Genetic variation and the relationship between stream and lake ecotypes of a threatened desert Catostomid,the Warner sucker (Catostomus warnerensis)

Many fish species exhibit diverse life history strategies that help maintain population viability. An understanding of the relationships among these strategies is crucial for prioritising conservation actions. The Warner sucker, endemic to the Warner Lakes Basin in southern Oregon, USA, is one example of a taxon where a lack of information regarding relationships among life history strategies has hampered conservation efforts. Warner suckers have two distinct life history types: stream‐type fish that have a fluvial life history and lake‐type fish that have an adfluvial life history. There are advantages and disadvantages associated with each life history, and presently the relationship between life history types is not well understood. Our objectives were to determine the amount of genetic variation within and among tributary populations of Warner suckers and to determine the origins of suckers collected in the Warner Lakes. We collected individuals from four tributary populations, a refugial population, and Hart and Crump lakes and genotyped them at 16 microsatellite loci. Estimates of genetic variation among populations suggested low levels of gene flow (F_ST = 0.153) and genetic variation among populations seemed to be influenced by population and habitat characteristics. Nearly all of the individuals collected in Hart and Crump lakes originated in a single tributary, Deep Creek, which likely reflects reduced habitat connectivity between most other tributaries and the Warner Lakes. Data presented in this study are useful for evaluating the status of Warner sucker populations and for prioritising conservation actions such as the removal and modification of barriers.