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Swimming performance and morphology of juvenile sockeye salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka: comparison of inlet and outlet fry populations

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Abstract

We raised two populations of sockeye salmon fry from fertilized eggs in the laboratory and tested the hypothesis that outlet fry populations, fish which must migrate upstream to reach rearing lakes after yolk-sac absorption, have better swimming ability and morphological characteristics conducive to enhanced swimming performance than inlet fry populations, fish which migrate downstream to rearing lakes. Despite being of identical age, fry from the outlet population were larger (approx. 6.7% longer, ~5 mm on average) and more laterally compressed than inlet fry at the time of our initial experiments. Using an open-top box flume, we found that the burst-swimming performance (in cm s−1) of the outlet population was 31% better. We found no differences between populations in prolonged-swimming performance. We were unable to find any direct relationships between measures of swimming performance and size or shape variables, suggesting that the larger, more robust morphology of outlet fry was not responsible for the superior burst ability. Recent biochemical studies indicate outlet fry may be metabolically better provisioned for burst swimming than inlet fry. It is possible that the morphological differences between the populations of fry reflect adaptations needed by adults during their migration and spawning.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank David Patterson for collecting the adult salmon and rearing the juveniles used in this experiment. Glenn Crossin kindly provided input on study design. Funding for this study was provided through NSERC Discovery and Strategic Grants to SGH, and NSERC undergraduate and graduate scholarships to LBP. Funding and logistic support was also provided by the Fraser River Environmental Watch Program at Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Applied Conservation Research, Department of Forest Sciences, University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, V6T 1Z4, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Lucas B. Pon, Scott G. Hinch & Andrew G. Lotto

  2. Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Scott G. Hinch

  3. Marine Sciences Research Centre, State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY, 11794, USA

    Glenn N. Wagner

  4. Institute of Environmental Science and Department of Biology, Carleton University, K1S 5B6, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Steven J. Cooke

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  1. Lucas B. Pon
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  2. Scott G. Hinch
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  3. Glenn N. Wagner
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  4. Andrew G. Lotto
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  5. Steven J. Cooke
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Correspondence to Lucas B. Pon.

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Pon, L.B., Hinch, S.G., Wagner, G.N. et al. Swimming performance and morphology of juvenile sockeye salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka: comparison of inlet and outlet fry populations. Environ Biol Fish 78, 257–269 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-006-9094-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-006-9094-4

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