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Dryad

Reproductive success of hatchery- and natural-spawning sockeye salmon, Auke Creek, Alaska

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Jan 30, 2024 version files 8.87 MB

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 three 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 females produced approximately six to 50 times more returning adults than did naturally spawning females. Supplementation had no discernable effect on run timing and limited consequences for size at age, but we observed a distinct shift to younger age at maturity in the hatchery-born individuals in all three brood years. The shift appeared to be driven by hatchery-born fish being more likely to emigrate after one, rather than two, years in the lake but the cause is unknown. In cases when spawning or incubation habitat is limiting sockeye salmon production, hatchery supplementation can be effective for enhancing the number of returning adult fish but not without the risk of phenotypic change in the recipient population, which can be an undesired outcome of hatchery supplementation. This study adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that phenotypic change within a single generation of captive spawning might be widespread in salmon hatchery programs.