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Genetic Divergence in the Absence of Strong Ecological Differences Between Coexisting White and Common Atlantic Marine Stickleback.

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Title: Genetic Divergence in the Absence of Strong Ecological Differences Between Coexisting White and Common Atlantic Marine Stickleback.
Authors: Samuk, Kieran1 (AUTHOR) ksamuk@ucr.edu, Visty, Hannah2 (AUTHOR), Schluter, Dolph2 (AUTHOR)
Source: Ecology & Evolution (20457758). May2026, Vol. 16 Issue 5, p1-14. 14p.
Subject Terms: *Genetic speciation, Reproductive isolation, Sexual selection, Morphometrics, Population genetics, Stable isotope analysis, Sticklebacks
Geographic Terms: Nova Scotia
Abstract: Identifying taxa in the earliest phases of speciation is critical for understanding how reproductive isolation arises. In Nova Scotia, Canada, "white" threespine stickleback co‐occur with common marine stickleback but differ in size, nuptial coloration, nesting behavior, and parental care, raising the possibility that they represent a distinct ecotype with some degree of reproductive isolation. We combined population genomics, morphometrics, and stable isotope analysis to test whether white stickleback represent a distinct lineage and whether they have diverged along ecological axes as have freshwater stickleback populations. Genotyping‐by‐sequencing revealed that male and female white stickleback form a genetic cluster distinct from sympatric common stickleback with evidence of ongoing gene flow yet with very low overall genomic divergence (FST ≈ 0.01). Genetic differences were distributed across many loci rather than localized to a single genomic region. Morphological and isotopic analyses revealed no differences in most classic ecological traits (body shape, armor, gill rakers, or trophic niche). Instead, whites are smaller‐bodied, paler, and exhibit shorter spines, reduced testes size, and smaller but more numerous eggs compared to common stickleback. These results indicate that white stickleback are genetically distinct from the common Atlantic threespine stickleback but have not diverged conspicuously in their ecology other than in size, suggesting that their differentiation is driven by reproductive and sexual traits rather than trophic specialization. The white stickleback thus represent a promising new system for investigating the interplay of sexual selection, reproductive strategy, and gene flow in the early stages of speciation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Ecology & Evolution (20457758) is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Genetic Divergence in the Absence of Strong Ecological Differences Between Coexisting White and Common Atlantic Marine Stickleback.
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  Label: Authors
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Samuk%2C+Kieran%22">Samuk, Kieran</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> ksamuk@ucr.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Visty%2C+Hannah%22">Visty, Hannah</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Schluter%2C+Dolph%22">Schluter, Dolph</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Ecology+%26+Evolution+%2820457758%29%22">Ecology & Evolution (20457758)</searchLink>. May2026, Vol. 16 Issue 5, p1-14. 14p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subject Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Genetic+speciation%22">Genetic speciation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reproductive+isolation%22">Reproductive isolation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sexual+selection%22">Sexual selection</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Morphometrics%22">Morphometrics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Population+genetics%22">Population genetics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Stable+isotope+analysis%22">Stable isotope analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sticklebacks%22">Sticklebacks</searchLink>
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  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nova+Scotia%22">Nova Scotia</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Identifying taxa in the earliest phases of speciation is critical for understanding how reproductive isolation arises. In Nova Scotia, Canada, "white" threespine stickleback co‐occur with common marine stickleback but differ in size, nuptial coloration, nesting behavior, and parental care, raising the possibility that they represent a distinct ecotype with some degree of reproductive isolation. We combined population genomics, morphometrics, and stable isotope analysis to test whether white stickleback represent a distinct lineage and whether they have diverged along ecological axes as have freshwater stickleback populations. Genotyping‐by‐sequencing revealed that male and female white stickleback form a genetic cluster distinct from sympatric common stickleback with evidence of ongoing gene flow yet with very low overall genomic divergence (FST ≈ 0.01). Genetic differences were distributed across many loci rather than localized to a single genomic region. Morphological and isotopic analyses revealed no differences in most classic ecological traits (body shape, armor, gill rakers, or trophic niche). Instead, whites are smaller‐bodied, paler, and exhibit shorter spines, reduced testes size, and smaller but more numerous eggs compared to common stickleback. These results indicate that white stickleback are genetically distinct from the common Atlantic threespine stickleback but have not diverged conspicuously in their ecology other than in size, suggesting that their differentiation is driven by reproductive and sexual traits rather than trophic specialization. The white stickleback thus represent a promising new system for investigating the interplay of sexual selection, reproductive strategy, and gene flow in the early stages of speciation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Ecology & Evolution (20457758) is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1002/ece3.73655
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 14
        StartPage: 1
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Genetic speciation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Reproductive isolation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Sexual selection
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Morphometrics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Population genetics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Stable isotope analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Sticklebacks
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Nova Scotia
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Genetic Divergence in the Absence of Strong Ecological Differences Between Coexisting White and Common Atlantic Marine Stickleback.
        Type: main
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            NameFull: Samuk, Kieran
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            NameFull: Visty, Hannah
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            NameFull: Schluter, Dolph
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            – D: 01
              M: 05
              Text: May2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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              Value: 16
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            – TitleFull: Ecology & Evolution (20457758)
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