Chinook salmon, an iconic species in the Pacific Northwest that supports a major fishery industry and indigenous traditions, have lost up to two-thirds of their genetic diversity over the past 7,000 years, according to a new study. Scientists warn the loss could make it difficult for the species to cope with warming global temperatures and ocean acidification — environmental changes that are already impacting the fish today.
Chinook salmon, an iconic species in the Pacific Northwest that supports a major fishery industry and indigenous traditions, have lost up to two-thirds of their genetic diversity over the past 7,000 years, according to a new study. Scientists warn the loss could make it difficult for the species to cope with warming global temperatures and ocean acidification — environmental changes that are already impacting the fish today.
Scientists from Washington State University and the University of Oklahoma worked with several Native American tribes to get access to Chinook salmon bones from archaeological sites and ancient garbage piles dating back 7,000 years. They then analyzed the DNA in 346 historical samples and compared them with 379 samples from modern Chinook salmon. The scientists found that Columbia River Chinook have lost two-thirds of their genetic diversity; Snake River Chinook diversity declined by one-third.
Researchers and conservationists who study Chinook have long suspected the species has experienced a significant loss in genetic diversity. “Science finally caught up with what we already believed and allowed us to test it,” Bobbi Johnson, lead author of a new study, told The Spokesman-Review.
Read more at Yale Environment 360
Image: Chinook salmon. COURTESY OF PACIFIC NORTHWEST NATIONAL LABORATORY
