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Offspring investment in wild A tlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ): relationships with smolt age and spawning condition
Author(s) -
Burton Tim,
McKelvey Simon,
Stewart Dave C.,
Armstrong John D.,
Metcalfe Neil B.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
ecology of freshwater fish
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.667
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1600-0633
pISSN - 0906-6691
DOI - 10.1111/eff.12019
Subject(s) - salmo , fecundity , biology , juvenile , offspring , fishery , zoology , ecology , fish <actinopterygii> , demography , population , pregnancy , genetics , sociology
We investigated the independent effects of age at smolting and body condition at the time of spawning on egg production by female A tlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ). For a given body size, female salmon that had smolted as juveniles after 2 years in fresh water produced smaller, more numerous eggs than females that smolted 1 year later. Furthermore, fecundity (but not egg size) was related positively to maternal body condition at spawning. Given that age at smolting is closely related to juvenile growth rate; results from this study suggest that conditions experienced by female A tlantic salmon during both early life and adulthood have implications for the size and number of eggs that they produce.