Behavioural and Gene Transcriptional Phenotypes of Round Goby During the Invasion Spread

Session: 09. - Modeling, Detecting, and Managing Rarity

Lida Nguyen-Dang, Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, [email protected]
Daniel Heath, Great Leaks Environmental Research Institute, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, [email protected]
Christina Semeniuk, Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, [email protected]

Abstract

Colonization of novel environments post-establishment can be influenced by mechanisms such as behavioural flexibility and/or of specific behavioural phenotypes associated with dispersal ability. Moreover, related gene transcription can also be influential in range expansion, promoting acclimation to novel environments. The Round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) is an invasive fish currently expanding its range in the Laurentian Great Lakes and its tributaries. We investigated 1) the behavioural repertoire of round goby, 2) differential gene transcription between “natural” and environmental-captive “treatment” groups using brain candidate genes, and 3) how behaviour and gene transcription vary between residents and dispersers and with time since invasion. The genes investigated were associated with traits specific to invasive behaviours: aggression, boldness, stress response, and learning. Overall, round gobies possess an invasive phenotype, but it is not differentially expressed across invasion stages, but rather between life-stage: juveniles and adults. Additionally, both behavioural and gene transcriptional results suggest that round goby are flexible and can shift their phenotype depending on the context, thus facilitating their invasion success. Behavioural- and gene transcription results will be further discussed. By examining both behavioural and gene transcriptional components that can drive range expansion one can gain deeper insight underlying “invasiveness” and its possible management. 

1. Keyword
biological invasions

2. Keyword
fish behavior

3. Keyword
genetics