Hatchery supplementation provides a demographic boost but alters age composition of sockeye salmon in Auke Lake, Southeast Alaska.

ABSTRACT: Evaluating salmon hatchery supplementation programs requires assessing not only program objectives but identifying potential risks to wild populations as well. Such evaluations can be hampered by difficulty in distinguishing between hatchery- and wild-born returning adults. Here, we conducted 3 years (2011-2013) of experimental hatchery supplementation of sockeye salmon in Auke Lake, Juneau, Alaska where a permanent weir allows sampling and genotyping of every returning adult (2008-2019). We identified both hatchery- and wild-born returning adults with parentage assignment, quantified the productivity (adult offspring/spawner) of hatchery spawners relative to that of wild spawners, and compared run timing, age, and size at age between hatchery- and wild-born adults. Hatchery-spawning femal

SUBMITTER: McPhee MV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10848869 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature