Testing Local Adaptation in Five Populations of Hyalella azteca in Northern Alberta’s Oil Sands Region

Abstract

Canada's oil sands hold the third largest petroleum reserves worldwide and have experienced rapid economic growth. The oil sands region provides an ideal location for studying local adaptations through reciprocal transplant (RT) because populations within the region have been historically exposed to naturally occurring bitumen. Our objectives were to (1) determine if Hyalella azteca from habitats within the oil sands region exhibited increased tolerance to constituents associated with industrial bitumen extraction compared with H. azteca from habitats outside the region; and (2) determine if any observed tolerance was attributable to local adaptation. Five populations of H. azteca were reciprocally transplanted from reclaimed and reference wetlands: four from local wetlands plus one naïve laboratory population. Survival, toxicity, and behaviour were measured before and after the RT period. Survival varied by population and site. These results show that the differences in responses among populations are likely not attributable to local adaptation and that laboratory populations of H. azteca provide ecologically relevant results when tested in the field.