10.6084/m9.figshare.1285811.v2 Shauna M. Baillie Shauna M. Baillie Craig Blackie Craig Blackie Leonard Gerardi Leonard Gerardi Paul Bentzen Paul Bentzen Deciphering Hatchery Stock Influences on Wild Populations of Vermont Lake Trout Taylor & Francis Group 2015 landscape processes study area Vermont Lake Trout populations flow Vermont Lake Trout hatchery practices Microsatellite DNA analyses Wild populations pattern Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush ice age Deciphering Hatchery Stock Influences hatchery introgression hatchery supplementation exogenous mitochondrial DNA haplotypes hatchery genotypes river drainages postglacial colonization gene 2015-02-11 20:34:05 Journal contribution https://tandf.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Deciphering_Hatchery_Stock_Influences_on_Wild_Populations_of_Vermont_Lake_Trout/1285811 <div><p></p><p>To better understand the influence of hatchery practices on wild populations of Lake Trout <i>Salvelinus namaycush</i>, we used a landscape genetic approach to tease apart the population genetic patterns expected due to natural processes versus hatchery stocking, i.e., human-mediated gene flow. In several lakes across our study area in Vermont, the presence of exogenous mitochondrial DNA haplotypes supported our human-mediated gene flow hypothesis. Microsatellite DNA analyses showed introgression of hatchery genotypes into the wild populations. Nonetheless, clustering patterns within river drainages and signatures of isolation by distance were consistent with natural postglacial colonization. We conclude that though the genetic makeup of Vermont Lake Trout populations has been influenced by stocking, a lack of genetic bottlenecks and concordance with landscape processes suggests that much of the indigenous genetic diversity remains intact. We were able to attribute departures from expectations based on natural genetic patterns to hatchery introgression in specific lakes. To preserve the adaptive potential of local populations that have persisted since the last ice age, we suggest areas for which hatchery supplementation could be minimized.</p><p>Received June 16, 2014; accepted September 12, 2014</p></div>