Fitness Regulates Non‐Native Species Recovery in a Simulated Trojan MYY Brook Trout Application
- 1University of Montana
- 2Seattle City Light
Abstract
Trojan Y chromosome methodologies have been developed for bio‐control of non‐native freshwater fish. Individuals with an altered sex chromosome genotype are introduced into the environment to mate with wild conspecific and change the population sex ratios, with the goal of eradicating local populations. This strategy preserves native stocks and can be effective when other methods are impracticable. Applications employing Trojan males with two Y chromosomes (MYY) to control non‐natives have shown promise for eradication at small spatial scales when used with manual suppression. Failure to eradicate may have consequences for the fitness and resiliency of the recovering population and remains untested. Population bottlenecks due to suppression and MYY introductions may cause inbreeding depression while admixture with hatchery MYY may counteract inbreeding depression and result in outbreeding depression. We used a spatial demogenetic and individual‐based simulation model to examine the fitness consequences of inbreeding and outbreeding depression on the recovery of a non‐native Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) population targeted for removal in northeastern Washington State, USA. Simulations predicted genetic and fitness consequences, as well as the extent and timing of population recovery following suppression and introduction of MYY. We found that inbreeding depression rapidly decreased overall population size and outbreeding depression was important for counteracting the fitness advantage of admixture from genetically divergent MYY. Additionally, combined effects of inbreeding and outbreeding depression prevented the population from recovering to pre‐suppression abundance compared to each in isolation. This represents the first study demonstrating the demogenetic and fitness consequences of inbreeding and outbreeding depression from a MYY program when non‐native species eradication is not achieved. Results suggest that the combination of negative fitness effects may limit the ability of the surviving non‐native population to recover and reestablish once treatments cease, indicating that such treatments may be beneficial even if eradication is not ultimately achieved.
Related
- EFhd2 regulates microtubule-dependent mitochondrial fitness at the B cell immune synapse
- Ncf1/Igfbp2 Signaling Regulates Airway Submucosal Gland Progenitor Fitness and Ionocyte Specification
- TKL3 regulates blood-stage fitness, male gamete fertility, and transmission-stage development in Plasmodium berghei
- A novel dimerization site in non-structural protein 5A of hepatitis C virus regulates viral replication fitness
- The MdVQ22‐MdWRKY33d complex regulates MdPER55 and MdDREB1D expression to modulate apple salt tolerance by reactive oxygen species scavenging
BibTeX
@article{davenport2026fitness,
title = {{Fitness Regulates Non‐Native Species Recovery in a Simulated Trojan MYY Brook Trout Application}},
author = {K. Davenport and D. Alò and C. C. Day and R. K. Simmons and E. L. Landguth and A. R. Whiteley},
journal = {Evolutionary applications},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1111/eva.70335},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13662626},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Fitness Regulates Non‐Native Species Recovery in a Simulated Trojan MYY Brook Trout Application
AU - K. Davenport
AU - D. Alò
AU - C. C. Day
AU - R. K. Simmons
AU - E. L. Landguth
AU - A. R. Whiteley
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Evolutionary applications
DO - 10.1111/eva.70335
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13662626
AB - Trojan Y chromosome methodologies have been developed for bio‐control of non‐native freshwater fish. Individuals with an altered sex chromosome genotype are introduced into the environment to mate with wild conspecific and change the population sex ratios, with the goal of eradicating local populations. This strategy preserves native stocks and can be effective when other methods are impracticable. Applications employing Trojan males with two Y chromosomes (MYY) to control non‐natives have shown promise for eradication at small spatial scales when used with manual suppression. Failure to eradicate may have consequences for the fitness and resiliency of the recovering population and remains untested. Population bottlenecks due to suppression and MYY introductions may cause inbreeding depression while admixture with hatchery MYY may counteract inbreeding depression and result in outbreeding depression. We used a spatial demogenetic and individual‐based simulation model to examine the fitness consequences of inbreeding and outbreeding depression on the recovery of a non‐native Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) population targeted for removal in northeastern Washington State, USA. Simulations predicted genetic and fitness consequences, as well as the extent and timing of population recovery following suppression and introduction of MYY. We found that inbreeding depression rapidly decreased overall population size and outbreeding depression was important for counteracting the fitness advantage of admixture from genetically divergent MYY. Additionally, combined effects of inbreeding and outbreeding depression prevented the population from recovering to pre‐suppression abundance compared to each in isolation. This represents the first study demonstrating the demogenetic and fitness consequences of inbreeding and outbreeding depression from a MYY program when non‐native species eradication is not achieved. Results suggest that the combination of negative fitness effects may limit the ability of the surviving non‐native population to recover and reestablish once treatments cease, indicating that such treatments may be beneficial even if eradication is not ultimately achieved.
SN - 1752-4571
ER -