Abstract
Aim: The Pleistocene glaciation event prompted the allopatric divergence of multiple glacial lineages of Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus), some of which have come into secondary contact upon their recolonization of the Holarctic. While three glacial lineages (Arctic, Atlantic, and Acadian) are known to have recolonized the western Atlantic, the degree of overlap of these three lineages is largely unknown. We sought to determine the distribution of these three glacial lineages in Labrador and Newfoundland at a fine spatial scale to assess their potential for introgression and their relative contribution to local fisheries. Location: Labrador and Newfoundland, Canada. Methods: We sequenced a portion of the D-loop region in over 1,000 Arctic char (S. alpinus) samples from 67 locations across Labrador and Newfoundland. Results: Within Labrador, the Arctic and Atlantic lineages were widespread. Two locations (one landlocked and one with access to the sea) also contained individuals of the Acadian lineage, constituting the first record of this lineage in Labrador. Atlantic and Acadian lineage individuals were found in both eastern and western Newfoundland. Multiple sampling locations in Labrador and Newfoundland contained fish of two or more different glacial lineages, implying their introgression. Glacial lineage did not appear to dictate contemporary genetic divergence between the pale and dark morph of char present in Gander Lake, Newfoundland. Both were predominately of the Atlantic lineage, suggesting the potential for their divergence in sympatry. Main conclusions: Our study reveals Labrador and Newfoundland to be a unique junction of three glacial lineages which have likely hybridized extensively in this region.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2031-2045 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Ecology and Evolution |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 1 2019 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Department of Environment and Conservation of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador; Institute for Biodiversity, Ecosystem Science and Sustainability; Government of Nova Scotia; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Grant/ Award Number: CGS-D, Discovery Grant and STPGP 430198; Killam Trusts, Grant/ Award Number: Level 2 Izaak Walton Killam Predoctoral Scholarship
Funding Information:
Thanks go to S. Avery, H. Buchanan, D. Cote, J. Callahan, T. Gallant, S. Gerrow, B. Green, S. Hann, T. Hann, L. House, T. Knight, J. Merkuratsuk, F. Palstra, L. Pike, R. Reid, J. Seibert, A. Simpson, R. Solomon, D. Gomez-Uchida, A. Walsh, C. Webb, and J. Webb for their indispensable help with fieldwork. Thanks also to D. Notte for her help with laboratory work and to two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. We greatly appreciate Parks Canada for allowing us access to the Torngat Mountains National Park and the Nunatsiavut government for allowing us to access their lands. We also thank the Institute for Biodiversity, Ecosystem Science, and Sustainability of the Department of Environment and Conservation of the Government of Labrador and Newfoundland for funding for this project; NSERC for the Strategic Grant STPGP 430198 and Discovery Grant awarded to DER, for the CGS-D awarded to SJS; the Killam Trust for the Level 2 Izaak fp awarded to SJS; and the Government of Nova Scotia for the Graduate Scholarship awarded to SJS.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
ASJC Scopus Subject Areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Ecology
- Nature and Landscape Conservation
