Specific Features of Morphology, Ecology, and Mitochondrial DNA Polymorphism of the Whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus L.) from the Keret’ River as a New Object for Artificial Propagation

Abstract

The results of a study of the specific features of morphological and genetic polymorphism of the population of the anadromous White Sea common whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus L.) from the Keret’ River are presented. As assessed by its morphological features, the whitefish population of the Keret’ is homogenous. A comparison of the Keret’ whitefish with whitefish populations of both Europe and Siberia revealed clear differences. These differences relate first and foremost to the fish locomotion and orientation in space: body depth, length and positions of fins, and interorbital width. The characteristics of skull features (craniological analysis) of the White Sea whitefish are presented for the first time. The results of an analysis of the polymorphism of the ND1 fragment of the mitochondrial DNA confirmed an earlier suggestion about the mixed origin of the Keret’ River whitefish: the descendants of three different phylogenetic lineages were revealed in the population.