Isolation and characterization of 10 polymorphic microsatellite markers for the Ouachita Highlands endemic Notropis suttkusi (Teleostei: Cyprinidae)

Human pressures primarily associated with urbanization, forestry practices, over-mining of groundwater, and reservoir construction threaten the exceptional aquatic endemism of the Ouachita Highlands of southeastern Oklahoma and southwestern Arkansas, USA. At present, there is a need for hypervariable markers useful for understanding population structure and historical demography, thereby helping to provide a framework for conservation efforts. In this paper we describe 10 microsatellite markers for Notropis suttkusi (rocky shiner), a species endemic to the Ouachita Highlands. We characterize these markers on 40 individuals from Blue River in Oklahoma. The loci yielded 3–23 alleles per locus, with mean observed and expected heterozygosites of 0.679 and 0.729, respectively. The availability of these markers will facilitate studies of the conservation genetics of N. suttkusi and should be useful for other members of the Notropis rubellus complex.