Who's sleeping with whom?
DNA investigation sheds light on Puntledge Summer Chinook Salmon
SUBMITTED / COMOX VALLEY ECHO
MAY 16, 2015 09:04 AM
summer chinook
Summer chinook in the Puntledge Photo by Project Watershed
Scientists are investigating adult Puntledge River summer Chinook migration timing, spawning behavior, and interaction between the natural and hatchery spawners in the river using the same techniques employed on CSI and TV talk shows. This is being done to increase overall productivity of Chinook in the Puntledge River.
In order to find out 'who mated with whom' in the Puntledge River, fish paternity tests are being conducted on mature summer Chinook returning to the Puntledge River Hatchery through a partnership involving the K'omoks First Nation and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).
Puntledge Summer Chinook faced near extinction in the early 1990s. Darcy Miller, the Manager at the Puntledge River Hatchery, credits an intensive DFO hatchery program for rebuilding the population which is now stable at approximately 1000 adults. This has mainly been successful through the hatchery staff's effort to get more of the earliest returning summer Chinook back to the river. However, this is only a third of DFO's target escapement for the watershed. A key problem is that this population migrates into the Puntledge River between May and mid-August, when river temperatures later in the summer can increase to over 20oC. This is very stressful for salmon and can lead to mortalities. Esther Guimond, a consultant who coordinated four years of radio-telemetry tracking of these Chinook, found that "adults that migrate before July are successful in reaching Comox Lake. These fish can descend deep in the lake where it is much cooler. Adults that reach and hold in the lake are less stressed and therefore achieve twice the spawning survival as fish holding in the river all summer."
The migration timing of some salmon populations has been linked to genetic control. An investigation is underway to see if this is true for Puntledge summer Chinook.
Hatchery staff can potentially rebuild the early component of the migration period by collecting and spawning a higher proportion of early migrating fish and thereby increase the survival and productivity of this population.
To determine if this strategy works, staff are recording the genetic identity (genotyping) of all male and female parents by taking a tissue sample and analyzing the DNA of all adults spawned at the hatchery. Other information being recorded for each fish sampled includes size, age, arrival at the hatchery (migration timing), and disease profile of each fish. In addition, adults that are captured at the hatchery and returned to the river to spawn naturally are also DNA sampled.
Once the parents are genotyped, all of their offspring can be linked back to their parents by analyzing their DNA. The genetic technology used in this study is known as 'parentage-based tagging' and is currently being perfected for Chinook at DFO's Molecular Genetics Lab at the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo.
The progeny from the hatchery, and those from the natural environment, migrate to the ocean and rear for 1 to 4 years. When they mature and return to the Puntledge River, the adults will be captured and information will be collected from their DNA. This information will be cross referenced back to the parents and then analyzed to determine how migration timing and the other measured traits are inherited.
Miller expects that the results of this DNA study will help DFO develop additional hatchery strategies to maximize survival and abundance of Puntledge River summer-run Chinook.
This population represents a significant cultural food fish for K'omoks First Nation and has significant value for the Georgia Basin recreational and commercial fisheries.
This investigation is being funded by BC Hydro's Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program (FWCP) and the study partners are thankful for their generous support. Since 1999, this program has been used to offset the impacts resulting from construction of BC Hydro dams by annually providing grants which support recovery efforts for fish and wildlife. The FWCP is sponsored through a partnership among BC Hydro, the Province, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, First Nations and public stakeholders.
- See more at: http://www.comoxvalleyecho.com/news...ping-with-whom-1.1937996#sthash.yHadhnRe.dpuf
DNA investigation sheds light on Puntledge Summer Chinook Salmon
SUBMITTED / COMOX VALLEY ECHO
MAY 16, 2015 09:04 AM
summer chinook
Summer chinook in the Puntledge Photo by Project Watershed
Scientists are investigating adult Puntledge River summer Chinook migration timing, spawning behavior, and interaction between the natural and hatchery spawners in the river using the same techniques employed on CSI and TV talk shows. This is being done to increase overall productivity of Chinook in the Puntledge River.
In order to find out 'who mated with whom' in the Puntledge River, fish paternity tests are being conducted on mature summer Chinook returning to the Puntledge River Hatchery through a partnership involving the K'omoks First Nation and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).
Puntledge Summer Chinook faced near extinction in the early 1990s. Darcy Miller, the Manager at the Puntledge River Hatchery, credits an intensive DFO hatchery program for rebuilding the population which is now stable at approximately 1000 adults. This has mainly been successful through the hatchery staff's effort to get more of the earliest returning summer Chinook back to the river. However, this is only a third of DFO's target escapement for the watershed. A key problem is that this population migrates into the Puntledge River between May and mid-August, when river temperatures later in the summer can increase to over 20oC. This is very stressful for salmon and can lead to mortalities. Esther Guimond, a consultant who coordinated four years of radio-telemetry tracking of these Chinook, found that "adults that migrate before July are successful in reaching Comox Lake. These fish can descend deep in the lake where it is much cooler. Adults that reach and hold in the lake are less stressed and therefore achieve twice the spawning survival as fish holding in the river all summer."
The migration timing of some salmon populations has been linked to genetic control. An investigation is underway to see if this is true for Puntledge summer Chinook.
Hatchery staff can potentially rebuild the early component of the migration period by collecting and spawning a higher proportion of early migrating fish and thereby increase the survival and productivity of this population.
To determine if this strategy works, staff are recording the genetic identity (genotyping) of all male and female parents by taking a tissue sample and analyzing the DNA of all adults spawned at the hatchery. Other information being recorded for each fish sampled includes size, age, arrival at the hatchery (migration timing), and disease profile of each fish. In addition, adults that are captured at the hatchery and returned to the river to spawn naturally are also DNA sampled.
Once the parents are genotyped, all of their offspring can be linked back to their parents by analyzing their DNA. The genetic technology used in this study is known as 'parentage-based tagging' and is currently being perfected for Chinook at DFO's Molecular Genetics Lab at the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo.
The progeny from the hatchery, and those from the natural environment, migrate to the ocean and rear for 1 to 4 years. When they mature and return to the Puntledge River, the adults will be captured and information will be collected from their DNA. This information will be cross referenced back to the parents and then analyzed to determine how migration timing and the other measured traits are inherited.
Miller expects that the results of this DNA study will help DFO develop additional hatchery strategies to maximize survival and abundance of Puntledge River summer-run Chinook.
This population represents a significant cultural food fish for K'omoks First Nation and has significant value for the Georgia Basin recreational and commercial fisheries.
This investigation is being funded by BC Hydro's Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program (FWCP) and the study partners are thankful for their generous support. Since 1999, this program has been used to offset the impacts resulting from construction of BC Hydro dams by annually providing grants which support recovery efforts for fish and wildlife. The FWCP is sponsored through a partnership among BC Hydro, the Province, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, First Nations and public stakeholders.
- See more at: http://www.comoxvalleyecho.com/news...ping-with-whom-1.1937996#sthash.yHadhnRe.dpuf
