Mature male parr contribution to the effective size of an anadromous <scp>A</scp>tlantic salmon ( <scp>S</scp>almo salar ) population over 30 years
Abstract We describe temporal changes in the genetic composition of a small anadromous A tlantic salmon ( S almo salar ) population from South Newfoundland, an area where salmon populations are considered threatened ( COSEWIC 2010). We examined the genetic variability (13 microsatellite loci) in 869...
Published in: | Molecular Ecology |
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Main Authors: | , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Wiley
2013
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mec.12186 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fmec.12186 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/mec.12186 |
Summary: | Abstract We describe temporal changes in the genetic composition of a small anadromous A tlantic salmon ( S almo salar ) population from South Newfoundland, an area where salmon populations are considered threatened ( COSEWIC 2010). We examined the genetic variability (13 microsatellite loci) in 869 out‐migrating smolt and post‐spawning kelt samples, collected from 1985 to 2011 for a total of 22 annual collections and a 30 year span of assigned cohorts. We estimated the annual effective number of breeders ( N b ) and the generational effective population size ( N e ) through genetic methods and demographically using the adult sex ratio. Comparisons between genetic and demographic estimates show that the adult spawners inadequately explain the observed N e estimates, suggesting that mature male parr are significantly increasing N b and N e over the study period. Spawning as parr appears to be a viable and important strategy in the near absence of adult males. |
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