Diversity and genetic structure of Prochilodus magdalenae (Pisces: Prochilodontidae) upstream and downstream Betania, Colombia

The Magdalena River is one of the most important basins in Colombia, it has a large number of important fish species for the economy of many communities in the country. However, there’s been a reduction in the population caused by different factors. One of the major problems is the construction of the Betania dam, in response to the energy requirements in Colombia. However, migratory species such asProchilodus magdalenae, of economic importance for the artisanal fishery, have beenseriously affected. For this reason, it became neccesary to analyze its genetic diversity and structure, taking into account the construction of the dam as a possible factor of fragmentation. For this purpose, the use of microsatellites as a molecular marker in different study locations upstream and downstream of the dam is adequate. It was possible to evaluate in 171 individuals the state of genetic diversity. In this respect, 111 alleles distributed in seven loci 100% polymorphic were obtained. The overall averages for the heterozygosity observed were 0.2169, while the expected ones were 0.8316. The Fst and PhiPT statistics showed that there is a moderate differentiation between Betania’s locality and all the localities sampled. The analysis of Bayesian inference detected the coexistence of three populations in the river basin, being the Betania’s locality represented only by one of the three populations registered in the basin. These results can be presented due to the fragmentation generated by the dam in the river, preventing the genetic flow between the locations upstream and downstream of the dam.