Genetic evidence of farmed straying and introgression in Swedish wild salmon populations (original) (raw)
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ICES Journal of Marine Science
Marine aquaculture of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) is a relatively new industry where breeding programs have led to rapid genetic change in the captive populations that were built up alongside conspecific wild individuals. Throughout its 50-years history, marine aquaculture of Atlantic salmon has been associated with escapes, and studies have shown that escapees may enter rivers, spawn successfully, and this may lead to farmed-to-wild genetic introgression and maladaptation in wild populations. Yet, an open question is what factors can best explain the variability in the proportion of farmed escapees in wild populations, and when present, which additional factors lead to introgression. Here, we combine two large-scale data sets from monitoring escaped farmed salmon and introgression in Norwegian rivers between 2006 and 2018 to model how anthropogenic, environmental, and population factors influence proportion of escapees and level of introgression. We found that increasing farming ...
PLoS ONE, 2012
Each year, hundreds of thousands of domesticated farmed Atlantic salmon escape into the wild. In Norway, which is the world's largest commercial producer, many native Atlantic salmon populations have experienced large numbers of escapees on the spawning grounds for the past 15-30 years. In order to study the potential genetic impact, we conducted a spatiotemporal analysis of 3049 fish from 21 populations throughout Norway, sampled in the period 1970-2010. Based upon the analysis of 22 microsatellites, individual admixture, F ST and increased allelic richness revealed temporal genetic changes in six of the populations. These changes were highly significant in four of them. For example, 76% and 100% of the fish comprising the contemporary samples for the rivers Vosso and Opo were excluded from their respective historical samples at P = 0.001. Based upon several genetic parameters, including simulations, genetic drift was excluded as the primary cause of the observed genetic changes. In the remaining 15 populations, some of which had also been exposed to high numbers of escapees, clear genetic changes were not detected. Significant population genetic structuring was observed among the 21 populations in the historical (global F ST = 0.038) and contemporary data sets (global F ST = 0.030), although significantly reduced with time (P = 0.008). This reduction was especially distinct when looking at the six populations displaying temporal changes (global F ST dropped from 0.058 to 0.039, P = 0.006). We draw two main conclusions: 1. The majority of the historical population genetic structure throughout Norway still appears to be retained, suggesting a low to modest overall success of farmed escapees in the wild; 2. Genetic introgression of farmed escapees in native salmon populations has been strongly population-dependent, and it appears to be linked with the density of the native population.
Aquaculture Environment Interactions, 2015
Farmed escapees may threaten the genetic integrity of native salmon populations through interbreeding. However, introgression requires survival until maturation, successful reproduction and successful early development. These traits are often compromised in domesticated animals selected for high performance in captivity. This makes it difficult to predict introgression levels in native populations. A recent study estimated genetic introgression of farmed escaped Atlantic salmon Salmo salar in 20 Norwegian rivers and found highly population-specific levels of introgression. The underlying causes of these patterns, however, remain unknown. Here, using a modeling approach on empirical and demographic data, we demonstrated that a combination of the observed relative frequency of escaped farmed salmon and the average annual angling catch weights for rivers, provides a significantly better predictor for cumulative introgression of farmed salmon in wild populations than the frequency of farmed salmon alone. Our results suggest that the demography of the native population is a significant factor influencing the relative success of farmed salmon in the wild.
BMC Genetics, 2013
Background: Many native Atlantic salmon populations have been invaded by domesticated escapees for three decades or longer. However, thus far, the cumulative level of gene-flow that has occurred from farmed to wild salmon has not been reported for any native Atlantic salmon population. The aim of the present study was to investigate temporal genetic stability in native populations, and, quantify gene-flow from farmed salmon that caused genetic changes where they were observed. This was achieved by genotyping historical and contemporary samples from 20 populations covering all of Norway with recently identified single nucleotide polymorphism markers that are collectively diagnostic for farmed and wild salmon. These analyses were combined with analysis of farmed salmon and implementation of Approximate Bayesian computation based simulations. Results: Five of the populations displayed statistically significant temporal genetic changes. All five of these populations became more similar to a pool of farmed fish with time, strongly suggesting introgression of farmed fish as the primary cause. The remaining 15 populations displayed weak or non-significant temporal genetic changes. Estimated introgression of farmed fish ranged from 2-47% per population using approximate Bayesian computation. Thus, some populations exhibited high degrees of farmed salmon introgression while others were more or less unaffected. The observed frequency of escapees in each population was moderately correlated with estimated introgression per population R 2 = 0.47 P < 0.001. Genetic isolation by distance existed within the historical and contemporary data sets, however, the among-population level of divergence decreased with time.
2011
Denne rapporten gjennomfører en kritisk gjennomgang av dagens kunnskap om interaksjoner mellom oppdrettslaks og ville laksepopulasjoner med spesifikk relevans for Norge, samt diskuterer dagens kunnskap om effektiv forvaltning av ville bestander av denne arten. Rapporten beskriver i detalj informasjon om akvakulturproduksjon, livssyklus, utbredelse og populasjonsstruktur, genetiske interaksjoner og bevaring av atlantisk laks. Et eget kapittel drøfter hvilke forskningsområder som trenger spesiell oppmerksomhet i tiden fremover.
Conservation Genetics, 2013
Although the tendency of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar to form differentiated populations among rivers and among tributaries within large river systems ([100 km-long) is well documented, much less is known about population structure within small river systems (\30 km-long). In the present study, we investigated the genetic effects of straying of hatchery-reared salmon on population structure and genetic composition within the Ellidaár river system, a small system (21 km total length) in SW Iceland. We analyzed spatial and temporal variation of wild and domesticated samples (farmed and ranched; n = 931) using seven microsatellite loci. Estimates of population differentiation [F ST , genetic tree (D A )] and Bayesian cluster analysis (STRUCTURE) revealed a significant population structure as well as relative long-term temporal stability of the genetic composition in the main river from 1948 to 2005. However, the genetic composition of the tributary populations was unstable and genetically homogenized in recent years. Wild-hatchery hybrids were detected during the influx of strays as well as few years after, suggesting that introgression has changed the genetic composition of the wild populations. More investigations are needed in Iceland and elsewhere on possible fine-scale population differentiation and factors leading to it. Finescale population differentiation as observed in the present study has implications for the resolution with which harvest and habitat management of salmon should be conducted. In addition, farming and ranching operations should be located to minimize potential negative effects of strays on wild fish.
ICES Journal of Marine Science, 2019
Norway is the world’s largest producer of farmed Atlantic salmon and is home to ∼400 rivers containing wild salmon populations. Farmed escapees, a reoccurring challenge of all cage-based marine aquaculture, pose a threat to the genetic integrity, productivity, and evolutionary trajectories of wild populations. Escapees have been monitored in Norwegian rivers since 1989, and, a second-generation programme was established in 2014. The new programme includes data from summer angling, autumn angling, broodstock sampling, and snorkelling surveys in >200 rivers, and >25 000 scale samples are analysed annually. In 2014–2017, escapees were observed in two-thirds of rivers surveyed each year, and between 15 and 30 of the rivers had >10% recorded escapees annually. In the period 1989–2017, a reduction in the proportion of escapees in rivers was observed, despite a >6-fold increase in aquaculture production. This reflected improved escape prevention, and possibly changes in product...
Heredity, 2005
Genetic homogenization has been recognized as a serious threat in an increasing number of species, including many salmonid fishes. We assessed the rate and impact of immigration from the main hatchery stocks of Atlantic salmon in the Gulf of Bothnia into one of the largest wild salmon populations in the Baltic Sea, the River Vindelä lven, within a temporal framework of 18 years (from 1985-2003). We provide genetic evidence based on mtDNA and microsatellite markers, using mixed-stock analysis, that a large proportion (66%) of fin-damaged spawners (n ¼ 181) caught in the Ume/ Vindelä lven during 1997-2003 originated from the hatcheries in the Rivers Å ngermanä lven, Luleä lven and Ljusnan. The maximum-likelihood estimate of immigration rate from these hatcheries into the wild Vindelä lven population was 0.068 (95% CI 0.021-0.128) over the studied time period (1985)(1986)(1987)(1988)(1989)(1990)(1991)(1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003) and reached up to a quarter (m ¼ 0.249, 95% CI 0.106-0.419) of the total population during 1993-2000. This resulted in significant (Po0.01) genetic homogenization trend between the wild Vindelä lven population and hatchery stocks of the Å ngermanä lven and Luleä lven. Our results demonstrate extensive straying from geographically distant hatchery releases into wild salmon population and emphasize the genetic risks associated with current large-scale stocking practices in the Baltic Sea. Heredity (2005) 95, 76-83.
Fish and Fisheries, 2020
Escapes of domesticated fish from aquaculture, followed by interbreeding with wild conspecifics, represent a threat to the genetic integrity and evolutionary trajectory of natural populations. Approximately fifty years of Atlantic salmon production has left an unprecedented legacy of widespread introgression of domesticated escapees in wild Norwegian populations. A major question, however, is whether current aquaculture practice will lead to additional introgression in the near future. As part of the updated Norwegian risk assessment of fish farming, we conducted a risk assessment for further introgression of domesticated escapees in wild populations in Norway. Extensive data of reported numbers of escapees, observed proportions of escapees in rivers, removal of escapees pre-spawning, and the resilience of wild populations through demographic and genetic status informed the risk assessment. The analysis revealed that rivers in 10 of the 13 aquaculture production zones covering Norway display a moderate or high risk of further introgression of domesticated escapees. This comes in addition to widespread introgression that is already documented. We therefore conclude that so long as aquaculture production continues at its present level and form, there is a moderate-to-high risk of further introgression of domesticated salmon in many native populations throughout much of Norway.