Selection for Adult Size in Female Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch)

1986 ◽  
Vol 43 (10) ◽  
pp. 1946-1959 ◽  
Author(s):  
L B. Holtby ◽  
M. C. Healey

Several recent studies have presented evidence that large size confers a selective advantage to female Pacific salmon. Nevertheless, a wide range of female sizes is normally present in any spawning population. Two possible explanations exist for the observed range in female size. First, average female size might be determined by an optimizing process with variation around the optimum size due to individual differences in success at obtaining food. Second, various sizes of females might coexist as a mixed evolutionary stable strategy. Under the first explanation, females of sizes other than the optimum would display lower fitness whereas, under the second explanation, females of all sizes would be equally fit. We investigated factors affecting survival of eggs, fry, and smolts of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in Carnation Creek on Vancouver Island with a view to determining the relative fitness of different sized females. Egg-to-fry mortality was best explained by a model that included only the effects of stream bed scour and gravel quality. Including an effect of female size, expressed through depth of egg burying, worsened the model's predictive capability. We could find no evidence that the eggs of large females consistently survived better during incubation than those of small females. In fact, we observed three instances in which it appeared that the eggs of small females survived better. In Carnation Creek, large 1- and 2-yr-old smolts did not consistently survive better in the marine environment than small smolts. Thus, we were unable to demonstrate that the reproductive success of large females was consistently higher than that of small females, contrary to the hypothesis that female size is the result of an optimizing process. In Carnation Creek the observed range of female sizes probably represents an evolutionary stable strategy in which all sizes have equal fitness. We propose a model that predicts female size and variance in size based on the conflicting selective effects of gravel quality, scour, and competition for nest sites.

2017 ◽  
Vol 130 (4) ◽  
pp. 336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric A Parkinson ◽  
Chris J Perrin ◽  
Daniel Ramos-Espinoza ◽  
Eric B Taylor

The Coho Salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, is one of seven species of Pacific salmon and trout native to northeastern Pacific Ocean watersheds. The species is typically anadromous; adults reproduce in fresh water where juveniles reside for 1–2 years before seaward migration after which the majority of growth occurs in the ocean before maturation at 2–4 years old when adults return to fresh water to spawn. Here, we report maturation of Coho Salmon in two freshwater lakes on the north coast of British Columbia apparently without their being to sea. A total of 15 mature fish (11 males and four females) were collected in two lakes across two years. The mature fish were all at least 29 cm in total length and ranged in age from three to five years old. The occurrence of Coho Salmon that have matured in fresh water without first going to sea is exceedingly rare in their natural range, especially for females. Such mature Coho Salmon may represent residual and distinct breeding populations from those in adjacent streams. Alternatively, they may result from the ephemeral restriction in the opportunity to migrate seaward owing to low water levels in the spring when Coho Salmon typically migrate to sea after 1–2 years in fresh water. Regardless of their origin, the ability to mature in fresh water without seaward migration may represent important adaptive life history plasticity in response to variable environments.


2014 ◽  
Vol 71 (10) ◽  
pp. 1498-1507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven M. Clark ◽  
Jason B. Dunham ◽  
Jeffrey R. McEnroe ◽  
Scott W. Lightcap

The fitness of female Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) with respect to breeding behavior can be partitioned into at least four fitness components: survival to reproduction, competition for breeding sites, success of egg incubation, and suitability of the local environment near breeding sites for early rearing of juveniles. We evaluated the relative influences of habitat features linked to these fitness components with respect to selection of breeding sites by coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). We also evaluated associations between breeding site selection and additions of large wood, as the latter were introduced into the study system as a means of restoring habitat conditions to benefit coho salmon. We used a model selection approach to organize specific habitat features into groupings reflecting fitness components and influences of large wood. Results of this work suggest that female coho salmon likely select breeding sites based on a wide range of habitat features linked to all four hypothesized fitness components. More specifically, model parameter estimates indicated that breeding site selection was most strongly influenced by proximity to pool-tail crests and deeper water (mean and maximum depths). Linkages between large wood and breeding site selection were less clear. Overall, our findings suggest that breeding site selection by coho salmon is influenced by a suite of fitness components in addition to the egg incubation environment, which has been the emphasis of much work in the past.


1977 ◽  
Vol 55 (10) ◽  
pp. 1756-1758 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan Ludwig ◽  
David A. Higgs ◽  
Ulf H. M. Fagerlund ◽  
Jack R. McBride

As part of an ongoing survey to identify hormones capable of stimulating growth in Pacific salmon, groups of underyearling coho salmon were injected with bovine (Ultralente) insulin (0.32, 1.0, 3.2, or 10 IU/kg body weight) into the peritoneal cavity either once or twice weekly for 70 days.All doses of insulin, when injected twice weekly, increased the values for specific growth rates and decreased those for food–gain ratios relative to solvent-injected controls, but the differences were not statistically significant. All doses of insulin caused a marked increase in the granulation of the pancreatic B cells. Plasma glucose concentrations in starved coho injected with 10 IU insulin/kg body weight were significantly lower than in solvent-injected controls 4 h after injection.It is concluded that proper evaluation of the effectiveness of insulin as a growth promoter for salmon requires further studies preferably using insulin preparations specific to teleosts.


1976 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 1150-1155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas M. Stauffer

I measured fecundity of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) that matured in the Great Lakes to make comparisons with Pacific Ocean coho salmon and among groups of Great Lakes salmon. Numbers of eggs produced (1600–3500) by Great Lakes salmon were comparable to production (1500–3300) by Pacific salmon of similar size. Average egg diameters of Lake Michigan (7.1–7.4 mm) and Pacific salmon (6.1–7.4 mm) were also comparable but Lake Superior eggs were smaller (5.1–5.4 mm). Fecundity of second generation freshwater salmon which originated from Lake Michigan eggs was similar to that of the first generation which originated from Pacific eggs because the average numbers (2938–3243) and diameters (7.1–7.4 mm) of eggs produced were about the same. On the average, Lake Michigan salmon contained more (2938) and larger (7.1-mm diam) eggs than did Lake Superior salmon (2150 and 5.1-mm diam) of the same year-class and early life history.


2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 681-694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie J. Peacock ◽  
Carrie A. Holt

The distribution of individuals among populations and in space may contribute to their resilience under environmental variability. Changes in distribution may indicate the loss of genetically distinct subpopulations, the deterioration of habitat capacity, or both. The distribution of Pacific salmon ( Oncorhynchus  spp.) among spawning locations has recently been recognized as an important component of status assessment by USA and Canadian management agencies, but metrics of spawning distribution have not been rigorously evaluated. We evaluated three metrics of spawning distribution and four sampling designs for their ability to detect simulated contractions in the production of coho salmon ( Oncorhynchus kisutch ). We simulated population dynamics at 100 sites using a spawner–recruit model that incorporated natural variability in recruitment, age-at-maturity, dispersal, and measurement error in observations of abundance. Sensitivity analyses revealed that high observation error and straying of spawners from their natal streams may mask changes in distribution. Furthermore, monitoring only sites with high spawner abundance, as is often practiced, failed to capture the simulated contraction of production, emphasizing the importance of matching monitoring programs with assessment objectives.


1973 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 623-629 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert F. Carline ◽  
James D. Hall

A method of estimating food consumption rates of fish in nature from laboratory growth data was evaluated using juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in three similar experiments. One group of coho was held individually in aquariums where movement was restricted. Another group was maintained in an experimental stream where the coho displayed many of their typical behavior patterns. All fish were fed known rations and both groups had similar growth efficiencies over a wide range of rations. Coho feeding at intermediate rates had the highest gross efficiencies. Aggressive activity did not affect growth efficiency. Results suggested that laboratory food and growth data may provide reasonably accurate estimates of food consumption of coho salmon in nature.


1985 ◽  
Vol 42 (12) ◽  
pp. 1986-1993 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Bower ◽  
L. Margolis ◽  
R. J. MacKay

Susceptibility to the lethal effects of low levels of total residual chlorine (TRC) differed between juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and the salmon leech (Piscicola salmositica), the vector for the haemoflagellate salmonid pathogen Cryptobia salmositica. There was no salmon mortality at concentrations below approximately 50 μg TRC/L for the maximum exposure time of 24 h. Some damage to gill tissue (hypertrophy, fusion, oedema, and some necrosis), was observed at the highest concentrations of TRC that did not kill any of the fish (approximately 50 μg/L for 24 h, and approximately 100 μg/L for 8 h). This damage was repaired by the fish within 4 d of exposure, although evidence of past irritation was noted in 6 of 12 fish. All small juvenile leeches exposed to 44 μg TRC/L for 24 h died, and over half of such leeches exposed to 44 μg/L for 8 h and 21 μg/L for 24 h died. Below TRC concentrations that were lethal to the fish (approximately 50 μg/L), contours of constant leech mortality derived from a logistic regression model fitted to the data offered a wide range of concentrations and exposure times that would result in high mortality of juvenile leeches. Larger subadult and adult leeches were more resistant to chlorine than the smaller leeches but were more sensitive than the juvenile fish. Thus, chlorine may prove useful for controlling P. salmositica in salmonid hatcheries.


2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (11) ◽  
pp. 2538-2547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin K McClelland ◽  
James M Myers ◽  
Jeffrey J Hard ◽  
Linda K Park ◽  
Kerry A Naish

Outbreeding is a potential genetic risk in Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) when aquaculture practices introduce nonnative domesticated fish to wild environments, making interbreeding with wild populations possible. In this study, F1 and F2 hybrid families of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) were created using a captive freshwater aquaculture strain and a locally derived hatchery population that is integrated with naturally spawning fish. Intermediate growth was detected in F1 and F2 hybrids from crosses reared in captivity; both generations had mean weight and length values between those of the parent populations after their first year (p < 0.05). In the early life history stages, maternal effects increased alevin growth in progeny of hatchery dams relative to those of captive dams (p < 0.001). Aquaculture control families showed greater growth rates than hybrids in late summer of their 1st year and in the following spring (p < 0.05), while the hatchery controls had lower growth rates during the first summer (p < 0.05). Line cross analysis indicated that changes in additive and dominance interactions, but not unfavorable epistatic interactions, likely explain the differences in weight, length, and growth rate observed in hybrids of these stocks of coho salmon.


2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (8) ◽  
pp. 1143-1154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph H Anderson ◽  
Thomas P Quinn

Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) have repeatedly exploited new habitat following glacial recession and some artificial introductions, yet the initial process of colonization is poorly understood. Landsburg Diversion Dam on the Cedar River, Washington, excluded salmon from 33 km of habitat for over a century until it was modified to allow passage in 2003. Adult coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) were sampled as they entered the newly accessible habitat in the first 3 years and a subset received radio transmitters to assess spawning site selection and movement. Annual counts of coho colonists increased over time, and in 2 of 3 years, daily dam passage was positively correlated with river discharge. Contrary to our prediction that coho would spawn in tributaries, all identified spawning sites were in the mainstem Cedar River, though 38% of radio-tagged salmon entered a tributary at least temporarily. Females moved little within the new habitat (average = 5.8 km), whereas males moved extensively (average = 34.8 km), especially when females were scarce. The immediate use of the new habitat by colonists and their widespread movements suggest that exploration is an innate component of salmon breeding behavior, and restoring access to lost habitat merits prioritization as a conservation strategy.


1984 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 204-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric P. van den Berghe ◽  
Mart R. Gross

Nest depth was strongly correlated with female size in coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). Since nests of different-sized females are at different depths, they are differentially vulnerable to destruction by floods and to other females competing for the same nest sites.


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