Freshwater Fish Biogeography in the Bering Glacier Region, Alaska
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Freshwater Fish Biogeography In The Bering Glacier Region, Alaska Item Type Thesis Authors Weigner, Heidi L. Download date 06/10/2021 09:41:47 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/11122/9162 FRESHWATER FISH BIOGEOGRAPHY IN THE BERING GLACIER REGION, ALASKA A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By Heidi L. Weigner, B.S. Fairbanks, Alaska December 2012 UMI Number: 3537845 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI 3537845 Published by ProQuest LLC 2013. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 FRESHWATER FISH BIOGEOGRAPHY IN THE BERING GLACIER REGION, ALASKA By Heidi L. Weigner RECOMMENDED: Chair, Dgpartment of Biology and Wildlife APPROVED: Abstract Bering Glacier, Alaska, is Earth’s largest surging glacier, with surges occurring approximately every 20-30 years since 1900. Surges and subsequent retreats lead to a dynamic environment for aquatic communities, as glacial ice over-rides landscapes and new habitats form during glacial retreat. Lands around Bering Glacier are administered by the State of Alaska and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Purposes of this study are to characterize fish communities and provide information relevant to their management for BLM. Given Bering Glacier’s remoteness, little information exists regarding its fish communities. Fish were collected over five summer field seasons (2002-2006), with 10 fish species collected in 80 lakes and streams. Results indicate that Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma), threespine stickleback ( Gasterosteus aculeatus), prickly sculpin ( Cottus asper), and coho salmon Oncorhynchus( kisutch) are first to colonize new habitat after glacial retreat. Ten locations with sympatric populations of anadromous and resident freshwater threespine stickleback were found. Geometric morphometries and genetic analyses were conducted on these species pairs to test hypotheses regarding their formation. Possible origins include sympatric speciation, double invasion of anadromous fish, and independent colonization by resident freshwater fish from pre-existing lakes and streams along with anadromous fish. Body shape analyses of anadromous vs. resident freshwater stickleback supported the independent colonization hypothesis, because of a lack of body shape co-variation between groups, a lack of correlation of geometric morphometric variables with site age, and few fish with intermediate body shape at each site. Origin hypotheses were tested by use of the frequency of the Euro-North American Clade (ENAC) vs. the Trans North Pacific Clade (TNPC) in the mtDNA as well as sequence divergence of a portion of the mtDNA gene NADH2. A greater proportion of TNPC fish exist in resident freshwater populations at all sites, supporting the independent colonization hypothesis. The NADH2 sequence data did not help to clarify the origins. Future research at Bering Glacier should examine broader scale sequence divergence in genomes of stickleback and other colonizing fishes to advance the understanding of contemporary evolution and management implications in this newly formed aquatic landscape. V Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my father, Mark Weigner, who is always proud of me and always believes in me. Table of Contents Page Signature Page ......................................................................................................................... i Title Pag.....................................................................................................................................ii Abstract .................................................................................................................................. iii Dedication............................................................................................................................... v Table of Contents...................................................................................................................vi List of Tables.........................................................................................................................xi List of Figures......................................................................................................................xiv Acknowledgements.............................................................................................................xvii Chapter 1 General Introduction..........................................................................................1 1.1 Introduction........................................................................................................1 1.1.1 The Bering Glacier System...............................................................................1 1.1.2 Research Description and Organizing Hypotheses......................................... 4 1.2 Literature Cited .................................................................................................. 7 Chapter 2 Biogeography and ecological succession in freshwater fish assemblages of the Bering Glacier region, Alaska.............................................................13 2.1 Abstract ............................................................................................................13 2.2 Introduction....................................................................................................14 vii Study Area 16 Methods....................................................... 18 Results ......................................................... 22 Associations between Fishes...................... 23 Fish in Lakes or Streams............................ 23 Fish in Isolated Lakes and Streams ........... 24 Fish in Glacial Lakes and Streams ............. 24 Fish Associations with Habitat Parameters 25 Water Quality............................................. 27 Approximate Age of Lakes and Streams.... 27 Logistic Regression Models....................... 28 Distribution of Dwarf Dolly Varden......... 28 Discussion................................................... 29 Associations Between Fishes..................... 29 Fish in Isolated Lakes and Streams ........... 30 Fish in Glacial Lakes and Streams ............ 31 Fish Associations with Habitat Parameters 33 Water Quality............................................. ,34 2.5.6 Predictive Models ........................................................................................... 36 2.5.7 Early Colonizing Species...............................................................................37 2.5.8 Established Communities ...............................................................................38 2.5.9 Stickleback Species Pairs ...............................................................................38 2.5.10 Dwarf Dolly Varden ....................................................................................... 39 2.5.11 Management Implications..............................................................................40 2.6 Work Cited ......................................................................................................43 Chapter 3 Body shape variation between sympatric populations of anadromous and resident freshwater threespine stickleback in the Bering Glacier region, Alaska.................................................................................................67 3.1 Abstract ...........................................................................................................67 3.2 Introduction.....................................................................................................68 3.3 Methods........................................................................................................... 70 3.3.1 Field Sites ........................................................................................................70 3.3.2 Morphological Variables................................................................................ 71 3.3.3 Statistical Analyses..........................................................................................73 3.4 Results ............................................................................................................. 76 3.4.1 Geometric Morphometric Comparison of Forms.......................................... 76 ix Linear Morphometric & Meristic Comparison of Forms...................... .77 Year of deglaciation................................................................................ .77 Sexual Dimorphism................................................................................. .78 Discussion............................................................................................... .78 Literature Cited ........................................................................................ .82 Genetic structure of anadromous and resident freshwater species pairs of threespine stickleback in the Bering Glacier region, Alaska............ 107 Abstract ..................................................................................................