Predicting the genetic impact of stocking in Brook Charr (Salvelinus fontinalis) by combining RAD sequencing and modeling of explanatory variables

In fisheries management, intensive stocking programs are commonly used to enhance population abundance and maintain stock productivity. However, such practices are increasingly raising concerns since multiple studies documented adverse genetic and evolutionary impacts of stocking on wild populations. Improvement of stocking management relies on a better understanding of the dynamic of introgressive hybridization between wild and domestic population and on assessment of the genetic state of wild populations after stocking cessation. In Québec, Canada, over five million captive reared Brook Charr (Salvelinus fontinalis) are stocked every year to support recreational fishing activities. Here we investigated how variation in stocking history and environmental variables, including water temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen, may influence the impact of stocking practices on the genetic integrity of wild Brook Charr populations. We collected DNA samples (n = 862, average of 30 individuals per ...