OCS Study BOEM 2014-020 Molecular and Otolith Tools Investigate Population of Origin and Migration of Arctic Cisco found in the Colville River, Alaska US Department of the Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Alaska Region OCS Study BOEM 2014-020 Molecular and Otolith Tools Investigate Population of Origin and Migration of Arctic Cisco found in the Colville River, Alaska Christian E. Zimmerman, Vanessa R. von Biela 1 Contact author: Phone (907) 786-7071; Fax (907) 786-7150; email:
[email protected] Alaska Science Center U.S. Geological Survey 4210 University Drive, Anchorage, AK 99508 Prepared under USGS Offshore Research Funds Account US Department of the Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Alaska Region January 2014 Executive Summary The U. S. Minerals Management Service (MMS), now the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), defined specific questions concerning Arctic cisco in the Colville River, Alaska, based on a community workshop held in Nuiqsut and requested that the U.S. Geological Survey implement a study developing and applying scientific tools and techniques to address those questions (see below Problem Statement and Justification). We used genetics, otolith chemical composition, otolith microstructure, stable isotope analyses, and stomach content analyses to assess population structure, movements, growth patterns, environmental influences on growth, and trophic dynamics of Arctic cisco from the Colville River subsistence fishery. We found support for the Mackenzie hypothesis, which suggests that Arctic cisco found in Alaskan rivers originate from the Mackenzie River, Canada. Using 11 microsatellite loci and the ATPase 6 mitochondrial gene, we found no evidence of genetic differentiation among Arctic cisco collected from the Colville River and five putative Mackenzie River spawning populations (Arctic Red, Peel, Mountain, Carcajou and Great Bear rivers; P > 0.19 in all comparisons).