Surface water with more natural temperatures promotes physiological and endocrine changes in landlocked Atlantic salmon smolts

Amy M. Regish; William R. Ardren; Nicholas R Staats; Henry Bouchard; Jonah L. Withers; Theodore R. Castro-Santos; Stephen D. McCormick

doi:10.1139/cjfas-2020-0295

USGS · 70223781

Surface water with more natural temperatures promotes physiological and endocrine changes in landlocked Atlantic salmon smolts

Amy M. Regish·William R. Ardren·Nicholas R Staats·Henry Bouchard·Jonah L. Withers·Theodore R. Castro-Santos·Stephen D. McCormick

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Abstract

Hatchery salmonid smolts are often reared using groundwater with elevated temperatures to maximize growth. Previous work has shown that rearing hatchery smolts in surface water with a more natural thermal regime resulted in increased return rates of adult landlocked Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ). We evaluated whether landlocked Atlantic salmon reared in surface water with a natural temperature regime have altered physiological smolt characteristics compared with fish reared in groundwater with elevated winter temperatures. Hatchery fish were sampled three consecutive years from January to May. Additional fish were released as smolts, recaptured, and compared with fry-stocked smolts. Surface water smolts had earlier peaks of plasma T 4 , lower T 3 levels, later peak cortisol, and lower gill Na + /K + -ATPase activity as compared with groundwater smolts. After release and recapture, surface water fish had elevated plasma T 4 and gill Na + /K + -ATPase activity compared with groundwater fish, but less than stream-reared fish. Elevated plasma T 4 in surface water fish in the hatchery and after release may have promoted imprinting and other aspects of smolt development, contributing to the higher adult return rates of a cohort reared in surface water.

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Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Article

Source-reported bounding extent: 43.70256765579351° to 44.746245565030684° latitude; -73.06062698364258° to -71.87255859375° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

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Amy M. Regish, William R. Ardren, Nicholas R Staats, Henry Bouchard, Jonah L. Withers, Theodore R. Castro-Santos, Stephen D. McCormick. 2021. Surface water with more natural temperatures promotes physiological and endocrine changes in landlocked Atlantic salmon smolts. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2020-0295

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