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Effect of water gates in rivers on intra stream dispersal of freshwater fish population: evaluation using a surrogate indicator species

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Abstract

Large-scale farming involving artificial water management, including the installation of water gates on rivers, has greatly affected freshwater biodiversity. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of water gates and/or interspecific hybridization on genetic population structure of the surrogate indicator species Rhodeus ocellatus subspecies (i.e., R. o. kurumeus and R. o. ocellatus) on threatened indigenous bitterlings in the rivers of the Himi region, Toyama Prefecture, central Japan. Microsatellite DNA analysis, comprising polymorphic 11 loci, of samples collected from multiple river sites in a paddy field ecosystem showed that the number of loci deviating from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) tended to decrease with the hierarchy of population units in the order of river systems, tributaries, and sites. Repeated hybridization of R. ocellatus subspecies over generations in the study area suggests the unlikeliness of a genetic composition originating from the past effecting current genetic structure. Consequently, we hypothesize that water gates have restricted intra stream dispersal, affecting the genetic heterogeneity within the R. ocellatus subspecies population, leading to deviations from the HWE. Our study describes the invasive R. ocellatus subspecies as a useful surrogate indicator for indigenous threatened species with a small population size. Our study also suggests a stronger influence of water gates than hybridization on R. ocellatus subspecies.

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Data availability

The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

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Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank Shimizu D and Watanabe T for help in genetic experiment. This research was conducted as part of a collaborative project with the Faculty of Science, University of Toyama, and Himi Collaborative Research Laboratory, Himi City. We would like to thank Editage (https://www.editage.com) for English language editing.

Funding

This work was partially supported by the Asahi Glass Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Science, University of Toyama, 3190 Gofuku, Toyama, 930-8555, Japan

    Yumi Iitsuka, Tamihisa Ohta, Kazuto Sazawa & Yuji Yamazaki

  2. Board of Education in Himi City, 1060 Kurakawa, Himi, Toyama, 935-8686, Japan

    Masaki Nishio & Ryosuke Kawakami

Authors
  1. Yumi Iitsuka
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  2. Tamihisa Ohta
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  3. Kazuto Sazawa
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  4. Masaki Nishio
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  5. Ryosuke Kawakami
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  6. Yuji Yamazaki
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Contributions

YI and YY were responsible for the design of research plan, sampling, all genetic experiments, all analyses, and writing of this manuscript. TO, KS, MN, and RK were responsible for the sampling and scrutiny of this manuscript. YY was also responsible for preparation of reagents and equipment for genetic experiments and supervision of this study. All authors approved the publication of this paper.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yuji Yamazaki.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

This study was conducted with respect for the conservation of the target endangered species, and according to “the guidelines for the use of fishes in research” published by the Ichthyological Society of Japan in 2003 (http://www.fish-isj.jp/english/guidelines.html). The survey and all experiments conducted complied with the current laws of Japan. The DNA sample used was a part of the fin extracted from an individual, and the individual was continued to captive.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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10641_2023_1470_MOESM1_ESM.pptx

Fig. S1 Two-dimensional plots of microsatellite allele composition of Rhodeus ocellatus subspecies in the Moo and Busshouji river systems for site levels assessed by factorial correspondence analysis (PPTX 40 KB)

10641_2023_1470_MOESM2_ESM.pptx

Fig. S2 The values of mean LnP (K) (A), Δ K (B), and Prb (K) (C) for K in Rhodeus ocellatus subspecies in the Moo and Busshouji river systems (PPTX 49 KB)

Supplementary Table 1 (XLSX 34 KB)

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Iitsuka, Y., Ohta, T., Sazawa, K. et al. Effect of water gates in rivers on intra stream dispersal of freshwater fish population: evaluation using a surrogate indicator species. Environ Biol Fish 106, 1923–1931 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-023-01470-6

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