Current genetic structure of European vendace Coregonus albula (L.) populations in Latvia after multiple past translocations

Abstract

The European vendace Coregonus albula (L.), also known as the European cisco, is a widespread fish species in northern Europe, often regarded as an example of a glacial relict. It is an economically valuable fish and has been artificially propagated in Latvia since 1900. Despite past translocations of larvae and fry and its current protection status, it can be found in only 15 Latvian lakes. We used nine microsatellite markers to study vendace populations from nine Latvian lakes. A higher mean allelic richness and private allelic richness in Lake Riču suggest that this population may be indigenous. Three complementary clustering methods revealed similar grouping into three distinct genetic groups. According to the results, European vendace populations in the Latvian lakes studied may currently be a mixture of several other populations after multiple translocations.