An extensive common-garden study with domesticated and wild Atlantic salmon in the wild reveals impact on smolt production and shifts in fitness traits.

ABSTRACT: Interactions between domesticated escapees and wild conspecifics represent a threat to the genetic integrity and fitness of native populations. For Atlantic salmon, the recurrent presence of large numbers of domesticated escapees in the wild makes it necessary to better understand their impacts on native populations. We planted 254,400 eggs from 75 families of domesticated, F1-hybrid, and wild salmon in a river containing up- and downstream traps. Additionally, 41,630 hatchery smolts of the same pedigrees were released into the river. Over 8 years, 6,669 out-migrating smolts and 356 returning adults were recaptured and identified to their families of origin with DNA. In comparison with wild salmon, domesticated fish had substantially lower egg to smolt survival (1.8% vs. 3.8% across cohort

SUBMITTER: Skaala O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6503829 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature