Summary: | Popular articles about the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) usually state that ‘the Atlantic salmon is an anadromous species’, e.g. publications by the Atlantic Salmon Federation (North America), Atlantic Salmon Trust (UK), and WWF (World Wildlife Fund), and the life history is depicted as migration of juveniles from fresh water to the marine environment, with a return to where the fish were born as spawning adults. These publications and illustrations are well done and very informative, and sufficient for the messages the organisations wish to communicate. Nevertheless, as well as performing marvelous migrations, Atlantic salmon also show a wonderful range of life history tactics, and may be considered as a polytypic species.
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