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Ephemeral stream reaches preserve the evolutionary and distributional history of threespine stickleback in the Santa Clara and Ventura River watersheds of southern California

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Abstract

Much remains to be understood about the evolutionary history and contemporary landscape genetics of unarmored threespine stickleback in southern California, where populations collectively referred to as Gasterosteus aculeatus williamsoni have severely declined over the past 70+ years and are now endangered. We used mitochondrial sequence and microsatellite data to assess the population genetics and phylogeography of unarmored populations sampled immediately downstream from the type locality of G. a. williamsoni in the upper Santa Clara River, and assessed their distinctiveness with respect to low-armor populations in the downstream sections of the river and the adjacent Ventura River. We also characterized the geographic limits of different plate morphs and evaluated the congruence of those boundaries with barriers to dispersal in both river systems and to neutral genetic variation. We show substantial population structuring within the upper reach of the Santa Clara River, but little partitioning between the lower Santa Clara and Ventura Rivers—we attribute these patterns to different ancestry between spatially subdivided populations within the same drainage, a predominance of downstream gene flow, and ability for coastal dispersal between the Santa Clara and Ventura Rivers. We also show that alleles from introduced low-plate stock have infiltrated a native population in at least one upper Santa Clara River tributary, causing this formerly unarmored population to become gradually low-plated over a 30 + year time period. Measures of genetic diversity, census surveys, and severe habitat disturbance all indicate that unarmored stickleback near the type locality are currently at high risk of extinction.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Tim Hovey (CA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife) for sharing personal knowledge on stickleback in southern California and for assisting us with field collections. We are also grateful for Steve Howards’ (United Water District) sampling efforts in the Ventura River, for comments on an earlier draft of the manuscript, and for general insight on California native fish. Other invaluable field contributors include the following: Jonathan Baskin (San Marino Environmental Associates), Tom Haglund (San Marino Environmental Associates), Elizabeth Gallegos (USGS), Sara Schuster (former USGS), Manna Warburton (former USGS), and Osborne Cox. Kelly Barr provided helpful comments on analyses and an early draft manuscript. Thanks to Hannu Mäkinen for contributing DNA sequence data and Katie Peichel for contributing DNA samples. Funding for this study was provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Ventura, CA) and by the U. S. Forest Service, Angeles National Forest, Arcadia CA. We thank Matt Carpenter of the Newhall Ranch Conservancy for permission to work on ranch property and for providing field assistance. The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The use of trade names does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Federal Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. U.S. Geological Survey, 4165 Spruance Rd. Suite 200, San Diego, CA, 92101, USA

    Jonathan Q. Richmond, Adam R. Backlin & Robert N. Fisher

  2. University of California, 621 Charles E. Young Dr. South, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    David K. Jacobs

  3. Emeritus, Section of Fishes, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 6465 Elmo Road, Cumming, GA, 30028, USA

    Camm C. Swift

  4. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2493 Portola Road, Suite B, Ventura, CA, 93003, USA

    Chris Dellith

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  1. Jonathan Q. Richmond
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Correspondence to Jonathan Q. Richmond.

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Richmond, J.Q., Jacobs, D.K., Backlin, A.R. et al. Ephemeral stream reaches preserve the evolutionary and distributional history of threespine stickleback in the Santa Clara and Ventura River watersheds of southern California. Conserv Genet 16, 85–101 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-014-0643-7

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