Do rainbow trout and Atlantic salmon discriminate kin?

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Zoology
• Main Authors: Brown, Grant E., Brown, Joseph A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: NRC Research Press 1992
• Subjects: Arctic; Arctic charr; Atlantic salmon; Salmo salar; Salvelinus alpinus
• Online Access: https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/id/eprint/6735/; https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/id/eprint/6735/1/Brown_CanadianJournalZoology_1992.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1139/z92-227

The purpose of this study was to determine if juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) can discriminate kin from non-kin, since other salmonid species (coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus)) have been shown to possess this ability. When tested in water conditioned by conspecifics (kin and non-kin) and heterospecifics in a two-choice tank, both rainbow trout and Atlantic salmon demonstrated a significant preference for kin over non-kin and heterospecifics, indicating that these species possess kin-discrimination abilities. This ability appears to be widespread among salmonid fishes.