Register      Login
Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > MF > MF05258
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 58(4)

A rethink on Retropinna: conservation implications of new taxa and significant genetic sub-structure in Australian smelts (Pisces : Retropinnidae)

Michael P. Hammer A B D , Mark Adams B , Peter J. Unmack C and Keith F. Walker A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Earth and Environmental Sciences DP312, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia.

B Evolutionary Biology Unit, South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia.

C Department of Integrative Biology, 401 WIDB, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA.

D Corresponding author. Email: michael.hammer@adelaide.edu.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 58(4) 327-341 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF05258
Submitted: 22 December 2005  Accepted: 6 February 2007   Published: 13 April 2007

Abstract

The smelt genus Retropinna nominally includes three small (<150 mm) freshwater fish species endemic to south-eastern Australia and New Zealand. For the two Australian species, the broad range of R. semoni (Weber) on the mainland suggests some vulnerability to isolation and genetic divergence, whereas the apparent confinement of R. tasmanica McCulloch to Tasmania is curious if, as suspected, it is anadromous. Analyses of Australian material using allozyme electrophoresis show five genetically distinct species with contiguous ranges and no evidence of genetic exchange. Three occur along the eastern seaboard (including three instances of sympatry), another in coastal and inland south-eastern Australia and Tasmania, and a fifth species in the Lake Eyre Basin. There is no indication of a simple ‘tasmanica’ v. ‘semoni’ dichotomy, but instead a complex pattern involving discrete clusters for the Upper Murray plus Darling rivers, Lower Murray, Glenelg River and Tasmanian regions, with coastal western Victorian samples having varying affinity to these groups. The overall pattern is one of deep divergences among species and strong genetic sub-structuring within and provides a strong argument for extended studies to prepare for appropriate conservation measures.

Additional keywords: Cooper Creek, cryptic species, molecular systematics, Murray-Darling Basin, taxonomy.


Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Maree Hammer, Simon Westergaard, Ruan Gannon, Troy Ristic, Mike Baltzly and others for field assistance. Our thanks also to Jean Jackson (Inland Fisheries Service, Tasmania) for providing collection localities and tissues from the Great Forrester River, Tarmo Raadik (Arthur Rylah Institute, Melbourne) for providing tissues from Lake Tooliorook and for helpful comments on the manuscript, and the Australian Museum, Sydney for providing access to frozen tissues. Financial support to M. P. H. was provided by the Cooperative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology and an Australian Postgraduate Award. Permits for field collecting were obtained from PIRSA Fisheries (SA), Inland Fisheries Service (TAS), Natural Resources and Environment (VIC), New South Wales Fisheries, and Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (QLD).


References

Adams, M. , and Humphreys, W. F. (1993). Patterns of genetic diversity within selected subterranean fauna of the North West Cape peninsula, Western Australia: systematic and biogeographic implications. Records of the Western Australian Museum 45((Supplement)), 145–164.
Allen G. R., Midgley S. H., and Allen M. (2002). ‘Field Guide to the Freshwater Fishes of Australia.’ (Western Australian Museum: Perth.)

Allibone, R. M. , Crowl, T. A. , Holmes, J. W. , King, T. M. , McDowall, R. M. , Townsend, C. R. , and Wallis, G. P. (1996). Isozyme analysis of Galaxias species from the Taieri River, South Island, New Zealand: a species complex revealed. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 57, 107–127.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | AWRC (1976). ‘Review of Australia’s Water Resources.’ (Australian Water Resources Council: Canberra.)

Avise J. C. (2000). ‘Phylogeography: the History and Formation of Species.’ (Harvard University Press: Cambridge.)

Avise J. C. (2004). ‘Molecular Markers, Natural History and Evolution.’ 2nd edn. (Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.)

Baker, A. M. , Bartlett, C. , Bunn, S. E. , Goudkamp, K. , Sheldon, F. , and Hughes, J. M. (2003). Cryptic species and morphological plasticity in long-lived bivalves (Unionoida: Hyriidae) from inland Australia. Molecular Ecology 12, 2707–2717.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | Belbin L. (1994). ‘PATN: Pattern Analysis Package (Technical Reference Manual).’ (CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Ecology: Canberra.)

Bertozzi, T. , Adams, M. , and Walker, K. F. (2000). Species boundaries in carp gudgeons (Eleotrididae: Hypseleotris) from the River Murray, South Australia: evidence for multiple species and extensive hybridization. Marine and Freshwater Research 51, 805–815.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Cadwallader P. L., and Backhouse G. N. (1983). ‘A Guide to the Freshwater Fish of Victoria.’ (F. D. Atkinson: Melbourne.)

Cashner, R. C. , Hawkes, G. P. , Gartside, D. F. , and Marsh-Matthews, E. (1999). Fishes of the Nymboida, Mann and Orara rivers of the Clarence River Drainage, New South Wales, Australia. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 121, 89–100.
Fulton W. (1990). ‘Tasmanian Freshwater Fishes.’ (University of Tasmania: Hobart.)

Gehrke, P. C. , and Harris, J. H. (2001). Regional-scale effects of flow regulation on lowland riverine fish communities in New South Wales, Australia. Regulated Rivers: Research and Management 17, 369–391.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Johnson G. D., and Patterson C., (1996). Relationships of lower euteleostean fishes. In ‘Interrelationships of Fishes’. (Eds M. L. J. Stiassny, L. J. Parenti and G. D. Johnson.) pp. 251–332. (Academic Press: New York.)

Johnson, J. B. , Dowling, T. E. , and Belk, M. C. (2004). Neglected taxonomy of rare desert fishes: congruent evidence for two species of leatherside chub. Systematic Biology 53, 841–855.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | Lake J. S. (1967). ‘Freshwater Fish of the Murray-Darling River System: the Native and Introduced Species.’ (VCN Blight: Sydney.)

Lake J. S. (1971). ‘Freshwater Fishes and Rivers of Australia.’ (Thomas Nelson: Melbourne.)

Legget R., and Merrick J. R. (1987). ‘Australian Native Fishes for Aquariums.’ (J.R. Merrick Publications: Artarmon.)

Lieschke, J. A. , and Closs, G. P. (1999). Regulation of zooplankton composition and distribution by a zooplanktivorous fish in a shallow, eutrophic floodplain lake in south east Australia. Archiv fuer Hydrobiologie 146, 397–412.
McDowall R. M. (1990). ‘New Zealand Freshwater Fishes: a Natural History and Guide.’ Revised edn. (Heinemann Reid: Auckland.)

McDowall R. M. (1996). Family Retropinnidae: southern smelts. In ‘Freshwater Fishes of South-Eastern Australia’. (Ed. R. M. McDowall.) pp. 92–95. (Reed Books: Chatswood.)

McDowall, R. M. , Clark, B. M. , Wright, G. J. , and Northcote, T. G. (1993). Trans-2-cis-6-nonadienal: the cause of cucumber doer in osmerid and retropinnid smelts. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 122, 144–147.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Murphy R. W., Sites J. W.Jr, Buth D. G., and Haufler C. H. (1996). Proteins I: isozyme electrophoresis. In ‘Molecular Systematics’. 2nd edn. (Eds D. M. Hillis, C. Moritz and B. K. Mabel.) pp. 51–120. (Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.)

Musyl, M. K. , and Keenan, C. P. (1992). Population genetics and zoogeography of Australian freshwater golden perch, Macquaria ambigua (Richardson 1845) (Teleostei: Percichthyidae), and electrophoretic identification of a new species from the Lake Eyre Basin. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 43, 1585–1601.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Nelson J. S. (1994). ‘Fishes of the World.’ 3rd edn. (John Wiley: New York.)

Ogilby, J. D. (1908). New or little known fishes in the Queensland Museum. Annals of the Queensland Museum 9, 3–38.
Pusey B., Kennard M., and Arthington A. (2004). ‘Freshwater Fishes of North-Eastern Queensland.’ (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne.)

Raadik, T. A. (1992). Distribution of freshwater fishes in East Gippsland, Victoria, 1967–1991. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 104, 1–22.
Richardson B. J., Baverstock P. R., and Adams M. (1986). ‘Allozyme Electrophoresis: A Handbook for Animal Systematics and Population Studies.’ (Academic Press: Sydney.)

Rogers, J. S. (1972). Measures of genetic similarity and genetic distance. Studies in Genetics VII. University of Texas Publication No. 7213, 145–153.
Wager R., and Unmack P. J. (2000). ‘Fishes of the Lake Eyre Catchment of Central Australia.’ (Department of Primary Industries and Queensland Fisheries Service: Brisbane.)

Ward, R. D. , Woodwark, M. , and Skibinski, D. O. F. (1994). A comparison of genetic diversity levels in marine, freshwater, and anadromous fishes. Journal of Fish Biology 44, 213–232.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Wedderburn S., and Hammer M. (2003). ‘The Lower Lakes Fish Inventory: Distribution and Conservation of Freshwater Fishes of the Ramsar Convention Wetland at the Terminus of the Murray-Darling Basin, South Australia.’ (Native Fish Australia: Adelaide.)