Why is genetics important to Lake Sturgeon rehabilitation and management?
A common theme throughout population biology is the importance of diversity. In natural environments, diversity in form and function allows populations to adapt to changing environments. Diversity can be observed and quantified in many ways: physically (e.g. body size, shape, color, etc), genetically, or behaviorally. This diversity is measured at several biological levels, including variation among populations, among individuals within populations, and also within individuals. Examination of diversity among populations can be used to answer many different questions, including the degree to which populations are reproductively isolated. This is especially important for managers considering population supplementation (e.g. stocking) when trying to rehabilitate a numerically depressed population. For example, if you have 3 rivers in close proximity, two with a large number of fish and one with very few individuals, which of the two healthy rivers should you use to stock the population wi
