Genetic diversity of the critically endangered lake minnow Eupallasella percnurus in Poland and its implications for conservation

The lake minnow (Eupallasella percnurus) is critically endangered. In this paper we characterize the genetic properties of this fish over its range of occurrence in Poland and propose the use of this knowledge in its active protection. Twelve populations of lake minnow from across its range in Poland were investigated. 13 microsatellite loci were investigated to evaluate genetic variation and distance among populations. The magnitude of the genetic bottleneck or founder effects was investigated. In the studied populations, the allelic diversity and heterozygosity showed that genetic variation in this species is low. At most loci, only 2–3 alleles per population were detected. The average number of alleles detected across all loci was 35, and ranged from 24 to 53. The average observed heterozygosity (Ho) across all investigated loci was 0.38 (range 0.21–0.59); the average expected heterozygosity (He) was 0.36 (range 0.18–0.55). The populations remained in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The ...