Date of Award:

12-2011

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Watershed Sciences

Department name when degree awarded

Fisheries Biology

Committee Chair(s)

Brett Roper

Committee

Brett Roper

Committee

Karen Mock

Committee

Joseph Wheaton

Abstract

Over the last century native cutthroat trout populations have declined in the western United States. Habitat fragmentation is one of the main causes for this decline. Human actions such as the construction of roads, weirs, dams, and water diversions intersect streams and prevent the natural movement of fish. In many cases native cutthroat trout are now confined to headwater streams above human-created barriers. These barriers not only fragment the populations but also increase the risk of individual population extinction.

This study established a baseline genetic structure for nine isolated populations of Colorado River cutthroat trout in the North Fork Little Snake River drainage, Wyoming. These populations have been isolated by water diversion structures since 1964 (Stage I) and 1983 (Stage II). The isolated populations in this drainage have limited available habitat and current population sizes make them vulnerable to extinction. The genetic structure showed signs of both natural population structure and structure caused by isolation from the water diversions. Although the two influences cannot be separated, the presence of the water diversions will have a greater effect on persistence of the populations into the future. This study suggests that each of the isolated tributaries may have its own unique contribution to the evolutionary value for the drainage as a whole and each is important to conserve into the future.

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8a76415fa0ef4d88694d05720e9fb99f

Comments

This work made publicly available electronically on October 19, 2012.

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