Microsatellite DNA Loci Reveal Genetic Structure of Yellow Perch in Lake Michigan

Abstract

The genetic population structure of yellow perch Perca flavescens was assessed, with a focus on spawning groups within Lake Michigan. Six microsatellite DNA loci were evaluated, which had heterozygosities ranging from 0.21 to 0.86 in samples from seven Lake Michigan locations and six others in the north-central United States. Genetic variation within samples was somewhat higher in Lake Michigan than in surrounding inland lakes. Genetic variation was also higher in the north-central United States than in a sample from the eastern United States. Exact tests for population differentiation and the fixation index R _ST indicated little differentiation among spawning groups within southern Lake Michigan or Green Bay (pairwise R _ST values,−0.005 to +0.014; P > 0.05 after sequential Bonferroni correction for multiple tests). However, spawning groups in Green Bay were distinct from those in Lake Michigan, and all inland locations were distinct from one another as well as from those in Lake Michigan (P < 0.01). All north-central U.S. samples were considerably different from the eastern U.S. sample (pairwise R _ST values 0.67–0.72). Although the sample sizes for northern Lake Michigan were limited, these fish grouped more closely with those from southern Lake Michigan than with those from Green Bay. There thus is evidence for the proposition that the yellow perch in Lake Michigan proper should be managed separately from those in Green Bay.