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The Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) “complex” in North America revisited

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Abstract

The Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) species “complex” has fascinated biologists for decades particularly with respect to how many species there are and their geographic distributions. I review recent research on the species complex, focussing on biodiversity within northwestern North America, which indicates (i) what was once considered a single taxon consists of three taxa: S. alpinus (Arctic char), S. malma (Dolly Varden), and S. confluentus (bull trout), (ii) morphological and genetic data indicate that S. alpinus and S. malma, and S. malma and S. confluentus exist as distinct biological species in sympatry, (iii) sympatric forms of S. alpinus exist in Alaska as in other areas of the Holarctic, (iv) Dolly Varden comprises two well-differentiated subspecies, S. m. malma and S. m. lordi, in the eastern Pacific and the northwestern Canadian Arctic that meet at a contact zone on the southern edge of the Alaska Peninsula, and (v) Dolly Varden and bull trout consist of several population assemblages that have legal status as distinct conservation units under US and Canadian law. This research has significantly revised what constitutes the S. alpinus species “complex”, provided insights into the ecology and genetics of co-existence, and promoted conservation assessment that better represents biodiversity within Salvelinus. A geographically and genetically comprehensive analysis of relationships among putative taxa of Pan-Pacific Salvelinus is still required to better quantify the number of taxa and their origins.

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Acknowledgments

I am deeply appreciative to Don McPhail for introducing me to the wonderfully complex world of Salvelinus, and to that of fishes in general. Further, the work of many great char biologists also simulated my interest in these fishes. I thank J. Baxter, D. Bustard, A. Costello, A. Dennert, J. Dunham, A. Elz, J. Hagen, L. Harris, S. May-McNally, J.-S. Moore, S. Pollard, T. Quinn, and Z. Redenbach for helping me try to better understand these fishes. Professor M. Jobling provided many helpful comments on the manuscript and Eric Leinberger (UBC Geography) produced Figure 1. My work on char has been supported by the British Columbia Ministry of Environment and by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

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  1. Department of Zoology, Biodiversity Research Centre and Beaty Biodiversity Museum, University of British Columbia, 6270 University Ave., Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    Eric B. Taylor

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Guest editors: M. Power, R. Knudsen, C. Adams, M. J. Hansen, J. B. Dempson, M. Jobling & M. Ferguson / Advances in Charr Ecology and Evolution

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Taylor, E.B. The Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) “complex” in North America revisited. Hydrobiologia 783, 283–293 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-015-2613-6

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