An unintended conservation success : genetic integrity of translocated Ohrid trout (Salmo letnica) in an artificial reservoir

Snoj, Aleš (author), Veličković, Tijana (author), Stanković, David (author), Šanda, Radek (author), Gajić, Đorđe (author), Marić, Saša (author)

The Ohrid trout (Salmo letnica), an endangered salmonid endemic to Lake Ohrid, has repeatedly failed to establish viable populations when introduced outside its native range. A rare exception occurs in Lisina Reservoir, Serbia, where introductions in the late 1970s and 1980s produced a persistent population. Using mitochondrial control region sequences and 12 nuclear microsatellite loci, we tested whether trout resembling S. letnica in Lisina indeed originate from Lake Ohrid, evaluated their genetic similarity to it, and assessed potential hybridization with co-occurring Macedonian trout (Salmo macedonicus) and Atlantic brown trout (Salmo trutta). All analyses confirmed that the Lisina fish belong to S. letnica. A previously unrecorded Ohrid lineage haplotype was detected, likely reflecting stochastic capture during translocation. Microsatellite data revealed modest but significant differentiation between Lisina and Ohrid populations, consistent with a founder effect and subsequent drift. Despite syntopy with co-occurring trout, no introgression into Lisina S. letnica was observed, indicating strong reproductive isolation. The persistence of a genetically distinct and unadmixed S. letnica population outside Lake Ohrid represents an unintended conservation success. While this does not serve as a general endorsement of species translocations, Lisina population could provide a backup resource for future restoration of the declining native Ohrid trout.

• Language: English
• Keywords: ex situ conservation, introgression, population structure, translocated populations, syntopy
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 01.03.2026
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: Str. 3235–3247
• Numbering: Vol. 853
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-182731
• UDC: 597.2/.5
• ISSN on article: 1573-5117
• DOI: 10.1007/s10750-026-06136-9
• COBISS.SI-ID: 270068995
• Publication date in RUL: 21.05.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Hydrobiologia
• Shortened title: Hydrobiologia
• Publisher: Kluwer
• ISSN: 1573-5117
• COBISS.SI-ID: 513162777

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: ribe, endemične vrste, ohridska postrv, Salmo letnica, genetika, translokacija, ohranjanje vrst