Rethinking the influence of hydroelectric development on gene flow in a long-lived fish, the Lake Sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens

PLoS One. 2017 Mar 22;12(3):e0174269. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0174269. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Many hydroelectric dams have been in place for 50 - >100 years, which for most fish species means that enough generations have passed for fragmentation induced divergence to have accumulated. However, for long-lived species such as Lake Sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens, it should be possible to discriminate between historical population structuring and contemporary gene flow and improve the broader understanding of anthropogenic influence. On the Winnipeg River, Manitoba, two hypotheses were tested: 1) Measureable quantities of former reservoir dwelling Lake Sturgeon now reside downstream of the Slave Falls Generating Station, and 2) genetically differentiated populations of Lake Sturgeon occur upstream and downstream, a result of historical structuring. Genetic methods based on ten microsatellite markers were employed, and simulations were conducted to provide context. With regards to contemporary upstream to downstream contributions, the inclusion of length-at-age data proved informative. Both pairwise relatedness and Bayesian clustering analysis substantiated that fast-growing outliers, apparently entrained after residing in the upstream reservoir for several years, accounted for ~15% of the Lake Sturgeon 525-750 mm fork length captured downstream. With regards to historical structuring, upstream and downstream populations were found to be differentiated (FST = 0.011, and 0.013-0.014 when fast-growing outliers were excluded), and heterozygosity metrics were higher for downstream versus upstream juveniles. Historical asymmetric (downstream) gene flow in the vicinity of the generating station was the most logical explanation for the observed genetic structuring. In this section of the Winnipeg River, construction of a major dam does not appear to have fragmented a previously panmictic Lake Sturgeon population, but alterations to habitat may be influencing upstream to downstream contributions in unexpected ways.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bayes Theorem
  • Ecosystem
  • Fishes / genetics*
  • Gene Flow / genetics*
  • Genetics, Population / methods
  • Lakes
  • Manitoba
  • Microsatellite Repeats / genetics
  • Rivers

Grants and funding

Funding in support of this research was provided WGA by Manitoba Hydro (http://www.hydro.mb.ca/) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/professors-professeurs/grantssubs/dgigp-psigp_eng.asp) (grant number CRDPJ 321520-0). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The authors CAM and PAN are currently employed by North/South Consultants Inc., but the organization provided no support in the form of salaries; all work related to this manuscript conducted by CAM and PAN has been done so on their own time, without compensation (financial or otherwise). North/South Consultants Inc. did not have any other role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.