Contemporary evolution in recently established mosquitofish populations

My dissertation work addressed evolutionary trajectories of recently established western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) populations in western Nevada. These populations were descended from two Texas populations that were initially introduced to northern California in 1922 and subsequently to Nevada in 1934. Introduced populations were characterized by reduced genetic diversity (Stockwell et al. 1996). Rare alleles were especially vulnerable to loss. Further, these populations had undergone rapid evolutionary divergence in life history characters (Stockwell & Weeks 1999; Stockwell & Vinyard 2000). These observations suggest that translocations may alter the evolutionary trajectory for actively managed species (Stockwell et al. 2003). Our lab has also conducted work to examine the effects of mosquitofish on native fishes such as pupfish (Rogowski and Stockwell 2006) and Mohave tui chub (Siphatales bicolor mohavensis).