Functional Ecology and Evolution of Sockeye Salmon (oncorhynchus Nerka) Life History in the Dynamic Environments of Aniakchak and Katmai
Year: 2010
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Sockeye salmon exhibit great ecological diversity among populations.During the last glacial period, ice covered much of what today are freshwater habitats.As the glaciers retreated, sockeye colonized new freshwater habitats from relatively few glacial refugia.Colonizing populations adapted at a very fine spatial scale among river drainages, tributaries and lakes within rivers, and even divergent habitats within lakes.All of this occurred within the past 15,000 years since the last glacial maximum.This resulted in many thousands of locally adapted populations and a grand display of the process of evolution within a species.In this dissertation, I explore genetic and phenotypic diversity in the dynamic and changing environments of Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve as well as Katmai National Park in southwest Alaska.Recent eruptionsunderstand the life history differences and the molecular trade-offs in sockeye salmon populations.I start with a review of recent technological advances that relate gene expression to ecology, evolution, and the formation and maintenance of new species.I then relate functional, expressed genes in muscle tissue to lake-type and riverine juvenile populations.This provides an ecological context to genes that are normally only described in artificial situations.Taken together, this work furthers the understanding of the interaction of ecology and evolution, from genes to populations to broad life history types.
Source: Summit (Simon Fraser University)
Author: Scott A. Pavey
Language: English
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W50207496