Project Leader:
Michael Russello   

Lead Institution:
University of British Columbia Okanagan 
 
Research Funding Program:  
Strategic Opportunities Fund - Round 3

"Genomic approaches are being used to understand the impacts of rapid climate change and to help species at risk"

Some species of fish in BC have recently demonstrated the ability to adapt to sudden environmental change. The Okanagan Lake kokanee salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), are now spawning on the lake shores instead of in streams, and the American pika (Ochotona princeps), which live in the Bella Coola Valley, have recently moved to higher elevations. This ability to adapt may  be necessary for the long-term survival of these species.     

To determine if there is a genetic basis for the rapid adaption, Dr. Michael Russello at UBC Okanagan is studying the kokanee salmon and the American pika, which have experienced some drastic changes in the last several decades. The goal of this research is to identify genomic regions that might be responsible for the behavioural changes observed, and to find a way of measuring how much variation exists between fish of the same species living in different environments in these regions.  
    
To do this, Dr. Russello will first identify variants or "outliers" from each population, which are the individuals displaying adaptive physical and/or behavioural characteristics. In this case, the adaptive individuals are the lake shore spawning salmon and high-elevation pika. Tissue samples will be obtained from both the adaptive and non-adaptive animals and DNA from the different groups will be sequenced using next-generation sequencing technology. The sequences will be compared using powerful analytical techniques, and will hopefully reveal genes that are activated in the variants and not the regular populations. This analysis will also identify regions where the most changes in the DNA are located. Dr. Russello hopes to create customized tests for each species to allow further monitoring of the species. In addition, the data obtained from this research project will be compared to the sequences of closely related species, the European rabbit and the Atlantic salmon, to see how these areas of genomics differ in other species that are also subject to changing environments.   

This research will build extensive genomic resources for two species of conservation concern, American pika and kokanee.  The type of information obtained from this research may be used to influence conservation decisions with regards to critical habitats, help identify individuals for captive breeding programs, and will assist in monitoring populations that are adapting. This type of approach, combining ecology and genomics, will be applied to study other species in the future.