DISPERSION OF ATLANTIC SALMON (SALMO SALAR) FRY FROM
COMPETING FAMILIES AS REVEALED BY DNA PROFILING
J.H. Webb, R.J. Fryer, J.B. Taggart, C.E. Thompson,
and A.F. Youngson-2001
Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 58: 2386-2395
Abstract:
Minisatellite-based DNA profiling was used to
investigate the dispersion of synchronously spawned families of Atlantic
salmon (Salmo salar L.) fry from artificial nests in a natural
stream. By the end of the summer, i.e., 17 weeks after hatching, detected
dispersion was mainly downstream and less than 1 km. Within this distance,
three families that had been stocked together showed different patterns of
dispersion, with the relative abundance of each family changing
systematically with distance downstream from the nest, but with no
monopolization of any area or habitat type by any one family. The length of
fry also changed systematically with distance downstream, with the patterns
of change depending on family. For each family, fry were larger closer to
the nest. Changes in habitat type had a common effect on the density and
length of fry from all the families.