Effects of intraspecific hybridisation between two hatchery‐reared strains of Atlantic salmon,Salmo salar,on juvenile survival and fitness‐related traits |
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| Authors: | C L Audet C C Wilson T E Pitcher |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada;2. Aquatic Research and Monitoring Section, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, Canada;3. Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada |
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| Abstract: | Intraspecific hybridisation may result in hybrid offspring exhibiting superior (heterosis) or inferior (outbreeding depression) fitness relative to their parental populations. As both have been demonstrated in salmonids, consequences of interbreeding between divergent populations are relevant to their conservation. Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. were extirpated from Lake Ontario by the late 19th Century due to anthropogenic causes. Multiple allopatric populations of hatchery‐reared Atlantic salmon are being stocked in an effort to re‐establish a self‐sustaining population. This study evaluated whether interbreeding between Sebago Lake (Maine) and LaHave River (Nova Scotia) individuals will result in heterosis or outbreeding depression in juveniles. This was accomplished through full‐factorial 2 × 2 mating crosses between the strains and comparing multiple fitness‐related traits between the cross types. Hybrid juveniles displayed no signs of outbreeding depression nor heterosis. Further studies on comparative fitness of backcross and F2 hybrids are recommended to assess potential consequences for this and similar restoration efforts. |
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| Keywords: | Atlantic salmon fitness hybridization juveniles reintroduction stocking |
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