Have the Genetic Patterns of Fishes been Altered by Introductions or by Selective Fishing?

Abstract

This paper is a review of some of the literature dealing with changes in freshwater fish populations following exploitation or after introduction of exotic species. The object of the review was to look for changes that could be attributed to alterations in the gene pools of the affected populations. Very little concrete evidence could be found, either because the investigations reviewed were not looking for genetic changes, or because such changes did not occur. Changes in some salmonids may be assigned to introgressive hybridization, particularly where rainbow and cutthroat trout have been put together on the Eastern Slopes. In many cases, however, exotics have apparently failed to contribute to the gene pool of the resident population, and most hybrids, when they occur, have been of low fertility.Fishes have a remarkable ability to respond to changes in population density by altered growth rates and times of maturity. These changed characters are not necessarily due to genetic changes and may be explained by assuming that fishes are pre-adapted to a wide range of conditions. There is a rather speculative suggestion that angling may select less intelligent fish, leading to an upgrading in intelligence of the fish. The general conclusion is that in the light of the existing evidence, great caution must be used in attributing to man-induced changes in fish populations changes in the genetic pattern.