Assessing resource use as a predictor for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolt body size.

ABSTRACT: Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) have experienced significant population declines in eastern Canada for the past 30 years, primarily attributed to at-sea mortality. To identify factors contributing to smolt body size, which has been associated with variations in survival, we examined various predictors in linear mixed-effect models using data from out-migrating smolts collected from 2000 to 2016 at three rivers: Conne River (NFLD), de la Trinité River (QC) and St. Jean River (QC). Our analysis revealed that resource use (i.e., δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C) was a significant predictor for smolt length but not condition, explaining 66.2% of the variation in fork length and 19.1% of variation in condition factor. Furthermore, we observed no significant increasing or decreasing trends in b

SUBMITTER: McCavour E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12710856 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature