Evolution of fast-growing piscivorous herring in the young Baltic Sea

Jake Goodall, Mats E. Pettersson, Ulf Bergström, Arianna Cocco, Bo Delling, Yvette Heimbrand, O. Magnus Karlsson, Josefine Larsson, Hannes Waldetoft, Andreas Wallberg, Lovisa Wennerström and Leif Andersson ()
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Jake Goodall: Uppsala University
Mats E. Pettersson: Uppsala University
Ulf Bergström: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Arianna Cocco: Uppsala University
Bo Delling: Swedish Museum of Natural History
Yvette Heimbrand: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
O. Magnus Karlsson: IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute
Josefine Larsson: Simrishamns kommun
Hannes Waldetoft: IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute
Andreas Wallberg: Uppsala University
Lovisa Wennerström: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Leif Andersson: Uppsala University

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract The circumstances under which species diversify to genetically distinct lineages is a fundamental question in biology. Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) is an extremely abundant zooplanktivorous species that is subdivided into multiple ecotypes that differ regarding spawning time and genetic adaption to local environmental conditions such as temperature, salinity, and light conditions. Here we show using whole genome analysis that multiple populations of piscivorous (fish-eating) herring have evolved sympatrically after the colonization of the brackish Baltic Sea within the last 8000 years postglaciation. The piscivorous ecotype grows faster, and is much larger and less abundant than the zooplanktivorous Baltic herring. Lesions of the gill rakers in the piscivorous ecotype indicated incomplete adaptation to a fish diet. This niche expansion of herring in the young Baltic Sea, with its paucity of piscivorous species, suggests that empty niche space is more important than geographic isolation for the evolution of biodiversity.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-55216-8

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