Sammanfattning

Understanding spatiotemporal population genetic patterns is important for conservation management of ecologically and socioeconomically important species. This is particularly so in species-poor environments such as the brackish Baltic Sea. We examined over 600 northern pike (Esox lucius), a coastal predator and treasured sport fish, collected over major parts of the Baltic Sea coastline. We found low genetic divergence among populations, indicating a contrasting genetic structure of brackish water coastal spawners compared with previous reports on anadromous Baltic pike migrating up freshwater streams for spawning. A pattern of genetic isolation by distance either over shortest waterway or primarily along the mainland coast with islands as stepping stones suggested that gene flow is primarily taking place among neighboring populations, possibly with some migration over open water. Temporal data showed a stable genetic structure over a decade. Within a single sampling year, however, spatial divergence was larger during spawning than feeding season, indicating increased mixing of populations during the feeding season. Management should assure connectivity among brackish spawning grounds and large population sizes at identified core areas.

Publicerad i

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
2017, Volym: 74, nummer: 4, sidor: 562-571
Utgivare: CANADIAN SCIENCE PUBLISHING, NRC RESEARCH PRESS

SLU författare

• Olsson, Jens

  • Institutionen för akvatiska resurser (SLU Aqua), Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

Associerade SLU-program

Kust och hav


Globala målen

SDG14 Bevara och nyttja haven och de marina resurserna på ett hållbart sätt för en hållbar utveckling


UKÄ forskningsämne

Övrig annan naturvetenskap


Publikationens identifierare

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2016-0039

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/87302