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PubMed2005

Oxidative stress and sex steroid levels in fish following short-term exposure to pulp-mill effluents.

This study investigates the relationship between oxidative stress and reproductive dysfunction in wild white sucker (Catostomus commersoni) with short-term exposures to pulp-mill effluent. Hepatic oxidative damage, as quantified using 2-thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), was often increased with effluent exposure within 4-8 d, but responses varied by species, sex, and effluent. Fatty acyl-coenzyme A (CoA) oxidase (FAO) and ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activities were also significantly induced between 4 and 8 d of exposure. There were marked species differences in oxidative stress, as TBARS, FAO, and EROD responses in white sucker differed dramatically from those of longnose sucker (Catostomus catostomus) exposed under identical conditions. Exposure for 8 d to pulp-mill effluent delayed ovulation in white sucker, and these delays were independent of changes in circulating testosterone and 17alpha,20beta-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one titers. Evaluations of the effects of pulp mill effluent on in vivo plasma steroid levels and in vitro steroidogenic capacities were compromised due to caging stress. In vivo preexposure to pulp-mill effluent did not reduce in vitro ovarian follicle steroidogenic capacities when exposed to additional reactive oxygen species (ROS) generators. Endocrine and oxidative stress parameters may be interrelated, as the in vivo administration of ferric nitrilotriacetate (Fe(3+)NTA) significantly reduced circulating sex steroids. Administration of a superactive GnRH analog containing a dopamine inhibitor significantly increased TBARS within 24 h, indicating endocrine status is capable of modifying oxidative stress responses. This study provides new knowledge regarding the onset of oxidative stress and changes in reproductive endpoints in fish following pulp-mill effluent exposure.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The loach Misgurnus anguillicaudatus reduces amino acid catabolism and accumulates alanine and glutamine during aerial exposure.

The loach Misgurnus anguillicaudatus inhabits rice fields in Southern China. It encounters drought during summer and ammonia loading during agricultural fertilization. In the laboratory, aerial exposure led to decreases in its ammonia and urea excretion. Ammonia accumulated to very high levels in the muscle and liver. Urea synthesis through the ornithine-urea cycle was not involved in ammonia detoxification in M. anguillicaudatus. However, M. anguillicaudatus was capable of partial amino acid catabolism leading to the accumulation of alanine in the first 24 h of aerial exposure. This was apparently coupled to a possible decrease in protein/amino acid catabolism. These are not detoxification mechanisms but mechanisms that avoid internal fouling by ammonia. Misgurnus anguillicaudatus was also capable of detoxifying internally produced ammonia in part to glutamine, which appears to be an important adaptation after 24 h of aerial exposure. However, unlike the case of the marble goby (Oxyeleotris marmoratus), there was no alteration to the kinetic properties of the hepatic glutamine synthetase. During dry seasons, M. anguillicaudatus moves actively on land until it encounters soft mud in which it can bury itself through several strong wriggling actions of the body. Hence, it is possible that M. anguillicaudatus uses partial amino acid catabolism to fuel its short period of activities on land and switches to the formation of glutamine to detoxify internally produced ammonia when it remains relatively inactive in the mud.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed2005

Development of the escape response in teleost fishes: do ontogenetic changes enable improved performance?

Teleost fishes typically first encounter the environment as free-swimming embryos or larvae. Larvae are morphologically distinct from adults, and major anatomical structures are unformed. Thus, larvae undergo a series of dramatic morphological changes until they reach adult morphology (but are reproductively immature) and are considered juveniles. Free-swimming embryos and larvae are able to perform a C-start, an effective escape response that is used evade predators. However, escape response performance improves during early development: as young fish grow, they swim faster (length-specific maximum velocity increases) and perform the escape more rapidly (time to complete the behavior decreases). These improvements cease when fish become juveniles, although absolute swimming velocity (m s(-1)) continues to increase. We use studies of escape behavior and ontogeny in California halibut (Paralichthys californicus), rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), and razorback suckers (Xyrauchen texanus) to test the hypothesis that specific morphological changes improve escape performance. We suggest that formation of the caudal fin improves energy transfer to the water and therefore increases thrust production and swimming velocity. In addition, changes to the axial skeleton during the larval period produce increased axial stiffness, which in turn allows the production of a more rapid and effective escape response. Because escape performance improves as adult morphology develops, fish that enter the environment in an advanced stage of development (i.e., those with direct development) should have a greater ability to evade predators than do fish that enter the environment at an early stage of development (i.e., those with indirect development).

Acceleration↗
PubMed1991

Loss of glutathione S-transferases in pollution-associated liver neoplasms in white suckers (Catostomus commersoni) from Lake Ontario.

White suckers (Catostomus commersoni) are one of two species of bottom-feeding fish in which various liver neoplasms are more prevalent in urban/industrial sites in western Lake Ontario than in less polluted sites in the Great Lakes. Previous studies indicate that white suckers excrete metabolites of various polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in bile, and that glutathione transferase (GST)-mediated conjugation is a major detoxification pathway for the PAH benzo[alpha]pyrene. To determine whether hepatocarcinogenesis in these wild fish is associated with induced GST-dependent resistance to carcinogens, we examined the expression of immunoreactive GSTs in liver neoplasms and putatively preneoplastic altered hepatocellular foci from white suckers collected from several polluted sites in western Lake Ontario. Histological sections of liver with altered hepatocellular foci, hepatocellular adenomas, hepatocellular carcinomas, bile duct adenomas and bile duct carcinomas were examined for GST immunoreactivity by the peroxidase-antiperoxidase (PAP) technique with polyclonal antiserum specific for all major GST isoenzyme subunits found in normal liver of white suckers. All bile duct adenomas, bile duct carcinomas and hepatocellular carcinomas were markedly or completely deficient in immunoreactive GST in comparison with surrounding normal hepatocytes. The majority of the hepatocellular adenomas were also deficient. Most altered hepatocellular foci had normal GST staining, but several GST-deficient altered hepatocellular foci were observed. However, none of the preneoplastic or advanced liver neoplasms expressed induced GST, suggesting that carcinogenesis is not associated with selection for GST-dependent resistance. Loss of hepatocellular GSTs may be incidental to neoplastic progression in these fish, or might be important in increasing susceptibility of some preneoplastic populations of hepatocytes to further DNA damage by environmental or endogenous chemicals that are normally detoxified by GSTs.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Influences of chronic cholangiohepatitis and cholestasis on hepatic metabolism of benzo[a]pyrene in white suckers (Catostomus commersoni) from industrially polluted areas of Lake Ontario.

White suckers from polluted regions of western Lake Ontario have an increased prevalence of cholangiocellular and hepatocellular and hepatocellular neoplasms associated with an idiopathic chronic cholangiohepatitis. We examined the hypothesis that bile duct obstructions and cholestasis in these fish might increase the susceptibility of liver to administered benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P). Cytosolic glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity (CDNB) was reduced in obstructed liver to 45% of activity in adjacent unobstructed liver. At micromolar concentrations, chenodeoxycholic acid, deoxycholic acid, bilirubin and haematin each inhibited GST activity of hepatic cytosolic and S-hexylglutatione-affinity-purified GST preparations from unobstructed liver. Liver cytosol and affinity-purified hepatic GSTs from normal white sucker liver reduced DNA binding of 3H-benzo[a]-pyrene-7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide (3H-BPDE) after preincubation in vitro in the presence of 5 mM GSH. Under these conditions, cytosol from adjacent unobstructed liver had a moderately stronger protective activity against DNA binding by BPDE (16.4 +/- 1.3 pmol BPDE/mg DNA) than did cytosol from obstructed liver (20.6 +/- 1.6 pmol BPDE/mg DNA). Suckers with obstructed livers identified by laparotomy were orally administered 3H-benzo[a]pyrene (3H-B[a]P) (0.2 mmol/kg) or unlabelled B[a]P (2.0 mg/kg) and the level of B[a]P macromolecular binding was analyzed in liver tissue by liquid scintillation counting and by immunohistochemistry with antibodies to BPDE-DNA adducts. Covalent binding of 3H-B[a]P to hepatic protein was 30% less in adjacent unobstructed liver compared to obstructed liver; however, there was no significant difference in the levels of 3H-B[a]P bound to DNA in the obstructed lobes compared with non-obstructed adjacent liver. These studies demonstrate that some endogenous non-substrate ligands that accumulate during cholestasis can reduce hepatic GST activity in white suckers. While these changes are insufficient to influence total 3H-B[a]P-DNA adducts in obstructed liver, the preferential localization of BPDE-DNA adducts in GST-deficient hyperplastic biliary tracts suggests that cholangiohepatitis might increase susceptibility to cholangiolar neoplasia in fish exposed to genotoxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

The complete nucleotide sequence of the Crossostoma lacustre mitochondrial genome: conservation and variations among vertebrates.

The complete mitochondrial (mt) genome of Crossostoma lacustre, a freshwater loach from mountain stream of Taiwan, has been cloned and sequenced. This fish mt genome, consisting of 16558 base-pairs, encodes genes for 13 proteins, two rRNAs, and 22 tRNAs, in addition to a regulatory sequence for replication and transcription (D-loop), is similar to those of the other vertebrates in both the order and orientation of these genes. The protein-coding and ribosomal RNA genes are highly homologous both in size and composition, to their counterparts in mammals, birds, amphibians, and invertebrates, and using essentially the same set of codons, including both the initiation and termination signals, and the tRNAs. Differences do exist, however, in the lengths and sequences of the D-loop regions, and in space between genes, which account for the variations in total lengths of the genomes. Our observations provide evidence for the first time for the conservation of genetic information in the fish mitochondrial genome, especially among the vertebrates.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Non-linear radionuclide transfer from the aquatic environment to fish.

Uptake of 226Ra, 232Th, 230Th, and 228Th from water, sediment, and diet sources to bone and muscle of white suckers (Catostomus commersoni) was studied in sixteen lakes in the uranium-mining district of Ontario, Canada. Fish tissues did not increase linearly with environmental concentrations. The best relationship appears to be a power function. This has implications for the accuracy of radiological dose and risk estimates for uranium mining impacts, which are often based on a linear model.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Stretch-activated ion channels modulate the resting membrane potential during early embryogenesis.

By using the patch-clamp technique, stretch-activated ionic channels were found in the membrane of cleaving freshwater fish embryos at the early stages of embryogenesis (2-256 cells). The application of negative pressure to the pipette increased the frequency of activation and the duration of bursts. This type of channel has a preferential K+ selectivity. When bathed on both membrane surfaces with 140 mM KCl the channel conductance was 71 pS. The kinetic behaviour did not depend markedly on either membrane potential (in the range from -70 to +70 mV) or calcium concentration on the cytoplasmic side of the membrane. On continuous recording, the probability of the channel being open was found to change periodically over a 5- to 20-fold range for different cells. These variations correlated with changes in resting potential and membrane conductance during the cell cycle. These results suggest that the oscillation of resting potential within the cell cycle is associated with the operation of stretch-activated ion channels.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Sensitivity of stretch-activated K+ channels changes during cell-cleavage cycle and may be regulated by cAMP-dependent protein kinase.

The properties of stretch-activated K+ channels in the membrane of loach (Misgurnus fossilis) embryos were studied using the patch-clamp technique. It was found that in the early stages of embryogenesis (2-256 cells) the stretch sensitivity of stretch-activated (SA) channels changes dramatically during the cell cleavage cycle. At the beginning of interphase the stretch sensitivity of SA channels and the probability of being in the open state (P0) were minimal, whereas at prometaphase they were increased 10-100-fold. Application of ATP to the cytoplasmic surface of excised inside-out patches induced a reversible increase in resting P0 and of stretch sensitivity of the SA channels in 50% of the patches, but the non-hydrolysable analogue of ATP, 5'-adenylylimidodiphosphate (AMP-PNP), was not effective. Phosphatase inhibitors (orthovanadate and para-nitrophenyl phosphate) prolonged the effect of ATP. Combined application of ATP, cAMP and cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PK) induced a reversible increase in the SA channel activity in 70% of those excised patches which did not respond to ATP. Inhibitors of PK prevented its activating effect. Dibutyryl-cAMP (dB cAMP) transiently increased activity of SA channels in intact cells. These results suggest that activity of SA channels may be regulated through cAMP-dependent phosphorylation and thus provide the basis for explanation of stretch sensitivity modulation during the cell cycle.

Adenine Nucleotides↗
PubMed1993

The evolution of copulatory organs, internal fertilization, placentae and viviparity in killifishes (Cyprinodontiformes) inferred from a DNA phylogeny of the tyrosine kinase gene X-src.

Cyprinodontiforms are a diverse group of approximately 900 pantropical and temperate fishes, mostly found in freshwater. Whereas the vast majority of fishes lay eggs (i.e. are oviparous), this group is unusual in that four groups of cyprinodont fishes give birth to living young (i.e. are viviparous). A molecular phylogenetic hypothesis was based on partial DNA sequences of the tyrosine kinase gene X-src. The study included the major lineages of fishes of the suborder Cyprinodontoidei, order Cyprinodontiformes. Our phylogeny agrees with some but not all of the conclusions of a previous morphological cladistic analysis (Parenti (Bull. Am. Mus. nat. Hist. 168, 335 (1981)). The differences are: (i) the Profundulidae are the sister group to the Goodeidae, not the sister group to all other cyprinodontoids; (ii) Fundulidae are the sister group to the Profundulidae and Goodeidae; (iii) Cubanichthys and the Cyprinodontinae might not be sister taxa; (iv) Cubanichthys, and not the Profundulidae, might be the most basal member of the cyprinodontoids; and (v) the Anablepinae and Poeciliinae might be sister groups. The molecular phylogeny was used to reconstruct the evolution of major life-history traits such as internal fertilization, copulatory organs, livebearing and placentas. Internal fertilization, modifications of the male's anal fin to form a copulatory organ, and viviparity probably evolved independently three times in cyprinodontiform fishes: in the subfamilies Goodeinae, Anablepinae and Poeciliinae (sensu Parenti 1981). The evolution of bundled sperm, spermatozeugmata, is probably not a prerequisite for internal fertilization because at least one species with internal fertilization has free spermatozoa. Livebearing (viviparity), which takes the form of ovoviviparity (where embryos are nourished by their yolk sac only), evolved only in the subfamily Poeciliinae. Advanced forms of viviparity, in which the mother provides additional nourishment to the embryos through placenta-like structures, apparently evolved at least three times from egg-laying ancestors: in the subfamilies Goodeinae, Anablepinae, and more than once in the Poeciliinae.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Fish shoal composition: mechanisms and constraints.

Observations were made on three fish species (banded killifish (Fundulus diaphanus), golden shiner (Notemigonus crysoleucas) and white sucker (Catostomus commersoni)) in a temperate lake (New Brunswick, Canada) in order to investigate the relationship between shoal choice behaviour of individual fishes and shoal composition. Encounters between shoals were observed to take place every 1.1 min per shoal and an encounter lasted 3.7 s on average. The duration of shoal encounters was influenced by shoal size but not by differences between shoals in either body length or species. Conversely, the outcome of shoal encounters (i.e. ences between shoals in either body length or species. Conversely, the outcome of shoal encounters (i.e. whether or not an individual changes shoal) was influenced by body length and species differences but not by shoal size. Together, these results suggest that encounter duration itself is unlikely to have an important influence on encounter outcome. The collection of ten entire fish shoals showed that they were assorted by species and body length. A simulation model demonstrated that individual shoal choice behaviour alone could account for the generation and maintenance of the observed levels of size assortedness of shoals without invoking the existence of other sorting mechanisms such as differential swimming speeds. However, the generation of species assortedness was not predicted by the model. Furthermore, our data suggest that fish density acts as a constraint on shoal choice, influencing both shoal size and composition. This work has implications for studies on information transfer and reciprocal altruism within populations.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Purification, crystallization and preliminary x-ray diffraction analysis of carboxyhaemoglobin-II from the fish Piaractus mesopotamicus (pacu).

Carboxyhaemoglobin-II isolated from the pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) has been crystallized and X-ray diffraction data were collected to 2.0 A resolution using synchrotron radiation. Crystals were characterized as belonging to the space group I23; preliminary structural analysis reveals the presence of one dimer in the asymmetric unit.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Regulation of melatonin secretion by light in the isolated pineal organ of the white sucker (Catostomus commersoni).

The effects of different lighting conditions and physical parameters of light were investigated in the isolated pineal organ of the white sucker kept under static or superfusion culture. The secretion of pineal melatonin is directly controlled by the photoperiod and completely suppressed under constant illumination. When pineal organs are exposed to unexpected light at night, the secretion of melatonin is significantly reduced within 15 min and reaches basal value after 30-35 min of light treatment. The inhibition of melatonin secretion by unexpected light at night depends on the irradiance, duration, timing of the treatment and the lighting history of the pineal organ.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Genetic monitoring of wild and repatriated populations of endangered razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus, Catostomidae, Teleostei) in Lake Mohave, Arizona-Nevada.

The Native Fishes Work Group, formed in 1991, developed and implemented a protocol to enhance the dwindling razorback sucker population in Lake Mohave, Arizona-Nevada. This large, genetically diverse population is severely reduced in size as a result of recruitment failure associated with predation on larvae. To circumvent this problem, wild larvae are captured, reared in protective custody until they are large enough to escape predation, and then released back into the lake. We present results of a monitoring program designed to assess the effectiveness of the sampling design in transmitting the high genetic diversity found in wild adults. Variation in a fragment from the mitochondrial DNA gene cytochrome b was examined by analysis of single-stranded polymorphisms and direct sequencing. Samples were characterized from three life history stages. Characterization of wild adults verified previous results that identified considerable diversity and provided baseline data. Samples of larvae from several temporal collections from throughout the spawning season and four geographical areas were characterized for 7 years (1997-2003) to assess the transmission of genetic variation from wild adults to larvae. Several analyses identified significant differences among temporal collections, resulting from sampling errors associated with finite number of females spawning at a given time and place. Comparisons among areas and years failed to identify significant variation, indicating that pooled collections for each year possess the same levels and patterns of genetic variation. Examination of repatriates representing 11 years (1992-2002) also failed to identify significant differences among cohorts; however, some sample sizes were small and the amova may lack sufficient power to detect differences. Contrasts of wild adults, larvae, and repatriates identified statistically significant differences among collections within these three groups; however, levels of variation are small and not biologically meaningful. More importantly, this analysis failed to detect significant differences among adults, larvae, and repatriates indicating that the program has been achieving its goal of transmitting variation from adults through the larvae and into the repatriate population. The reproductive capability of repatriates has not been examined, so it is unknown if the program will maintain genetic variation found in the original adult population. This will be most easily achieved by periodic monitoring of genetic variation in larval samples. If levels of variation become reduced in repatriates, levels and patterns of diversity in larvae are also expected to become reduced, and deviations in estimates of genetic diversity may become larger and more frequent. If this is the case, intervention may be necessary to ensure that certain individuals are not over-represented in the repatriate population.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Old fish in a young lake: stone loach (Pisces: Barbatula barbatula) populations in Lake Constance are genetically isolated by distance.

The genetic structure of 10 populations (453 individuals) of stone loach (Barbatula barbatula L.), a small bottom-dwelling cyprinid fish, in the littoral zone of Lake Constance, central Europe, was investigated by analysing the mitochondrial control region sequences and five microsatellite loci. An unexpectedly high degree of genetic diversity (up to 0.36%) and old estimated age of these populations (> 150 000 years) based on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was found. These findings contrast with the relatively young age of the lake, which could be colonized by fish only after the last ice age around 15 000 bp. Stone loach appears to be an old species in a young lake. Both types of molecular markers showed population genetic structure pronounced in mtDNA (overall F(ST) = 0.15) but moderate in microsatellites (F(ST) = 0.03). As predicted by its life history, philopatry, and limited capacity for dispersal, stone loach populations of Lake Constance show a clear pattern of isolation by distance. Geographic distances along the shores are the best explanation for the observed geographical distribution of genetic differentiation (r = 0.88), indicating that open water represents a barrier for the dispersal of the stone loach. The colonization of Lake Constance might have occurred initially at one location and then populations spread throughout the lake in a stepwise manner following the shoreline, and subsequently remained largely genetically isolated as suggested by the large observed differences among them.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2005

Ice age cloning--comparison of the Quaternary evolutionary histories of sexual and clonal forms of spiny loaches (Cobitis; Teleostei) using the analysis of mitochondrial DNA variation.

Recent advances in population history reconstruction offered a powerful tool for comparisons of the abilities of sexual and clonal forms to respond to Quaternary climatic oscillations, ultimately leading to inferences about the advantages and disadvantages of a given mode of reproduction. We reconstructed the Quaternary historical biogeography of the sexual parental species and clonal hybrid lineages within the Europe-wide hybrid complex of Cobitis spiny loaches. Cobitis elongatoides and Cobitis taenia recolonizing Europe from separated refuges met in central Europe and the Pontic region giving rise to hybrid lineages during the Holocene. Cobitis elongatoides due to its long-term reproductive contact with the remaining parental species of the complex--C. tanaitica and C. spec.--gave rise to two clonal hybrid lineages probably during the last interglacial or even earlier, which survived the Würmian glaciation with C. elongatoides. These lineages followed C. elongatoides postglacial expansion and probably decreased its dispersal rate. Our data indicate the frequent origins of asexuality irrespective of the parental populations involved and the comparable dispersal potential of diploid and triploid lineages.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

European colonization by the spined loach (Cobitis taenia) from Ponto-Caspian refugia based on mitochondrial DNA variation.

In the last 20 years, new species, asexual reproduction, polyploidy and hybridization have all been reported within the genus Cobitis. An understanding of the current distribution and baseline phylogeographical history of 'true' nonhybrid Cobitis species is crucial in order to unravel these discoveries. In the present work, we investigated the phylogeography of the spined loach, Cobitis taenia, using 1126 bp of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene from 174 individuals collected at 47 sites. In total, 51 haplotypes that differed at 49 positions (4.35%) were detected. We deduce that C. taenia survived European glaciations in at least three refugees in the Ponto-Caspian area. Two of these refugees each provided a major lineage that recolonized Europe in separate directions: one westward to England and the other spreading north into Russia before moving west. A third (minor) lineage that contributed little to the recolonization of Europe was also revealed--remaining near its Black Sea refuge. However, more recent history was difficult to resolve with colonization from a more western refugium during the last glacial maximum (LGM) a distinct possibility. Nested clade analysis indicates a pattern of restricted gene flow with isolation by distance at the first two levels and overall. Unlike many other European freshwater fish species, the Danube is not part of the current distribution of C. taenia, nor was it used as either a refuge or a source of colonization of Europe. Low genetic diversity within C. taenia suggests that its colonization of Europe is relatively recent. Demographic analyses revealed a history of recent expansion and isolation by distance.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

High genetic diversity and no inbreeding in the endangered copper redhorse, Moxostoma hubbsi (Catostomidae, Pisces): the positive sides of a long generation time.

The evolutionary potential of a species is determined by its genetic diversity. Thus, management plans should integrate genetic concerns into active conservation efforts. The copper redhorse (Moxostoma hubbsi) is an endangered species, with an endemic distribution limited to the Richelieu River and a short section of the St Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada. The population, gradually fragmented since 1849, is characterized by a decline in population size and a lack of recruitment. A total of 269 samples were collected between 1984 and 2004 and genotyped using 22 microsatellite loci, which indicated that these fish comprise a single population, with a global F(ST) value of only 0.0038. Despite a small census size ( approximately 500), a high degree of genetic diversity was observed compared to common values for freshwater fishes (average number of 12.5 alleles/locus and average HO of 0.77 +/- 0.08). No difference was observed between expected and observed pairwise values of relatedness (r(xy): -0.00013 +/- 0.11737), suggesting an outbred population. Long-term Ne was estimated at 4476 whereas contemporary Ne values ranged from 107 to 568, suggesting a pronounced yet gradual demographic decline of the population, as no bottleneck could be detected for the recent past. By means of simulations, we estimated Ne would need to remain at more than approximately 400 to retain 90% of the genetic diversity over 100 years. Overall, these observations corroborate other recent empirical studies confirming that long generation times may act as a buffering effect contributing to a reduction in the pace of genetic diversity erosion in threatened species.

Alleles↗