Genetic history of the population of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., under restoration in the Connecticut River, USA

Abstract The Connecticut River lost its Atlantic salmon population as a result of human activity 200 years ago. Cultured stocks, derived mainly from the Penobscot River, were employed to restore the population, and an annual run of salmon has been successfully re-established, although the population...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:ICES Journal of Marine Science
Main Authors: Ayllon, Fernando, Martinez, Jose L., Juanes, Francis, Gephard, Stephen, Garcia-Vazquez, Eva
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Oxford University Press (OUP) 2006
Subjects:
Ecology
Aquatic Science
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Oceanography
Atlantic salmon
Salmo salar
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icesjms.2006.04.003
http://academic.oup.com/icesjms/article-pdf/63/7/1286/29125204/63-7-1286.pdf
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Summary:Abstract The Connecticut River lost its Atlantic salmon population as a result of human activity 200 years ago. Cultured stocks, derived mainly from the Penobscot River, were employed to restore the population, and an annual run of salmon has been successfully re-established, although the population is not yet self-sustaining. We examined variation at microsatellite loci in historical scale and modern tissue samples to evaluate the degree and direction of any genetic changes that have occurred in the introduced population. The current genetic pattern of the Connecticut River population is very similar to that of its Penobscot River donor population. We found no differences in heterozygosity, mean number of alleles per locus, number of migrants, or FST values between the two populations, suggesting that no genetic bottlenecks had occurred during the restoration programme.

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