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Lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) is a species of conservation concern that has been stocked in several Great Lakes (North America) rivers. Lake sturgeon were extirpated in the Ontonagon River in Lake Superior and stocking began in 1998. In 2017, gametes were collected from spawning lake sturgeon (9 females, 36 males) caught at the nearby Sturgeon River spawning ground, generating nine family groups using a 1:4 mating design (n = 862). In 2018, gametes were collected from 3 females and 15 males, generating three family groups, and additional collections of drifting fry from the Sturgeon River were reared in the hatchery, resulting in 84 hatchery-produced and 675 wild-caught fry for stocking in the Ontonagon River. The objective of this study was to compare paternal representation and genetic diversity between the two stocking strategies. Parentage analysis based on genetic data from 12 microsatellite loci determined none of the family groups in the hatchery had equal paternal representation (p < 0.001), while wild-produced offspring had equal paternal representation. Despite the larger number of breeders contributing to the wild-caught larvae, there was no significant difference in genetic diversity between the wild-caught larvae and representative hatchery-produced offspring.
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This content will become publicly available on April 1, 2026
Otolith and Genomic Data Reveal Temporal Insights Into Stocking Across a Large River Basin in a Mobile, Long‐Lived Australian Freshwater Fish Species
ABSTRACT Freshwater ecosystems and their biota are under increasing pressure from anthropogenic stressors. In response to declining fish stocks, hatchery and stocking programmes are widely implemented as core components of restoration and management strategies, with positive outcomes for some wild populations. Despite this, stocking remains contentious due to potential genetic and ecological risks to wild populations. Monitoring and evaluation of stocking outcomes are critical to ensuring the long‐term sustainability of wild populations, but identification of stocked individuals post‐release remains a key challenge, particularly for mobile species. In this study, we combined otolith (natal origin and age) and genomic data to identify stocked individuals and evaluate the genetic implications of stocking for a culturally and socioeconomically important and mobile freshwater fish, golden perchMacquaria ambigua(family: Percichthyidae), across Australia's Murray–Darling Basin (MDB). We also generated a chromosome‐level genome assembly. Many close kin were detected across the MDB, increasing in prevalence over recent decades and mostly of hatchery origin. Rivers with many close kin were associated with low effective population sizes (Ne< 100). Genetic signatures of stocking varied according to local context, being most pronounced in but not restricted to rivers considered functionally isolated for management purposes. Where fish are stocked into rivers that are part of the connected metapopulation, there is scope to modify current stocking practices to avoid over‐representation of related stocked individuals. Increased focus on the genetic diversity of stocked fish is likely to promote the long‐term persistence of golden perch in the wild.
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- PAR ID:
- 10597061
- Author(s) / Creator(s):
- ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more »
- Publisher / Repository:
- John Wiley & Sons Ltd
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Molecular Ecology
- Volume:
- 34
- Issue:
- 7
- ISSN:
- 0962-1083
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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