Egg incubation temperature affects the timing of the Atlantic salmon Salmo salar homing migration

• Published in: Journal of Fish Biology
• Main Authors: Jonsson, Bror, Jonsson, Nina
• Other Authors: Norges Forskningsråd
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2018
• Subjects: Atlantic salmon; North Atlantic; Salmo salar
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jfb.13817; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fjfb.13817; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jfb.13817; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/jfb.13817

Here, we show that adult Atlantic salmon Salmo salar returned about 2 weeks later from the feeding areas in the North Atlantic Ocean to the Norwegian coast, through a phenotypically plastic mechanism, when they developed as embryos in c. 3°C warmer water than the regular incubation temperature. This finding has relevance to changes in migration timing caused by climate change and for cultivation and release of S. salar .