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Phylogeography of European grayling, Thymallus thymallus (Actinopterygii, Salmonidae), within the Northern Adriatic basin: evidence for native and exotic mitochondrial DNA lineages

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Abstract

Phylogeographic information on European grayling, Thymallus thymallus, is still fragmentary for the Northern Adriatic basin. In this article, we provide complete mitochondrial DNA control region sequence data of 456 grayling specimens from 21 sampling sites across distinct river drainages. Thirty-seven haplotypes were resolved and clustered into Danubian, Atlantic and Adriatic lineages. The latter clade, composed of 16 new haplotypes, was identified in 12 out of 17 Adriatic sampling sites and reached frequencies of 0.97 within single water courses of the Adige and the Po drainages. However, native Adriatic haplotypes were accompanied by Danubian and/or Atlantic variants in all cases. A positive correlation between hatchery haplotype frequency and annual stocking input pointed to a direct effect of stocking intensity on the genetic architecture of wild populations, although natural trans-basin colonisation may have additionally complicated the situation. However, both the extent and patterns of introgression between native and foreign strains, as well as microgeographic population structure within the Adriatic lineage will be clarified by future molecular surveys, based on nuclear genetic markers. Until then, conservation management must include an immediate cessation of stocking of commercial grayling stocks, as well as the prohibition of grayling translocation, even at the intra-drainage level.

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Acknowledgments

This study was carried out within the framework of the project “ABaTe”, funded by the Autonomous Province of Trento under its COFUND programme. The authors thank the Fisheries Offices of the Autonomous Provinces of Bolzano/Bozen and Trento, the Province of Verona, the Environmental and Aquaculture Services Unit (IASMA-FEM), V. Adami and A. Festi as well as numerous angling associations within the Northern Adriatic basin for their great assistance during sampling activities. In addition, we would also like to thank S. Battistella (University of Trieste, Italy), B. Gum (University of TU München-Weihenstephan, Germany), C. Puzzi (GRAIA, Italy), S. Rossi (free-lance biologist, Italy), S. Salviati (Aquaprogram, Italy) and G. Unfer (BOKU, University of Vienna, Austria) for providing us with tissue samples or DNA extracts. Finally, we thank P. Gratton, C. Vernesi, S. Weiss as well as one anonymous reviewer for their constructive inputs and helpful comments and A. Daly, G. Flaim and D. B. Neale for their linguistic revision.

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  1. Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via E. Mach 1, 38010, San Michele all’Adige, TN, Italy

    A. Meraner & A. Gandolfi

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  1. A. Meraner
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  2. A. Gandolfi
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Correspondence to A. Meraner.

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Handling editor: Christian Sturmbauer

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10750_2012_1109_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Online resource 1 Sequence alignment for putative chimeric haplotypes Ad2–Ad6 with their most likely parental haplotype (PDF 104 kb)

10750_2012_1109_MOESM2_ESM.pdf

Online resource 2 Relative stocking intensity of T. thymallus within the Upper Adige region (Autonomous Province of Bolzano/Bozen) and the relationship between stocking input and hatchery haplotype frequency (PDF 73 kb)

Supplementary material 3 (DOCX 27 kb)

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Meraner, A., Gandolfi, A. Phylogeography of European grayling, Thymallus thymallus (Actinopterygii, Salmonidae), within the Northern Adriatic basin: evidence for native and exotic mitochondrial DNA lineages. Hydrobiologia 693, 205–221 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-012-1109-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-012-1109-x

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