Esox lucius, Cottus cognatus) originated from types which either came from the Yukon River system or developed in situ in unglaciated parts of the Peel.


1975 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. E. Bryan ◽  
D. A. Kato

Spawning grounds used by lake (Coregonus clupeaformis) and round whitefish (Prosopium cylindraceum) were discovered in the course of an investigation on effects of hydroelectric development. The spawning period for lake whitefish extended from early November to at least mid-December 1973. Lake whitefish spawned over silt and Potomogeton in water which had little current and was 2.0–2.5 m deep. Spawning of round whitefish was probably completed in November. Round whitefish spawned during the day. Eggs were apparently broadcast over a variety of substrata ranging from silt and Potamogeton to gravel and boulder. Round whitefish eggs were deposited in both fast and slow current at depths ranging from 0.7 to 2.5 m. Although deposited in a range of habitats, round whitefish eggs seemed to be most abundant on gravel in fast current at depths less than 1 m.


1981 ◽  
Vol 38 (12) ◽  
pp. 1497-1506 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. C. Lindsey

The characters that apparently render a stock of fish distinctive may in reality be a reflection of the presence or absence of other fish species with which the stock shares its environment. Over the northern hemisphere, the whitefish genera Coregonus, "Leucichthys," and Prosopium offer striking examples of morphological characters being displaced because of coinhabiting species. Whenever one of the groups is missing, another tends to shift its gill rakers so as to fill in the vacant part of the spectrum in gill-raker counts. Plankton-feeding lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) having many long gill rakers exist in several lakes sympatrically with bottom-feeding lake whitefish having fewer and shorter gill rakers, but only if the even more specialized plankton-feeding species of ciscoes are absent. Lake whitefish in Yukon Territory have on the average fewer rakers in those lakes that contain ciscoes than in those that do not. Artificial transplants demonstrate that gill-raker characteristics can change quickly in a new environment. Gill-raker count is less subject to phenotypically induced variation from environmental influences than are most morphological characters, but it is not immune. Partial hybridization, where bimodal populations are maintained by a balance between gene flow and selection, also poses special problems for the stock concept. When employing even relatively stable characters such as gill-raker counts, one should beware that the "stocks" may be chameleons which shift their appearance in response to the biological color of their surroundings.Key words: coregonids, whitefish, gill rakers, phenotypic variation, hybridization, selection, transplants, stocks


1979 ◽  
Vol 36 (10) ◽  
pp. 1214-1222 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Bodaly

Two forms of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis species complex sensu McPhail and Lindsey [1970]) were found in each of five lakes in Yukon Territory. They are characterized by differences in gill raker counts. Low gill raker fish are benthic feeders and are found almost exclusively near the bottom while high raker fish are largely plankton feeders, being found throughout the lake water column. High raker fish have longer and more closely spaced gill rakers than low raker fish. They also have shorter life spans and mature earlier than low raker fish. Lakes supporting these sympatric populations of lake whitefish have no cisco populations. The low gill raker member of these sympatric populations seems to be equivalent to most other Yukon lake whitefish whereas the high raker member appears to be the unusual member of each sympatric pair. Key words: whitefish, lake, feeding, morphology, growth, divergence, Yukon Territory, sympatric populations


2017 ◽  
Vol 69 ◽  
pp. 294-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindy M. Whitehouse ◽  
Chance S. McDougall ◽  
Daniel I. Stefanovic ◽  
Douglas R. Boreham ◽  
Christopher M. Somers ◽  
...  

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