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Use of egg size differences in anadromous (sockeye salmon) and non-anadromous (kokanee) forms of Oncorhynchus nerka to infer ancestral origins of a landlocked population

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Ecological Research

Abstract

Life history traits reflect interactions between evolutionary lineage and environmental conditions. Translocations of populations to new environments, and changes in their natal environment, provide insights into the factors controlling life history. For example, the trade-off between egg size and egg number is a well-studied adaptation in fishes, and especially salmon and trout. We used existing and new data on this tradeoff in anadromous sockeye salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka, and the non-anadromous form of the species (kokanee), to investigate the likely origin of a population of uncertain ancestry, land-locked for a century above an impassable dam. Native kokanee have smaller eggs than do the larger-bodied anadromous sockeye salmon. However, the land-locked population in Lake Sutherland, in the Elwha River system, Washington, USA had much larger eggs for their body size than any other kokanee population, similar only to the land-locked descendants of anadromous sockeye salmon in New Zealand. After evaluating and rejecting a series of competing explanations for the unusually large eggs, we infer that the population was mostly likely of anadromous origin, retaining the ancestral tendency to produce large eggs, despite the sacrifice in fecundity that is necessitated by the limited female energy resources. This study revealed the utility of life history traits for studying the ancestral origins of a population for which molecular genetic tools were not informative. Worldwide, many populations have been transplanted or exposed to new conditions, affording similar opportunities to investigate phenotypic plasticity and evolutionary adaptations.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Marcia House (Northwest Indian Fish Commission) and Michael McHenry (Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe) for providing us with access to fish caught in Lake Sutherland, Daniel Hasselman, Jon Wittouck, Emily Thornton, Daniel Lantz, and Jim Lissa for help processing the samples, Nicola Follis for measuring photographed fish, and Darin Combs, John Kugen, and Larry Sisson (Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife) for providing us with access to Lake Sammamish and Lake Whatcom kokanee. We also gratefully acknowledge funding for this study from the Washington Sea Grant program, University of Washington, pursuant to NOAA Award No. NA10OAR4170075, Project R/LME-7, and from the H. Mason Keeler Endowment at the University of Washington, and helpful comments from the reviewers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Box 355020, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA

    Thomas P. Quinn & Morgan H. Bond

  2. King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, 201 S. Jackson St., Seattle, WA, 98104, USA

    Hans B. Berge

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  1. Thomas P. Quinn
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Correspondence to Thomas P. Quinn.

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Quinn, T.P., Bond, M.H. & Berge, H.B. Use of egg size differences in anadromous (sockeye salmon) and non-anadromous (kokanee) forms of Oncorhynchus nerka to infer ancestral origins of a landlocked population. Ecol Res 30, 547–554 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-015-1255-5

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