Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2021

Erindi/veggspjald / Talk/poster V35

Population genetics of stream populations of Arctic charr in North Iceland

Höfundar / Authors: Sabrina Carli(1), Irem Dogruoglu(1), Han Xiao(1), Marcos Lagunas(1), Dagny Ásta Rúnarsdóttir(1), Stefán Óli Steingrímsson(2), Sarah E. Steele(1), Arnar Pálsson(1)

Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: 1) University of Iceland 2)Holar University College

Kynnir / Presenter: Sabrina Carli

Diversity in life history characteristics is abundant among species of fish. Differences in such traits are notable between closely related species and even within species. Salmonids have diverse life cycles, some are anadromous, they spawn in streams but the juveniles return to the sea where they take out most of their growth, while others are residents in lakes and/or streams. The ancestral strategy of Arctic charr is thought to be anadromy, but many diverged populations live only in freshwater (if waterfalls prevent migration). Arctic charr can be found in streams (both open to sea and above waterfalls) and lakes. To further our understanding the evolution of lifecycles and life history traits in charr, we study the relatedness of 8 stream populations, using a known anadromous (from Fljótá, Norðfjarðará, Bjarnadalsá and xxx) and landlocked charr (Brown and Silver charr ecomorphs from Lake Vatnshlíðarvatn) as reference populations. We used ddRAD-seq method that captures thousands of segregating variants. The landlocked populations separate clearly and follow geography. The fish in streams were seaward migration was possible were more related and significantly high kinship was found between some populations. We will present further results on the level of nucleotide diversity per population. The relatedness and levels of genetic diversity may influence the variation in adult size, age at maturity and other phenotypes in these closely related populations.