Supporting Data for: Fish Show Genetic Evolutionary Responses to River Regulation

Eco-hydraulics traditionally aims at managing riverine systems in a semi-natural state while meeting human demands, assuming aquatic species are evolutionarily static. However, evidence of rapid evolution suggests that ignoring evolutionary dynamics of fish species might limit long-term effectiveness of eco-hydraulics frameworks. It remains unclear how freshwater fish adapt to human perturbation. Why are some fish populations more resilient to human perturbation than others? What are the genetic mechanisms behind it? To answer these questions, we genotyped eleven populations of three-spined stickleback in a regulated river system and collected data on river morphology, connectivity, flow regimes, physico-chemistry and parasite abundance through a combination of field surveys and modelling. Gene-environment association analysis detected strong signals of genetic divergence associated with hydraulic features. Gene ontology analysis revealed evolutionary responses that primarily involve functions in the nervous and sensory systems. These findings demonstrate that fish can evolve in response to river regulation, highlighting the need to transition from eco-hydraulics toward eco-evo-hydraulics. Our results can currently be accessed through a non-peer-reviewed bioRxiv preprint at Cai and Deflem et al. (2025), Fish Show Genetic Evolutionary Responses to River Regulation (DOI: 10.1101/2025.08.01.668107). This supporting dataset includes Genotyping-by-Sequencing data from 14 populations of three-spined stickleback collected in 2017 from the Demer Basin, Belgium, together with parasite and habitat data from the paired sampling sites. After quality filtering, 11 populations were retained and analyzed in Cai and Deflem et al. (2025).

生态水力学（eco-hydraulics）传统上以维持河流生态系统处于半自然状态并满足人类用水需求为目标，其前提假设水生生物的演化过程是静态的。然而，现有关于快速演化的研究证据表明，若忽略鱼类的演化动态，可能会削弱生态水力学框架的长期应用效果。目前尚不清楚淡水鱼类如何适应人类活动扰动，为何部分鱼类种群对人类扰动的抗逆性更强？其背后的遗传机制又是什么？
为解答上述问题，本研究对受调控河流系统中的11个三刺鱼（three-spined stickleback）种群进行了基因分型，并结合野外调查与建模手段，收集了河流地貌、连通性、水文情势、理化性质以及寄生虫丰度的数据。基因-环境关联分析检测到与水力特征显著相关的遗传分化信号；基因本体（Gene Ontology, GO）分析显示，演化响应主要集中于神经系统与感知系统的功能通路。本研究结果证实，鱼类可响应河流调控发生演化，这凸显了从生态水力学向生态演化水力学（eco-evo-hydraulics）转型的必要性。
目前可通过未经过同行评审的bioRxiv预印本获取本研究结果：Cai与Deflem等人（2025）的《鱼类对河流调控的遗传演化响应》（DOI: 10.1101/2025.08.01.668107）。本配套数据集包含2017年在比利时德默尔流域（Demer Basin）采集的14个三刺鱼种群的测序分型（Genotyping-by-Sequencing, GBS）数据，以及对应配对采样点的寄生虫与栖息地数据。经过质量过滤后，最终保留11个种群用于Cai与Deflem等人（2025）的研究分析。