| Abstract | Oncorhynchus mykiss, commonly known as rainbow trout, exhibit partial migratory behavior where some individuals in a population will opt to migrate, whereas others remain resident. Consequently, there are two ecotypes of O. mykiss: the non-migratory rainbow trout (also known as residents) and the migratory steelhead (also known as migrants). Previous evidence generated from our lab demonstrated that various loci in the rainbow trout genome segregate between resident rainbow trout and migrant steelhead trout in the Sashin creek system of Alaska. A unique feature of the Sashin system is that a series of waterfalls separate the lake and stream, thereby inhibiting gene flow between the migratory stream individuals and resident lake individuals. However, it is still unknown whether these same genetic markers also segregate between behaviors in other freshwater systems. Therefore, the goal of my research project is to use DMAS-qPCR to genotype known migrant and resident individuals from Little Sheep Creek, Oregon. This population is geographically separated from the Sashin Creek watershed and differs from Sashin in that both life histories can and do interbreed. This research found the single genetic marker GCOAD also significantly segregated according to life history; however, the alleles associated with resident versus migrant in the Sashin system have an opposite association in Little Sheep Creek. This finding underscores the complexity of the genetic factors influencing the expressed phenotype, supporting the idea that each population's genetic markers are mostly locally shared. |
