Population Genetic Structure of Dolly Varden from Beaufort Sea Drainages of Northern Alaska and Canada
DOWNLOADMarch 28, 2016 - Rebecca J. Everett, Richard L. Wilmot, Charles Krueger
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EmailJournal or Book Title: Transactions of the American Fisheries Society
Volume/Issue: 128
Page Number(s): 49-57
Year Published: 1997
Anadromous northern Dolly Varden Salvelinus malma support a summer subsistence
fishery in Beaufort Sea coastal waters. These same waters coincide with areas of oil and gas
exploration and development. The purpose of this study was to assess variation in stock origins
of Dolly Varden collected from sites along 400 km of Beaufort Sea coast. Mixed-stock analyses
(MSA) of allozyme data were used to compare collections from four sites (Endicott near Prudhoe
Bay, Mikkelsen Bay, and Kaktovik in Alaska and Phillips Bay in Canada) and to assess variation
in stock contributions among summer months and between 1987 and 1988. The MSA estimates
for individual stocks were summed into estimates for three stock groups: western stocks from the
area near Sagavarnirktok River and Prudhoe Bay (SAG), Arctic National Wildlife Refuge stocks
(Arctic Refuge), and Canadian stocks. The MSA of Endicott samples taken in 1987 and 1988 did
not differ among months in terms of contributions from local SAG stocks (range, 71–95%).
Contributions from nonlocal (100 km distant) Canadian and Arctic Refuge stocks were not
different from zero in 1987, but contributions from Canadian stocks were so in July (17%) and
August (20%) but not in September of 1988. Thus, stock contributions to Endicott collections
were different between 1987 and 1988. Samples from the Kaktovik area in 1988 were different
between months in terms of contributions from nonlocal SAG stocks (July, 7%; August, 27%).
Significant contributions to these samples were made both months by Canadian (25% and 17%)
and local Arctic Refuge stocks (68% and 56%). Among the four coastal sites, local stocks typically
contributed most to collections; however, every site had collections that contained significant
contributions from nonlocal stocks. The MSA estimates clearly revealed the movement of Dolly
Varden between U.S. and Canada coastal waters. If local stocks are affected by oil and gas
development activities, distant subsistence fisheries along the coast could also be affected.
DOI: 10.1577/1548-8659(1999)1282.0.CO;2
Type of Publication: Journal Article
