Rhinichthys osculus (Speckled Dace)
Credit: Hank Baker
about the species
The Speckled Dace is a minnow with the widest distribution of any native fish in the western United States and comprises several endemic forms in California. Speckled Dace occupy a wide range of habitat types including headwater streams, intermittent streams, large rivers, hot springs, alkaline ponds, and deep lakes. Environmental variation across their range, combined with geographic isolation that limits gene flow between populations, has produced a number of morphologically and genetically distinct forms, many of which are imperilled due to habitat alteration and environmental change.
why species was selected
Local forms are highly variable in the abiotic and ecological conditions they thrive in, suggesting a high degree of local adaptation. Whole genome resequencing across this suite of conditions will provide a unique opportunity to study environmental and ecological drivers of genome evolution. This project will also allow us to characterize the genomic distinctiveness of local forms, resolving taxonomic questions that have hindered the conservation of California’s unique populations of this species.
