Habitat Use of Macrhybopsis chubs and Population Structure of Shoal Chub in the Upper Mississippi River Basin
Advisor Information
Guoqing Lu
Location
UNO Criss Library, Room 231
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Start Date
4-3-2016 3:15 PM
End Date
4-3-2016 3:30 PM
Abstract
Human modifications to the river systems may have a significant impact on habit use and population structure of native fishes. We tested this hypothesis with Macrhybopsis chubs which are characteristic of large Great Plains Rivers and serve as important indicators for the health of ecosystems. Sampling was conducted from September 2013 through May 2015 from nine sites throughout the upper Mississippi River Basin. Diet analysis revealed all species of the genus are insectivore sight feeders whereas environmental analysis determined that shoal chubs preferred relatively shallow rivers with moderate currents and pebble substrate; unlike sicklefin and sturgeon chubs which preferred stronger currents and sand substrate and silver chubs which preferred deeper waters with stronger currents. Preliminary population genomic sequencing analysis revealed the genetic diversity of shoal chub is relatively poor (0.08-0.09) and the gene flow among populations is relatively high. The results of this preliminary study suggest that anthropogenic disturbances have dissimilar effects on different species of Macrhybopsis chubs, and that the shoal chub may be an important indication of environmental change.
Habitat Use of Macrhybopsis chubs and Population Structure of Shoal Chub in the Upper Mississippi River Basin
UNO Criss Library, Room 231
Human modifications to the river systems may have a significant impact on habit use and population structure of native fishes. We tested this hypothesis with Macrhybopsis chubs which are characteristic of large Great Plains Rivers and serve as important indicators for the health of ecosystems. Sampling was conducted from September 2013 through May 2015 from nine sites throughout the upper Mississippi River Basin. Diet analysis revealed all species of the genus are insectivore sight feeders whereas environmental analysis determined that shoal chubs preferred relatively shallow rivers with moderate currents and pebble substrate; unlike sicklefin and sturgeon chubs which preferred stronger currents and sand substrate and silver chubs which preferred deeper waters with stronger currents. Preliminary population genomic sequencing analysis revealed the genetic diversity of shoal chub is relatively poor (0.08-0.09) and the gene flow among populations is relatively high. The results of this preliminary study suggest that anthropogenic disturbances have dissimilar effects on different species of Macrhybopsis chubs, and that the shoal chub may be an important indication of environmental change.