Erosion of interspecific reproductive barriers resulting from hatchery supplementation of rainbow trout sympatric with cutthroat trout

The frequency of hybridization between cutthroat (Onchorhynchus clarki clarki) and rainbow (O. mykiss irideus) trout from coastal habitats in British Columbia, Canada, was examined in seven populations where the two species are sympatric with no history of rainbow trout stocking and compared with areas where native rainbow trout populations have been supplemented with hatchery fish (three populations). Four nuclear markers were used to identify each species and interspecific hybrids and one mitochondrial marker showed the direction of gene exchange between species. The frequency of hybrids was significantly higher (Fisher exact test, P < 0.001) in river systems where hatchery rainbow trout have been introduced (50.6% hybrids) than in populations where the two species naturally co-occur without supplementation (9.9% hybrids).