An analysis of spatial and environmental factors influencing hybridization between native westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki lewisi) and introduced rainbow trout (O-mykiss) in the upper Kootenay River drainage, British Columbia

Westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki lewisi, WCT) and introduced rainbow trout (O. mykiss, RBT) readily hybridize and introgression has occurred in many drainages across the historic native range of WCT. In British Columbia (Canada), the upper Kootenay River drainage is the heart of the westslope cutthroat trout (WCT, Oncorhynchus clarki lewisi) distribution in Canada this drainage harbours native WCT gene pools that are thought to be under threat from hybridization with introduced rainbow trout (RBT, O. mykiss). In this study, we assess the extent and distribution of WCT x RBT hybridization in the upper Kootenay River drainage. We used four diagnostic nuclear loci to determine the extent of hybridization in 981 fish collected from 23 sample localities across 12 different streams in the upper Kootenay River drainage. About 14% (142/981) of individuals were identified as hybrids (an individual with both RBT and WCT alleles), 3.4% (33/981) were identified as pure RBT, and the remaining individuals were identified as pure WCT. Although pure RBT were absent from the majority of locales (20/23), we found evidence of hybridization at 78% (18/23) of the localities and the percentage of heterospecific alleles (% I) ranged from 0.7% to 97.1%. Only 22% (5/23) of the localities showed no evidence of hybridization. Spatial analysis showed clustering among hybridized locations and decreasing hybridization with increasing distance from Koocanusa Reservoir, suggesting that the reservoir acts as a RBT source. We found no evidence that stream order, stream magnitude, or stream elevation influenced the extent of hybridization among localities. We compared our results to an analysis conducted in 1986, which indicated that hybridization is relatively recent in the upper Kootenay River drainage and that it is increasing in magnitude and distribution. In the absence of timely management intervention, the genetic integrity of WCT populations in the heart of their Canadian range may be lost. Our results indicate the dynamic nature of hybridization in fluvial systems and that for closely related taxa such as WCT and RBT, hybridization appears to be largely influenced by physical barriers to dispersal and contact between species.