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Effective number of breeders in relation to census size as management tools for Atlantic salmon conservation in a context of stocked populations

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Abstract

Monitoring short-term fluctuations in effective population sizes (N e) and effective number of breeders (N b), as well as their ratio to adult census population size (N e/N c and N b/N c), provide insight into population demography and inform conservation programs towards limiting long-term loss of evolutionary potential in wild populations. In this study, we monitored short-term variations of N b and N b/N c over three consecutive years for nine Atlantic salmon populations from Quebec, Canada. We documented how these population genetic parameters were influenced by anadromous population size as well as yearly and long-term stocking intensity. Towards this end, 15 microsatellites were used to genotype about 100 one-year-old parrs for each of three consecutive years for nine genetically distinct populations (total n = 2506) from Québec, Canada. Yearly stocking intensity had a negative effect on N b/N c, possibly as a consequence of a reduced reproductive contribution of stocked relative to wild fish. However, the impact of long-term stocking intensity on N b/N c was not significant, which may indicate relatively weak carry-over effects of stocking on future generations. Also, N b/N c was negatively correlated with N C, suggesting compensatory mechanisms, as previously reported in other salmonids. Overall, this study provides evidence of relatively weak and short-term effect of stocking on N b/N c ratio in Atlantic salmon populations and suggests potential biological mechanisms leading to the significant negative relationship between N b/N c and N c.

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Acknowledgments

We thank all the biologists and technicians of the Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs du Québec (MFFP) for their implication in the project and their field assistance. We are grateful to E. Normandeau for his help while analysing the data, to A.-L. Ferchaud for N b discussions, and to B. Sutherland for editing the language of the manuscript. We also thank Associate Editor C. Garza and two anonymous referees for their very constructive input. This project was funded by the Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs du Québec (MFFP). C. Perrier was funded by a postdoctorate fellowship from Ressources Aquatiques Québec and from the Chaire de Recherche du Canada en Génomique et Conservation des Ressources Aquatiques held by LB.

Authors’ contributions

Conceived the study: M.D. and L.B. supervised sampling: M.D. Performed lab analyses: G.C. Performed statistical analyses: C.P. Wrote the paper: C.P. Contributed to the paper improvement: J.A., M.D., L.B.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département de Biologie, Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS), Université Laval, Quebec, G1V 0A6, Canada

    Charles Perrier, Guillaume Cote & Louis Bernatchez

  2. Direction de la faune aquatique, Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs du Québec, 880 chemin Ste-Foy, Quebec, G1S 4X4, Canada

    Julien April & Mélanie Dionne

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  1. Charles Perrier
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  2. Julien April
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  3. Guillaume Cote
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Correspondence to Charles Perrier.

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Perrier, C., April, J., Cote, G. et al. Effective number of breeders in relation to census size as management tools for Atlantic salmon conservation in a context of stocked populations. Conserv Genet 17, 31–44 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-015-0758-5

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