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Establishment of a microsatellite genetic baseline for North American Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser o. oxyrhinchus) and range-wide analysis of population genetics

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Abstract

Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) is a long-lived, anadromous species that is broadly distributed along the Atlantic coast of North America. Historic overharvest and habitat degradation resulted in significant declines to Atlantic sturgeon populations and, following decades of limited recovery, the species was listed under the Endangered Species Act of the United States in 2012. Given continued threats to recovery and limited information about population demography, there is a need for new tools to assist in Atlantic sturgeon conservation. Here, we present a range-wide microsatellite genetic baseline for North American Atlantic sturgeon that is comprised of 2510 individuals from 18 genetically distinct groups collected in 13 rivers and one estuary. Analysis of this baseline suggested that populations from the northern range of Atlantic sturgeon were more highly differentiated than those from the southern extent, where patterns of differentiation were complicated by rivers with genetically distinct spring and fall spawning runs and less geographic distance separating populations. Despite significant demographic bottleneck events, all populations showed at least moderate levels of genetic diversity across a suite of metrics. Additionally, individual-based assignment tests had over 80% accuracy for assigning individuals to their river of origin, highlighting the utility of this baseline for characterizing the composition of mixed-stock aggregations and understanding stock-specific vulnerability and recovery. The expanded spatial coverage of this baseline dataset enabled novel inferences about patterns of genetic differentiation and spawning phenology in Atlantic sturgeon which can be used to support conservation and management efforts.

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Data availability

Metadata and multilocus genotypes for Atlantic sturgeon included in the baseline are available at https://doi.org/10.5066/P9W46E5Q.

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Acknowledgements

This paper is dedicated to Tim King, who passed away unexpectedly during its preparation. Tim’s vision and dedication were indispensable to the development of earlier versions of the genetic baseline and left a lasting impact on his coauthors and our understanding of Atlantic sturgeon. We thank Andy Herndon for comments on a previous version of the manuscript and express our sincere gratitude towards the many technicians, collaborators, personnel, and volunteers that helped collect or coordinate the tissue samples used in this study including Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Bill Post, Doug Peterson, Ramsey Noble, Carter Griggs, Gabriel Irigaray, Kirk Moore, Noelle Mathies, Jay Russo, Tracy Massey, Craig Marcusson, Maddie Speirs, April Deacy, Desiree Nuckols, Matthew Fisher, John O’Herron, and Carter Watterson- without their efforts in the field, we would not have been able to complete this study. We apologize to anyone we may have inadvertently missed who helped during the many years this study has been ongoing. We would also like to thank the NOAA-National Marine Fisheries Service for providing much of the funding to support this research project. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. We would like to thank the entire SCDNR Population Genetics Laboratory, located in the Hollings Marine Laboratory. This publication represents contribution #839 from the SCDNR Marine Resources Research Institute. Possession of tissue samples is permitted under ESA scientific research permit No. 21858.

Funding

This study was funded by National Marine Fisheries Service and United States Army Corps of Engineers.

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

SLW performed statistical analyses and drafted the manuscript, DCK, TLD, and DJF designed the study, performed laboratory analyses, assisted with statistical analyses, and drafted the manuscript, BAL, RLJ, and MSE located samples and performed laboratory analyses, MTB, HMB, AGF, DAF, CHH, JEK, and JIW contributed tissue samples and assisted in manuscript preparation.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shannon L. White.

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The authors have no conflicts of interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

Ethical approval

Possession of tissue samples is permitted under ESA scientific research permit No. 21858.

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Matthew T. Balazik, Harold M. Brundage III, Adam G. Fox, Dewayne A. Fox, Christian H. Hager, Jason E. Kahn, Isaac I. Wirgin authors appear in alphabetical order.

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White, S.L., Kazyak, D.C., Darden, T.L. et al. Establishment of a microsatellite genetic baseline for North American Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser o. oxyrhinchus) and range-wide analysis of population genetics. Conserv Genet 22, 977–992 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-021-01390-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-021-01390-x

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