Genetic structure and within-generation genome scan analysis of fisheries-induced evolution in a Lake Whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) population

Jobran Chebib,Louis Bernatchez,Sébastien Renaut,Sean M. Rogers

doi:10.1007/s10592-015-0797-y

Jobran Chebib, Louis Bernatchez + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-015-0797-y

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Abstract

Size-selective harvest may lead to over-exploitation of commercial fisheries, but the population genetic and evolutionary consequences of such practices remain poorly understood. We investigated the role of within-generation selection in a historically over-exploited Lake Whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) population associated with fisheries-induced evolution in Lesser Slave Lake, Alberta, Canada. DNA from archived scales of Lake Whitefish collected between 1986 and 1999 were genotyped at 20 microsatellites and 51 gene-coding SNPs associated with growth and reproduction. We found that the Lake Whitefish in Lesser Slave Lake consisted of a single genetic stock, with microsatellites revealing more temporal than spatial variation in allele frequencies. A comparative genome scan among replicate cohorts from commercially harvested versus random survey samples identified one candidate SNP under divergent selection. This SNP localized within a gene encoding nucleoside diphosphate kinase A, a protein associated with differential growth. Collectively, the results highlight the utility of within-generation genome scans towards investigating the evolutionary consequences of harvest in the wild.

Highlights

Understanding the genetic bases of adaptive phenotypic change is a fundamental question in evolutionary biology (Lewontin 1974; Orr and Coyne 1992; Stinchcombe and Hoekstra 2008)
We investigated the role of within-generation selection in a historically over-exploited Lake Whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) population associated with fisheries-induced evolution in Lesser Slave Lake, Alberta, Canada
We discovered that the commercial mesh-sizes used by the Lesser Slave Lake commercial fishery captured a fraction of the variation in size of individuals compared to what was captured with Multi-mesh test netting surveys (MMTN)

Summary

Introduction

Understanding the genetic bases of adaptive phenotypic change is a fundamental question in evolutionary biology (Lewontin 1974; Orr and Coyne 1992; Stinchcombe and Hoekstra 2008). Harvested fish are considered large-scale experiments in evolution (Rijnsdorp 1993) given the selective harvest of larger sized fish in most fisheries (Stokes and Law 2000; Law 2007; Kuparinen and Merila 2007; Audzijonyte et al 2013). Such harvest-induced evolution must meet two criteria to occur: (1) the fishing must be selective for phenotypic traits; and (2) those traits must be heritable (Enberg et al 2012). Heritability in growth rate has been shown, insights into fisheries-induced evolution in natural populations remain limited in the absence of including ecological, genetic or environmental factors (Hilborn 2006)

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