Integrating genomics into brook charr (Salvelinus fontinalis) management in the Lake Superior basin

Session: Application of Genomic Tools to Inform Management of the Great Lakes (2)

Nadya Mamoozadeh, Michigan State University, [email protected]
Mariah Meek, Michigan State University, [email protected]

Abstract

In the Lake Superior basin, brook charr (Salvelinus fontinalis) historically threatened by unregulated fishing effort and poor land use practices now face contemporary threats including habitat loss and a changing global climate. Decades of efforts to reestablish self-sustaining populations of stream-resident and endemic lake-run fish have primarily centered on habitat restoration and hatchery supplementation. However, a lack of information on fine-scale patterns of neutral and adaptive genetic variation, and environmental variables influencing this variation, prohibits consideration of these factors in recovery efforts. Here, we employ restriction site-associated DNA sequencing to survey thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in brook charr sampled across the Lake Superior basin. We provide novel insights into genomic relationships to inform regional conservation and management efforts, including: 1) developing a diagnostic SNP panel for distinguishing genetically distinct populations, 2) characterizing neutral and adaptive genomic variation to infer population-level conservation status, 3) assessing domestic introgression into wild populations, and 4) identifying genomic and environmental variation underlying ecologically distinct life histories. Results from this work will enable consideration of adaptive genomic diversity when prioritizing populations for management intervention, and the identification of restoration strategies that conserve native genomic variation and are effective for distinct life histories.