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Individual differences in dominance-related traits drive dispersal and settlement in hatchery-reared juvenile brown trout.

ABSTRACT: Effective management of exploited populations is based on an understanding of population dynamics and evolutionary processes. In spatially structured populations, dispersal is a central process that ultimately can affect population growth and viability. It can be influenced by environmental conditions, individual phenotypes, and stochastic factors. However, we have a limited knowledge of the relative contribution of these components and its interactions, and which traits can be used as reliable predictors of the dispersal ability. Here, we conducted a longitudinal field experiment aimed to identify traits which can be used as proxy for dispersal in juvenile brown trout (Salmo trutta L.). We measured body size and standard metabolic rates, and estimated body shapes for 212 hatchery-reared juvenile fish that were marked with individual codes and released in a small coastal stream in northwest Spain. We registered fish positions and distances to the releasing point after 19, 41, 60 and 158 days in the stream. We detected a high autocorrelation of dispersal distances, demonstrating that most individuals settle down relatively soon and then hold stable positions over the study period. Body size and fish shape were reliable predictors of dispersal, with bigger and more robust-set individuals being more likely to settle closer to the release site than smaller and more elongated fish. In addition, the analysis of spacing and spatial patterns indicated that the dispersal of introduced fish could affect the distribution of resident conspecifics. All together, these results suggest that stocking programs aimed to the enhancement of overexploited populations at fine spatial scales can be optimized by adjusting the size and shape of the introduced fish to specific management targets and environmental conditions.

SUBMITTER: Sanchez-Gonzalez JR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8012712 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:To study effects from natural selection acting on brown trout in a natural stream habitat compared with a hatchery environment, 3,781 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers were analyzed in three closely related groups of brown trout (Salmo trutta L.). Autumn (W/0+, n = 48) and consecutive spring (W/1+, n = 47) samples of brown trout individuals belonging to the same cohort and stream were retrieved using electrofishing. A third group (H/1+, n = 48) comprised hatchery-reared individuals, bred from a mixture of wild parents of the strain of the two former groups and from a neighboring stream. Pairwise analysis of FST outliers and analysis under a hierarchical model by means of ARLEQUIN software detected 421 (10.8%) candidates of selection, before multitest correction. BAYESCAN software detected 10 candidate loci, all of which were included among the ARLEQUIN candidate loci. Body length was significantly different across genotypes at 10 candidate loci in the W/0+, at 34 candidate loci in the W/1+ and at 21 candidate loci in the H/1+ group. The W/1+ sample was tested for genotype-specific body length at all loci, and significant differences were found in 10.6% of all loci, and of these, 14.2% had higher frequency of the largest genotype in the W/1+ sample than in W/0+. The corresponding proportion among the candidate loci of W/1+ was 22.7% with genotype-specific body length, and 88.2% of these had increased frequency of the largest genotype from W/0+ to W/1+, indicating a linkage between these loci and traits affecting growth and survival under this stream's environmental conditions. Bayesian structuring of all loci, and of the noncandidate loci suggested two (K = 2), alternatively four clusters (K = 4). This differed from the candidate SNPs, which suggested only two clusters. In both cases, the hatchery fish dominated one cluster, and body length of W/1+ fish was positively correlated with membership of one cluster both from the K = 2 and the K = 4 structure. Our analysis demonstrates profound genetic differentiation that can be linked to differential selection on a fitness-related trait (individual growth) in brown trout living under natural vs. hatchery conditions. Candidate SNP loci linked to genes affecting individual growth were identified and provide important inputs into future mapping of the genetic basis of brown trout body size selection.

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Individual differences in dominance-related traits drive dispersal and settlement in hatchery-reared juvenile brown trout.

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