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Communication at the NABS Annual meeting, Keystone, 2000
(318) GENETIC VARIATION ACROSS DRAINAGE DIVIDES: IMPLICATIONS FOR RESTORATION OF EXTIRPATED UNIONID POPULATIONS.
D.J. Berg1, A.D. Christian2, J.L. Metcalfe-Smith3, and S.I. Guttman2. 1Department of Zoology, Miami University, Hamilton, OH 45011, 2Department of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, 3National Water Research Institute, P.O. Box 5050, 867 Lakeshore Road, Burlington, Ontario, Canada, L7R 4A6
Most of the freshwater mussel (Unionidae) fauna of Lake Erie was extirpated following the invasion of the zebra mussel. Management agencies have proposed restoration of unionid populations by translocation of individuals from large populations within and outside of the Great Lakes drainage basin. We used allozyme electrophoresis to begin a preliminary genetic analysis of unionid populations across the Lake Erie / Ohio River drainage divide. We compared populations of Amblema plicata, Actinonaias ligamentina, and Elliptio dilatata from tributary streams of Lakes Erie, St. Clair, and Huron with populations from the Ohio River basin. Within-population variation was significant in most cases, and genotype frequencies matched Hardy-Weinberg expectations in over 85% of locus-population combinations. Populations of A. plicata showed limited gene flow and significant differentiation across drainage divides, with St. Joseph River (Erie tributary) populations more similar to Ohio basin than to other Great Lakes tributary populations. Conversely, A. ligamentina showed less overall variation among populations and no differentiation by basin. These contrasting patterns indicate a need for further study of additional species to determine whether either pattern predominates among species in this region. Management agencies must consider patterns of genetic variation when choosing potential source populations for restoration efforts.
Presented at 2:45 PM on Thursday, June 1, 2000 in Conservation Biology of Mussels I
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