The use of fluorescently-labeled randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (FRAPD) to evaluate reproduction by saugeye in Ohio inland reservoirs

Hybrid saugeye (Sander vitreus x Sander canadensis) are popular sportfish in Ohio, where they are regularly stocked into inland reservoirs of the Ohio River watershed by the Ohio Division of Wildlife.  The potential fertility of stocked saugeye in Ohio reservoirs has generated concerns among fisheries managers regarding the possibility of reproduction among F1 saugeye and backcrossing with parental populations of walleye and sauger, found downstream in the Ohio River.  Using fluorescently-labeled randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (FRAPD) methodology, we identified a series of more than 30 polymorphic genetic loci, including a subset of species-specific loci, that can be used to test for the occurrence of reproduction by F1 saugeye in nature.  In this presentation, FRAPD methodology is described, and data generated with it are applied to samples from a series of Ohio inland reservoirs that have received saugeye in recent years.  The genotype patterns of the sampled saugeye are compared with known F1 saugeye and with samples of pure walleye and sauger.  We test the hypothesis that inland reservoir saugeye are all first generation hybrids, rather than later-generation offspring of previously-stocked cohorts.