A review of genetic evaluation tools for conservation and management of North American sturgeons: roles, benefits, and limitations

Abstract

SummaryThis paper summarizes one component of a sturgeon conservation genetics workshop held in conjunction with the Third Annual Conference of the North American Chapter of the World Sturgeon Conservation Society from 31 August through 3 September, 2010, at Chico Springs, Montana, USA. The purpose of this portion of the workshop was to foster interdisciplinary communication, help characterize sturgeon conservation and management issues and challenges, and provide the context and rationale for selecting and employing appropriate genetic investigations for sturgeon programs. Specifically, this paper: (i) provides some guiding principles for sturgeon managers and conservationists considering genetic investigations; (ii) provides a general overview of relevant analytical genetic metrics and techniques, including complications from polyploidy; and (iii) provides several examples of sturgeon conservation and management programs currently using genetic analyses for various purposes. Numerous analytical techniques are currently available to address a range of individual and population genetic issues, including population structure and status, origins and relatedness of individual fish and populations, family identity and contribution to year class, species identity and hybridization, forensic cases, and the design and evaluation of conservation and management actions. Rather than focusing on mechanistic or quantitative aspects of available genetic analyses, this paper provides a general context, overview, and several empirical examples to guide the selection of genetic analyses for sturgeon programs. We also provide information from published studies involving procedural and quantitative aspects of sturgeon genetic analyses for further reference.

Estimating number of spawning white sturgeon adults from embryo relatedness

“…White sturgeon spawning can be monitored using artificial mats deployed in‐river to collect fertilised eggs (Chapman & Jones, ; Jackson, Gruber & Van Eenennaam, ; McCabe & Beckman, ; Schaffter, ). While genetic studies have been published on North American sturgeons (Anders et al., ), white sturgeon has been relatively underserved due to complications associated with polyploidy. For a given gene (i.e.…”

Genetic identification of Carcharhinus sharks from the southwest Atlantic Ocean (Chondrichthyes: Carcharhiniformes)

“…The absence of such conservation measures can lead to severe population declines, and in the case of sharks, the time required for restoration can be decades, depending on their life cycles (Camhi et al., ; Stevens et al., ; Shivji et al., ). Recently, molecular techniques have been developed to address misidentification issues for several endangered fish species (Shivji et al., ; Ludwig, ; Ludwig et al., ; Rodrigues‐Filho et al., ; Mendonça et al., ; Anders et al., ; Garcia‐Vazquez et al., ; Saura and Faria, ; Tripp‐Valdez et al., ). These molecular techniques have also been used to monitor the illegal trade of protected species.…”

Estimates of Effective Number of Breeding Adults and Reproductive Success for White Sturgeon

“…That, in part, is because of ineffectiveness of sampling gear and considerable uncertainty over timing and duration of occupancy of spawning sites relative to when surveys are conducted. Therefore, to more effectively address conservation and restoration needs, genetic data have become a standard component of many recovery programs (Pemberton 2008;Anders et al 2011).…”