Genetic analysis of invasive Asian Black Carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) in the Mississippi River Basin: evidence for multiple introductions

Biological Invasions
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Abstract

Invasive Asian Black Carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) have been present in USA aquaculture facilities since the 1980s and wild Black Carp have been found in the Mississippi River Basin since the early 1990s. This study characterizes the genetic diversity and relatedness of the Basin’s Black Carp and clarifies the introduction history. Analyses focused on three mitochondrial markers (control region, cytochrome-b, and 16S) and seven nuclear microsatellite markers (nDNA), using aquaculture and wild-caught samples collected in the upper and lower Mississippi Basin. Of the three mitochondrial haplotypes, two were shared between the aquaculture and wild populations, while a third was only present in upper Mississippi wild-caught specimens. Due to the presence of diploid and triploid fish, microsatellite markers were scored as pseudodominant and revealed low polymorphism (NA = 4.6, NA Ave = 1.5). Nuclear Bayesian clustering analyses identified two genetically distinct groups and four subclusters, each primarily composed of a unique haplotype. Samples from three aquaculture farms were assigned to group 1, while a fourth farm included samples from both groups 1 and 2. Wild-caught fish from the upper Basin were predominantly group 1, whereas wild samples from the lower Mississippi were assigned to both genetic groups. The presence of divergent haplotypes and distinct nDNA groups, along with geographic distribution patterns, indicate that wild populations in the basin likely resulted from multiple introductions. Genetic similarities between wild and captive populations support claims that aquaculture is the introduction source, but a shortage of samples and a history of repeated transfers among facilities obscure the precise pathway.

Study Area

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Genetic analysis of invasive Asian Black Carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) in the Mississippi River Basin: evidence for multiple introductions
Series title Biological Invasions
DOI 10.1007/s10530-014-0708-z
Volume 17
Issue 1
Year Published 2015
Language English
Publisher Springer
Contributing office(s) Southeast Ecological Science Center
Description 16 p.
First page 99
Last page 114
Country United States
Other Geospatial Mississippi River Basin
Online Only (Y/N) N
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
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