Across the great divide: genetic forensics reveals misidentification of endangered cutthroat trout populations.
Accurate assessment of species identity is fundamental for conservation biology. Using molecular markers from the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes, we discovered that many putatively native populations of greenback cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii stomias) comprised another subspecies of cutthroat trout, Colorado River cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii pleuriticus). The error can be explained by the introduction of Colorado River cutthroat trout throughout the native range of greenback cutthroat trout in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by fish stocking activities. Our results suggest greenback cutthroat trout within its native range is at a higher risk of extinction than ever before despite conservation activities spanning more than two decades.
Metcalf
Jessica L
JL
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA. jessicalmetcalf@gmail.com
Pritchard
Victoria L
VL
Silvestri
Sarah M
SM
Jenkins
Jazzmin B
JB
Wood
John S
JS
Cowley
David E
DE
Evans
R Paul
RP
Shiozawa
Dennis K
DK
Martin
Andrew P
AP
D054458:Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis; D000818:Animals; D001131:Arkansas; D003120:Colorado; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D053476:Extinction, Biological; D005838:Genotype; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D009516:New Mexico; D017683:Oncorhynchus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D045483:Rivers; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA