| Summary: | Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2021 In this thesis I investigate potential interactions of hatchery and wild pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) at sea and on the spawning grounds, in the context of the ecological and economic importance of modern Alaskan hatcheries. Although hatchery and wild salmon are known to interact, the nature and outcome of those interactions remain unclear. Here, I identify potential mechanisms of competition and hatchery salmon fitness with two datasets from Prince William Sound, Alaska, home to the largest pink salmon hatchery program in the world. First, I compared fitness-related traits such as body length, return timing, instream lifespan, and egg retention between straying hatchery and homing wild pink salmon to identify potential barriers or bridges to gene flow with over 120,000 individuals sampled over six years (2013-2018). Predicted lengths of hatchery and wild fish depended on the even or odd year lineage, return timing, and sex. Odd year pink salmon were smaller on average than even year pink salmon, odd year hatchery fish were smaller than wild fish, odd year length decreased over the season, and odd year males tended to be larger than females. In even years, hatchery pink salmon were larger on average than wild pink salmon, length increased over the season, and hatchery females were larger on average than any other group. I found no statistically significant differences in instream lifespan (2017: t-test (₂₀.₅₄), P = 0.41; 2018: t-test(₆.₂₆), P = 0.556) or egg retention (x²₍₂₎= 4.5, p = 0.11; 2017 and 2018 combined) between hatchery and wild fish. In contrast, I detected significant differences in stream life of the wild fish between two different sized streams in a manner consistent with observed black bear (Ursus americanus) predation; specifically stream life was shorter in the smaller stream with markedly higher predation. Second, I used stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis to test the hypothesis that hatchery and wild pink salmon have ...
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