Environmental News Network - This Great Lakes Fish May Have Evolved to See Like its Ocean Ancestors Did

Details: By University of Buffalo; 21.Jan

In the dark waters of Lake Superior, a fish species adapted to regain a genetic trait that may have helped its ancient ancestors see in the ocean, a study finds.

Cheryl Porter

In the dark waters of Lake Superior, a fish species adapted to regain a genetic trait that may have helped its ancient ancestors see in the ocean, a study finds.

The research focuses on kiyis, which inhabit Lake Superior at depths of about 80 to over 200 meters deep. These fish, known to scientists as “Coregonus kiyi,” belong to a group of closely related salmonids known as ciscoes.

In contrast to three other Lake Superior ciscoes that dwell and feed in shallower regions of water, the kiyis are far more likely to carry a version of the rhodopsin gene that probably improves vision in dim “blue-shifted” waters, the study concludes. Every one of 21 kiyis the team examined from this deep-water population carried only this variant of the gene.

Magazine menu

This Great Lakes Fish May Have Evolved to See Like its Ocean Ancestors Did