Widespread admixture blurs population structure and confounds Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush) conservation even in the genomic era.

ABSTRACT: Intraspecific variation is important for species' long-term persistence in changing environments. Conservation strategies targeting intraspecific variation often rely on the identification of management or policy units below the species level based on biological differences among populations. To identify management units, this paper examines intraspecific divergence of Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush) in Great Slave Lake (GSL), Canada, using low-coverage whole-genome sequencing data. Specifically, we evaluate genetic differentiation and assess the relationship with morphological, mitochondrial, and putatively adaptive divergence. We show that at least three and up to five genetically distinct Lake Trout populations co-occur in GSL and exhibit differences in spatial distribution and body s

SUBMITTER: Bernos TA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11680572 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature