GENETIC COMPARISON OF BEAR LAKE CUTTHROAT (ONCORHYNCHUS CLARKI UTAH), YELLOWSTONE CUTTHROAT (ONCORHYNCHUS CLARKI BOUVERI), AND BONNEVILLE CUTTHROAT (ONCORHYNCHUS CLARKI UTAH)

Authors

Jared Tadje, Brigham Young University
R. Paul Evans, Brigham Young University

Keywords

genetic comparison, Bear Lake cutthroat, Yellowstone cutthroat, Bonneville cutthroat

College

Life Sciences

Department

Physiology and Developmental Biology

Abstract

Geologic evidence indicates that there was a volcano about 30,000 years ago in Southern Idaho. Before the volcano, Bear Lake was connected to the Snake River, but lava flow from this volcano separated them. Currently, a river connects Bear Lake to the Lake Bonneville region surrounding the Great Salt Lake (Fig. 1). Many people believe that the Bear Lake cutthroat trout evolved from other cutthroat subspecies in the Lake Bonneville Region. My hypothesis is that they are more closely related to the cutthroat subspecies in the Snake River system, and that they evolved together before the volcano separated them. I studied the relationships between cutthroat subspecies in the Snake River (Yellowstone cutthroat), Bear Lake, and Lake Bonneville region to provide evidence for or against this hypothesis.

Recommended Citation

Tadje, Jared and Evans, R. Paul (2013) "GENETIC COMPARISON OF BEAR LAKE CUTTHROAT (ONCORHYNCHUS CLARKI UTAH), YELLOWSTONE CUTTHROAT (ONCORHYNCHUS CLARKI BOUVERI), AND BONNEVILLE CUTTHROAT (ONCORHYNCHUS CLARKI UTAH)," Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2013: Iss. 1, Article 1451.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2013/iss1/1451