Does pre-spawning catch and release angling affect offspring telomere dynamics in Atlantic salmon ...

• Main Authors: McLennan, Darryl, Duncan, Eleanor, Papatheodoulou, Magdalene, Metcalfe, Neil
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2023
• Subjects: FOS Biological sciences; Conservation biology; stress; Senescence; Fish; welfare; fishing; Atlantic salmon
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.9s4mw6mn5; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.9s4mw6mn5

The practice of ‘catch and release’ (C&R) angling confers a balance between animal welfare, conservation efforts and preserving the socio-economic interests of recreational angling. However, C&R angling can still cause exhaustion and physical injury, and often exposes the captured fish to the stress of air exposure. Therefore, the true conservation success of C&R angling depends on whether the angled individuals then survive to reproduction and whether there are any persisting effects on subsequent generations. Here we tested the hypothesis that the stress of C&R angling is then passed on to offspring. We experimentally manipulated the C&R experience of wild adult salmon prior to the spawning season. These parental fish either underwent a C&R simulation (which involved exercise with/without air exposure) or were left as control individuals. We then measured the telomere length of the arising offspring (at the larval stage of development) since previous studies have linked a shorter ... : Please refer to methods section of the article "Does pre-spawning catch and release angling affect offspring telomere dynamics in Atlantic salmon" ...