Genetic Effects of Hatchery Mature Silver Carp on Wild Populations

The silver carp is an economically important fish in China, but this natural resource has declined in the past three decades. In order to increase output and restore the ecosystem, large-scale releases of silver carp have been performed in recent years. In this study, mitochondrial DNA sequences and microsatellite DNA were used to inspect the genetic effects on wild silver carp populations after the large-scale releases of hatchery mature silver carp at the beginning of 2009. Though the genetic diversity of wild populations was higher than that of released populations, analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) did not revealed distinctly genetic divergence between them. It suggested that the release of mature silver carp did not inflect temporarily the genetic structure of wild population. However a long-term monitor is needed in the future.