Phenotypic and genetic divergence within a single whitefish form - detecting the potential for future divergence.

ABSTRACT: Human-induced nutrient input can change the selection regime and lead to the loss of biodiversity. For example, eutrophication caused speciation reversal in polymorphic whitefish populations through a flattening of littoral-pelagic selection gradients. We investigated the current state of phenotypic and genetic diversity in whitefish (Coregonus macrophthalmus) in a newly restored lake whose nutrient load has returned to pre-eutrophication levels and found that whitefish spawning at different depths varied phenotypically and genetically: individuals spawning at shallower depth had fewer gill rakers, faster growth, and a morphology adapted to benthic feeding, and they showed higher degrees of diet specialization than deeper spawning individuals. Microsatellite analyses complemented the pheno

SUBMITTER: Hirsch PE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3901543 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature