Impact of stocked Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) on habitat use by the wild population

International audience We investigated the summer habitat occupied by populationsof young-of-the-year wild and stocked (farmed populations released into the native range) Atlantic salmon under allopatric and sympatric conditions. Under allopatric conditions, farmed and wild salmon occupied habitats...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecology of Freshwater Fish
Main Author: Laffaille, Pascal
Other Authors: Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (LEFE), Institut Ecologie et Environnement (INEE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: HAL CCSD 2011
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Online Access:https://hal.science/hal-03469343
https://hal.science/hal-03469343/document
https://hal.science/hal-03469343/file/Laffaille_6226.pdf
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0633.2010.00459.x
Description
Summary:International audience We investigated the summer habitat occupied by populationsof young-of-the-year wild and stocked (farmed populations released into the native range) Atlantic salmon under allopatric and sympatric conditions. Under allopatric conditions, farmed and wild salmon occupied habitats with the same characteristics. The salmon preferentially occupied the riffle areas. However, under sympatric conditions, the fish occupied meso- and micro-habitats with different characteristics. Wild salmon avoided habitats used by farmed salmon and preferred glide areas with considerable vegetation cover. This study suggests that differences in the pattern of habitats used by young Atlantic salmon were both size- and origin-dependent and may result from intra-species competition between farmed and wild populations. Given that stocking with farmed Atlantic salmon is carried out intensively to enhance recreational angling or to conserve salmon populations, this study warns that this can have a negative impact on the extant wild Atlantic salmon population.