Arctic Cisco Genetics and Otolith Microchemistry Jennifer L. Nielsen Christian E. Zimmerman Vanessa Von Biela USGS Alaska Science Center Alaska Marine Science Symposium Anchorage, Alaska January 22, 2009
Generalized Arctic Cisco Life History
Recent declines in abundance and size of Arctic cisco – population- of-origin effects? Impacts of climate on sustainable harvest – effects of changes in Arctic oscillation and/or changes in prey abundance? Nuiqsut Subsistence Fishery Under-ice gillnet subsistence harvest
Migration and Growth in Arctic Cisco Testing the “Mackenzie Hypothesis” Colville River, AK subsistence harvest Mackenzie River, CA 5 anadromous spawning locations Beaufort Sea Gulf of Alaska
Otoliths depict migration history and act as natural growth records Sr/Ca Ratios Otolith radius and fish length were proportional
Using Otolith Micro-chemical Analyses to Understand Fish Populations
Otolith growth vs. fish length (no samples 1989, ) (r 2 = 0.84; P < )
Young-of-the-Year Otolith Growth ANOVA: n = 819; p < Pacific Ocean climate shift (Hare & Mantua 2000) 1997 Pacific Ocean climate shift
Winter Arctic Oscillation Index p=0.0262
Air Temperature (Inuvik May-August) Young-of-Year Growth Correlations Environmental Factors Easterly Wind Speed (Barrow July- August) r 2 = 0.16 r 2 = 0.15 No correlation found between YOY growth and proportion of easterly winds
Mackenzie River Discharge m 3 /s, April-June P =
Young-of-the-Year Growth Most environmental factors accounted for only small proportion of variation in YOY growth 2-yr lagged river discharge accounted for half the variability in YOY growth YOY growth may increase after high discharge years when increased nutrient input stimulates lower trophic production
Increased spring river discharge, DOC, and nutrients (Carmack et al. 2004, Dunton et al. 2006, Holmes et al. 2008) Increased 1° production in the Mackenzie plume (Carmack et al. 2004, Garneau et al. 2006, Pedersen et al. 2008) Also consider transport of plankton Across shelf and between N. Pacific and W. Arctic Oceans Carin Ashjian et al & 2008 Higher zooplankton abundance in the next generation (2 nd year) (Schell et al. 1998, Dunton et al. 2004) 2-year Lag Growth Hypothesis
Genetic Data Population-of-Origin Analyses 11 microsatellite loci genotyped for Arctic cisco (28 loci screened and 4 new loci maximized) mtDNA ATPase6 gene sequenced (594 nt) Microsatellite allelesmtDNA nucleotide sequence
N = 86 (2005) N = 176 (2006) N = 54 (Peel) N = 60 (Arctic Red) Genetic Analyses
Average: N A = 25.5; A R = 15.1; H O = 0.775; H E = All microsatellite loci were in HWE & linkage equilibrium Global F IS = (p = 0.49) for all loci combined No significant pairwise F ST differences between collections by year or location (p ≥ 0.21 in all cases) No significant differences between Alaskan and Canadian Arctic cisco (pairwise F ST = , p = 0.11) No significant allelic frequency differences among age classes in the 2006 Colville River subsistence fishery (p ≥ 0.09 in all cases) STRUCTURE inferred one genetic cluster (K = 1) 11 Microsatellite Loci
Characterized 19 unique Arctic cisco ATPase6 haplotypes No significant pairwise F ST differences among haplotype frequencies by year or location 4 highly divergent haplotypes present in the Colville River 3 haplotypes aligned with Bering cisco mtDNA 1 unknown haplotype (putative Coregonus spp.) mtDNA Results
mtDNA Minimum Spanning Network Sample sizes 372 Arctic cisco 8 Bering cisco 1 unknown Coregon us
Conclusions: YOY Growth Variation in YOY Arctic cisco growth could be described by: Mackenzie River discharge, air temperature, and easterly wind speed Best-fit model included variables: 1) Mackenzie discharge lagged 2 years 2) Inuvik summer air temperature Model explains ~60% of variability in YOY growth
Conclusions: Genetics Arctic cisco sampled in the Mackenzie River show high levels of gene flow among putative spawning populations in the Arctic Red and Peel rivers (panmixia?) Arctic cisco from the Colville and Mackenzie rivers lack independent genetic structure. Results from this study support the “Mackenzie Hypothesis” with one population of origin for fish caught in the Colville River subsistence fishery. Rare coregonid haplotypes found in Colville River fishery require additional study to determine origins and possible hybridization among North Slope whitefish.
Kate Wedemeyer (Minerals Management Service); Paulo Flieg and Larry Greenland (Aurora Research Institute); Shawn Norbert (Tsiigehtchic resident); Gwich’in Renewable Resource Board (Inuvik); Tetlit Renewable Resource Council (Fort McPherson); Gwichya Renewable Resource Council (Tsiigehtchic) ; Sean Burril; Andy Ramey; Sara Graziano; Larry Moulton; John Seigle, ABR; ConocoPhillips (Anchorage) ; LGL Limited (Anchorage); US Fish & Wildlife Service (Anchorage). Acknowledgements