Body condition (Wr ) and reproductive potential of bighead and silver carp hybrids: Postzygotic selection in the Mississippi River Basin.

Invasive bighead (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) and silver carp (H. molitrix) are reproductively isolated in their native range, but form a bimodal, multigenerational hybrid swarm within the Mississippi River Basin (MRB). Despite observed F1 hybrid superiority in experimental settings, effects of postzygotic selection on bighead and silver carp hybrids have not been tested in a natural system. Individual parent and hybrid genotypes were resolved at 57 species-specific loci and used to evaluate postzygotic selection for body condition (Wr ) and female reproductive potential (presence of spawning stage gonads and gonadosomatic index [GSI]) in the MRB during 2009-2011. Body condition in the Marseilles Reach, Illinois River declined with a decrease in species-specific allele frequency from 1.0 to 0.4 for each species and early generation hybrids (F1, F2, and first-generation backcross) had lower mean Wr than late generation hybrids (2nd+ generation backcrosses) and parentals. Proportions of stage IV and stage V (spawning stage) female gonads differed between bighead and silver carp, but not among parentals and their early and late generation hybrids within the MRB. Mean GSI values did not differ between parentals and hybrids. Because reproductive potential did not differ between hybrids and parentals, our results suggest that early generation hybrids occur in low frequency either as a factor of poor condition (Wr ) and postreproductive survival, infrequent reproductive encounters by parental bighead and silver carp, or selection pressures acting on juvenile or immature life stages. Our results suggest that a combination of genetic and environmental factors may contribute to the postzygotic success of bighead and silver carp hybrids in the Mississippi River Basin.

Seeing red: color vision in the largemouth bass.

How animals visually perceive the environment is key to understanding important ecological behaviors, such as predation, foraging, and mating. This study focuses on the visual system properties and visual perception of color in the largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides. This study (1) documents the number and spectral sensitivity of photoreceptors, (2) uses these parameters to model visual perception, and (3) tests the model of color perception using a behavioral assay. Bass possess single cone cells maximally sensitive at 535 nm, twin cone cells maximally sensitive at 614 nm, and rod cells maximally sensitive at 528 nm. A simple model of visual perception predicted that bass should not be able to discern between chartreuse yellow and white nor between green and blue. In contrast, bass should be able to discern red from all achromatic (i.e., gray scale) stimuli. These predictions were partially upheld in behavioral trials. In behavioral trials, bass were first trained to recognize a target color to receive a food reward, and then tested on their ability to differentiate between their target color and a color similar in brightness. Bass trained to red and green could easily discern their training color from all other colors for target colors that were similar in brightness (white and black, respectively). This study shows that bass possess dichromatic vision and do use chromatic (i.e., color) cues in making visual-based decisions.

Diagnostic SNPs reveal widespread introgressive hybridization between introduced bighead and silver carp in the Mississippi River Basin.

Hybridization among conspecifics in native and introduced habitats has important implications for biological invasions in new ecosystems. Bighead (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) and silver carp (H. molitrix) are genetically isolated and occur in sympatry within their native range. Following their introduction to North America, however, introgressant hybrids have been reported throughout their expanded range within the Mississippi River Basin (MRB). The extent of introgression, both spatially and generationally, is largely unknown. Therefore, we examined mixed-species populations from across the MRB to characterize the extent of interspecific gene flow. We assayed 2798 individuals from nine locations with a suite of species-diagnostic SNPs (57 nuclear and one mitochondrial). Forty-four per cent (n = 1244) of individuals displayed hybrid genotypes. Moreover, the composition of hybrid genotypes varied among locations and represented complex hybrid swarms with multiple generations of gene flow. Introgressive hybrids were identified from all locations, were bidirectional and followed a bimodal distribution consisting primarily of parental or parental-like genotypes and phenotypes. All described hybrid categories were present among individuals from 1999 to 2008, with parents and later-generation backcrosses representing the largest proportion of individuals among years. Our mitochondrial SNP (COII), tested on a subset of 730 individuals, revealed a silver carp maternal bias in 13 of 21 (62%) F1 hybrids, in all silver carp backcrosses, and maintained throughout many of the bighead carp backcrosses. The application of this suite of diagnostic markers and the spatial coverage permits a deeper examination of the complexity in hybrid swarms between two invasive, introduced species.

Beta-thymosin gene polymorphism associated with freshwater invasiveness of alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus).

Predicting the success of a species' colonization into a novel environment is routinely considered to be predicated on niche-space similarity and vacancy, as well as propagule pressure. The role genomic variation plays in colonization success (and the interaction with environment) may be suggested, but has not rigorously been documented. To test an hypothesis that previously observed ecotype-specific polymorphisms between anadromous and landlocked alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) populations are an adaptive response to osmoregulatory challenges rather than a result of allele sampling at founding, we examined multiple anadromous and landlocked (colonized) populations for their allelic profiles at a conserved region (3'-UTR end) of a ß-thymosin gene whose protein product plays a central role in the organization of cytoskeleton. The putatively ancestral ß-thymosin allele was prevalent in anadromous populations, whereas a newly derived allele was overrepresented in landlocked populations; a third allele was exclusive to the anadromous populations. We also conducted a complementary set of salinity exposure experiments to test osmoregulatory performance of the alewife ecotypes in contrasting saline environments. The pattern of variation and results from these challenges indicate a strong association of ß-thymosin with colonization success and a transition from species with an anadromous life history to one with only a freshwater component.

Restriction site-associated DNA sequencing generates high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms for assessing hybridization between bighead and silver carp in the United States and China.

Bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) and silver carp (H. molitrix) are invasive species and listed as US federally injurious species under the Lacy Act. They have established populations in much of the Mississippi River Basin (MRB; Mississippi, Illinois, and Missouri rivers) and are capable of producing fertile hybrids and complex introgression. Characterizing the composition of this admixture requires a large set of high-quality, evolutionarily conserved, diagnostic genetic markers to aid in the identification and management of these species in the midst of morphological ambiguity. Restriction site-associated DNA (RAD) sequencing of 45 barcoded bighead and silver carp from the United States and China produced reads that were aligned to the silver carp transcriptome yielded 261 candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with fixed allelic differences between the two species. We selected the highest quality 112 SNP loci for validation using 194 putative pure-species and F1 hybrids from the MRB and putative bighead carp and silver carp pure species from China (Amur, Pearl and Yangtze rivers). Fifty SNPs were omitted due to design/amplification failure or lack of diagnostic utility. A total of 57 species-diagnostic SNPs conserved between carp species in US and Chinese rivers were identified; 32 were annotated to functional gene loci. Twenty-seven of the 181 (15%) putative pure species were identified as hybrid backcrosses after validation, including three backcrosses from the Amur River, where hybridization has not been documented previously. The 57 SNPs identified through RAD sequencing provide a diagnostic tool to detect population admixture and to identify hybrid and pure-species Asian carps in the United States and China.

Elements of concern in fillets of bighead and silver carp from the Illinois River, Illinois.

Efforts to control invasive bighead (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) and silver carp (H. molitrix) may include harvest for human consumption. We measured concentrations of arsenic (As), mercury (Hg), and selenium (Se) in fillets from silver and bighead carp collected from the lower Illinois River, Illinois, USA, to determine whether concentrations were of health concern and differed by species, size, and location. Concentrations of total As were below detection limits in most bighead (92%) and silver (77%) carp fillets, whereas inorganic As was below detection limits in all samples. Mean Hg concentrations were greater in bighead (0.068 mg kg(-1)) than in silver carp (0.035 mg kg(-1)), and were smallest in carp from the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. Mercury concentrations in fillets were positively correlated with body mass in both species. Concentrations of Hg were below the US Food and Drug Administration's (USFDA) action level (1 ppm as methyl-Hg); however, concentrations in some bighead (70%) and silver (12%) carp fell within the range that would invoke a recommendation to limit meals in sensitive cohorts. Mean Se concentrations were greater in silver (0.332 mg kg(-1)) than in bighead (0.281 mg kg(-1)) carp fillets, and were below the 1.5 mg kg(-1) limit for an unrestricted number of meals/month. The mean molar ratio of Se:Hg in fillets was lower in bighead (14.0) than in silver (29.1) carp and was negatively correlated with mass in both species Concentrations of Hg in bighead and silver carp fillets should be considered when assessing the risks associated with the use of these species as a protein source.

Spatial and interspecific patterns in persistent contaminant loads in bighead and silver carp from the Illinois River.

We measured concentrations of selected organohalogens, fluorinated compounds and mercury in whole, ground silver (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and bighead (H. nobilis) carp from the Illinois River, Illinois, in 2010 and 2011 to characterize spatial and interspecific patterns of contaminant burdens. Silver carp, which had greater lipid content, tended to have greater concentrations of lipophilic compounds. Concentrations of organohalogens were generally greater in carp from the upper reaches of the river. The halogenated compounds were associated with length and lipid content in silver carp. Bighead carp had greater mercury concentrations than did silver carp; total mercury concentrations were negatively associated with lipid content of bighead carp. Perfluorinated compounds, comprised predominantly of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, did not vary by species or river reach. Chlordanes and polychlorinated biphenyls were of potential concern with regard to the use of these carp as animal feed additives. Our results indicated that, even though they occupy a lower trophic level than many similarly-sized fish, these carp may accumulate measureable concentrations of organic contaminants.

Genetic divergence between freshwater and marine morphs of alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus): a 'next-generation' sequencing analysis.

Alewife Alosa pseudoharengus, a small clupeid fish native to Atlantic Ocean, has recently (∼150 years ago) invaded the North American Great Lakes and despite challenges of freshwater environment its populations exploded and disrupted local food web structures. This range expansion has been accompanied by dramatic changes at all levels of organization. Growth rates, size at maturation, or fecundity are only a few of the most distinct morphological and life history traits that contrast the two alewife morphs. A question arises to what extent these rapidly evolving differences between marine and freshwater varieties result from regulatory (including phenotypic plasticity) or structural mutations. To gain insights into expression changes and sequence divergence between marine and freshwater alewives, we sequenced transcriptomes of individuals from Lake Michigan and Atlantic Ocean. Population specific single nucleotide polymorphisms were rare but interestingly occurred in sequences of genes that also tended to show large differences in expression. Our results show that the striking phenotypic divergence between anadromous and lake alewives can be attributed to massive regulatory modifications rather than coding changes.