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Conservation units based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA variation among European bullhead populations (Cottus gobio L., 1758) from Flanders, Belgium

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Abstract

In this study, we aimed to delineateevolutionarily significant units (ESUs) andmanagement units (MUs) for the Europeanbullhead in Flanders (Belgium). Therefore, wedetermined the genetic interrelationshipsbetween 11 bullhead populations, using lengthvariation at 7 polymorphic microsatellite lociand sequence variation in the d-loop of themitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Despite therelatively small geographical scale of ourstudy, the analysis of the d-loop sequencesshows that the Flemish bullhead populationscontain 3 haplotype groups, which can beassigned to 3 previously described EuropeanmtDNA clades. Because of the importantdifferences between these clades, they may bedefined as evolutionarily significant units,which should be managed separately. Analysis ofmicrosatellite data reveals very high degreesof isolation between populations, with theexception of 3 pairwise comparisons whichinvolved adjacent populations. Our data suggestthat the 3 haplotype groups probably qualify asESUs, as they show phylogeographicdifferentiation for mtDNA variants as well assignificant divergence of allele frequencies atnuclear loci. However, one of these units,limited to a single population, may be ofCentral European origin. All populations of theScheldt basin meet the criteria for MUrecognition, since significantly differentmicrosatellite allele frequencies as well asprivate alleles are found. In contrast, geneticdifferentiation among the 3 populations of theMeuse basin is very low.

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Author notes

  1. Martin I. Taylor

    Present address: University of East Anglia, NR4 7TJ, Norwich, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. RUCA, Groenenborgerlaan 171, University of Antwerp –, Antwerp, Belgium;

    Dries Knapen & Lieven Bervoets

  2. Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Vautierstraat 29, Brussels, Belgium

    Martin I. Taylor & Erik Verheyen

  3. University of Antwerp – UIA, Universiteitsplein 1, Antwerp, Belgium

    Guy Knaepkens & Marcel Eens

Authors
  1. Dries Knapen
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  2. Guy Knaepkens
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  3. Lieven Bervoets
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  4. Martin I. Taylor
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  5. Marcel Eens
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  6. Erik Verheyen
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Correspondence to Dries Knapen.

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Knapen, D., Knaepkens, G., Bervoets, L. et al. Conservation units based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA variation among European bullhead populations (Cottus gobio L., 1758) from Flanders, Belgium. Conservation Genetics 4, 129–140 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023351025631

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