Genetic Diversity, Stock Structure, and Hybridization of Cisco in Lake Ontario

Session: Restoration and Management of Great Lakes Fishes (2)

Ellen George, Cornell University, [email protected]
Matthew Hare, Cornell University, [email protected]
Lars Rudstam, Cornell University, [email protected]

Abstract

Cisco Coregonus artedi were once an ecologically and commercially important species in the Great Lakes before their collapse in the early 1900s. Today, Lake Ontario contains only two established spawning populations in Chaumont Bay and the Bay of Quinte. In the last decade, research and restoration efforts have increased with much of the work focused on the Chaumont Bay spawning population. In addition to concerns about spawning habitat and quality, the Chaumont Bay population faces two potential genetic threats; a loss of genetic diversity following severe population reduction and hybridization and introgression with lake whitefish C. clupeaformis. To address these concerns, we analyzed genetic diversity at eight microsatellite sites in cisco samples from several spawning and non-spawning aggregations around Lake Ontario. In addition, we developed a panel of three species diagnostic nuclear markers to measure the rate of hybridization in the Chaumont Bay population.

Twitter handle of presenter
@greatlakescisco