Genetic persistence of an initially introduced brown trout (Salmo truttaL.) population despite restocking of foreign conspecifics

Abstract

AbstractThe persistence of the initial genetic structure despite later stocking with foreign conspecifics is influenced by several factors, leading to different levels of introgression. Stream spawning has been assumed to be the prevailing recruitment strategy of brown trout (Salmo truttaL.). However, in lakes with limited stream spawning habitat, but still with high natural recruitment, lake spawning has been proposed. Using fourteen microsatellites, we assessed the genetic structure in a small allopatric brown trout population in theLakeSkavatn, located on theHardangervidda mountain plateau,Norway. A total of 265 brown trout were obtained from the lake itself, the outlet stream, two tributaries, a littoral sample from a presumed lake spawning site, a suggested stocking source, and a lake sample from 1967, representing the initial lake population. The sixSkavatn samples were best represented by three genetic components, showing a shift from the initial population, but with no genetic signal from the suggested stocking source. The littoral sample had the largest similarity to the initial lake population, possibly indicating the importance of lake spawning in a system where streams offer unpredictable spawning and rearing conditions. Due to large annual variations in recruitment contributions from the different spawning and rearing locations, the genetic structure of the lake population probably vary over time.