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Genetic variability in pre- and post-bottleneck segments of the cui-ui (Osteichthys: Chasmistes cujus) population of Pyramid Lake, Nevada

Publication Type:

Journal Article

Source:

SOUTHWESTERN NATURALIST, Volume 41, Issue 1, p.43-47 (1996)

Abstract:

Cui-ui (Chasmistes cujus), an endangered catostomid endemic to Pyramid Lake, NV, recently experienced a 19-year hiatus in reproduction due to low water levels in its primary spawning stream, the Truckee River. The effects of this bottleneck on the genetic variability of the cui-ui population were examined using starch-gel electrophoresis. Nine 1950 (pre-bottleneck) and four post-bottleneck (1969 and 1977) age-class fish were analyzed at 55 presumptive allozyme loci. Allozyme data were also available for 31 additional post-bottleneck fish. Pre-bottleneck cui-ui were polymorphic at two loci and exhibited an estimated heterozygosity of 0.0081, and post-bottleneck fish were poly morphic at four loci and exhibited heterozygosity estimated at 0.0036. One allele was detected in the pre-bottleneck fish but not in post-bottleneck cui-ui at the IDH-2* locus. Thus, post-bottleneck cui-ui appear reduced in genetic variation as compared to pre-bottleneck fish. Conservation recommendations for the genetic management of the Pyramid Lake cui-ui population are discussed in light of these results.