Persistence of a southern Atlantic salmon population: diversity of natal origins from otolith elemental and Sr isotopic signatures

We investigated the use of Sr:Ca, Ba:Ca, and [sup.87]Sr: [sup.86]Sr ratios as natural tags for determining the natal origins of juvenile and adult Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) from 12 tributaries in the Adour basin (southwestern France) and estimated homing on a tributary scale. Geochemical signatu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian journal of fisheries and aquatic sciences 2013-02, Vol.70 (2), p.182-197
Main Authors: MARTIN, Jean, BAREILLE, Gilles, DONARD, Olivier, BERAIL, Sylvain, PECHEYRAN, Christophe, GUERAUD, François, LANGE, Frédéric, DAVERAT, Françoise, BRU, Noëlle, BEALL, Eddy, BARRACOU, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal populations
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied ecology
Aquatic sciences
Atlantic salmon
Biodiversity
Biological and medical sciences
Exploitation and management of natural biological resources (hunting, fishing and exploited populations survey, etc.)
Fish hatcheries
Fish populations
Freshwater
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Geochemistry
Home range
Identification and classification
Isotopes
Mathematics
Probability
Rivers
Salmo salar
Salmon
Spawning
Streams
Tributaries
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Summary:We investigated the use of Sr:Ca, Ba:Ca, and [sup.87]Sr: [sup.86]Sr ratios as natural tags for determining the natal origins of juvenile and adult Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) from 12 tributaries in the Adour basin (southwestern France) and estimated homing on a tributary scale. Geochemical signatures from core regions of the otolith were also used to identify fish from hatchery or naturally spawned sources. Quadratic discriminant function analysis (QDFA) was on average 80% successful at classifying juveniles according to their natal rivers. Adults of unknown natal origin were assigned to their natal rivers using the juvenile fingerprints from QDFA approach. Only 18 adults originated from streams not included in the juvenile database. Although most of the adults showed a marked homing instinct, homing was not perfect, and some wild fish strayed into non-natal spawning areas. Returns of hatchery-reared fish as adult spawners represented 10% of the total sampled fish. Allocation of fish to natal tributaries or hatcheries illustrated the abundance and relative contributions of natal sources, important for the recovery of Atlantic salmon in this area.
ISSN:0706-652X
1205-7533
DOI:10.1139/cjfas-2012-0284