title: Loss of genetic integrity in wild lake trout populations following stocking: insights from an exhaustive study of 72 lakes from Québec, Canada.
abstract: Stocking represents the most important management tool worldwide to increase and sustain commercial and recreational fisheries in a context of overexploitation. Genetic impacts of this practice have been investigated in many studies, which examined population and individual admixture, but few have investigated determinants of these processes. Here, we addressed these questions from the genotyping at 19 microsatellite loci of 3341 adult lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) from 72 unstocked and stocked lakes. Results showed an increase in genetic diversity and a twofold decrease in the extent of genetic differentiation among stocked populations when compared to unstocked. Stocked populations were characterized by significant admixture at both population and individual levels. Moreover, levels of admixture in stocked populations were strongly correlated with stocking intensity and a threshold value of total homogenization between source and stocked populations was identified. Our results also suggest that under certain scenarios, the genetic impacts of stocking could be of short duration. Overall, our study emphasizes the important alteration of the genetic integrity of stocked populations and the need to better understand determinants of admixture to optimize stocking strategies and to conserve the genetic integrity of wild populations.
authors: Département de Biologie, Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS), Université Laval Québec, QC, Canada.
authors: Eliane
authors: E
authors: Valiquette
authors: Département de Biologie, Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS), Université Laval Québec, QC, Canada.
authors: Charles
authors: C
authors: Perrier
authors: Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement de la Faune et des Parcs Québec, QC, Canada.
authors: Isabel
authors: I
authors: Thibault
authors: Département de Biologie, Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS), Université Laval Québec, QC, Canada.
authors: Louis
authors: L
authors: Bernatchez
keywords: conservation genetics; fisheries management; genetic integrity; individual assignment; introgression; resilience; salmonid; stocking