Genetic monitoring of a long-term, large-scale experimental steelhead supplementation program.

ABSTRACT: Declining salmonid populations often prompt the use of captive-reared fish to supplement wild stocks, but such programs risk negative genetic and ecological impacts. We evaluated six steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) populations in the Hood Canal watershed, Puget Sound, Washington, including three supplemented and three unsupplemented control populations, over the span of 17 years to assess the effects of supplementation on several population genetics metrics. This program uniquely allowed natural spawning to occur before removing eyed eggs from redds for captive rearing, and later release as smolts or adults. Key genetic metrics-expected heterozygosity, allelic richness, and effective population size-remained stable from before to after supplementation in both the supplemented and non-suppl

SUBMITTER: Van Doornik DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12721512 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature