Persistence of Florida largemouth bass alleles in a northern Arkansas population of largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides Lacepede

Lake Ashbaugh, located in northeast Arkansas, was constructed in 1981, and initially stocked with Florida largemouth bass followed by supplemental sto ckings of northern largemouth bass. Allele frequencies of three discriminan t allozyme loci (sAAT-B, sIDH-B, sMDH-B) between Florida and northern large mouth bass were determined for 414 largemouth bass collected between 1994 a nd 1996. F-x bass dominated our sample, with 62.3% possessing Florida large mouth bass alleles. A high incidence of Hardy-Weinberg disequilibrium was o bserved, indicative of genetic change within the population. No significant differences were identified for frequency of age classes, relative weight, and length at age between the northern, F-1 and F-x phenotypes. Despite be ing located north of what is generally considered suitable for stocking Flo rida largemouth bass, it was demonstrated that temperature is not selective at present against bass possessing Florida largemouth bass alleles. Howeve r, caution should prevail when introducing non-native stock into native gen e complexes, as introduced genes persist through many generations.