title: Genetic models reveal historical patterns of sea lamprey population fluctuations within Lake Champlain.
abstract: The origin of sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) in Lake Champlain has been heavily debated over the past decade. Given the lack of historical documentation, two competing hypotheses have emerged in the literature. First, it has been argued that the relatively recent population size increase and concomitant rise in wounding rates on prey populations are indicative of an invasive population that entered the lake through the Champlain Canal. Second, recent genetic evidence suggests a post-glacial colonization at the end of the Pleistocene, approximately 11,000 years ago. One limitation to resolving the origin of sea lamprey in Lake Champlain is a lack of historical and current measures of population size. In this study, the issue of population size was explicitly addressed using nuclear (nDNA) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) markers to estimate historical demography with genetic models. Haplotype network analysis, mismatch analysis, and summary statistics based on mtDNA noncoding sequences for NCI (479 bp) and NCII (173 bp) all indicate a recent population expansion. Coalescent models based on mtDNA and nDNA identified two potential demographic events: a population decline followed by a very recent population expansion. The decline in effective population size may correlate with land-use and fishing pressure changes post-European settlement, while the recent expansion may be associated with the implementation of the salmonid stocking program in the 1970s. These results are most consistent with the hypothesis that sea lamprey are native to Lake Champlain; however, the credibility intervals around parameter estimates demonstrate that there is uncertainty regarding the magnitude and timing of past demographic events.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto , Toronto, Ontario , Canada ; Department of Biology, Middlebury College , Middlebury, VT , USA.
authors.forename: Cassidy C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: D'Aloia
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University , East Lansing, MI , USA ; Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Middlebury College , Middlebury, VT , USA.
authors.forename: Christina B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Azodi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Middlebury College , Middlebury, VT , USA.
authors.forename: Sallie P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Sheldon
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Program in Environmental Studies, Middlebury College , Middlebury, VT , USA.
authors.forename: Stephen C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Trombulak
authors.affiliation: Western New England Complex, US Fish and Wildlife Service , Essex Junction, VT , USA.
authors.forename: William R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Ardren
keywords: Coalescent; Demography; Lake Champlain; Lamprey; Petromyzon marinus