Visual and genetic stock identification of a test fishery to forecast Columbia River spring Chinook salmon stocks 2 weeks into the future.

Modern fisheries management strives to balance opposing goals of protection for weak stocks and opportunity for harvesting healthy stocks. Test fisheries can aid management of anadromous fishes if they can forecast the strength and timing of an annual run with adequate time to allow fisheries planning. Integration of genetic stock identification (GSI) can further maximize utility of test fisheries by resolving run forecasts into weak- and healthy-stock subcomponents.

Long-distance migration is a major factor driving local adaptation at continental scale in Coho salmon.

Inferring the genomic basis of local adaptation is a long-standing goal of evolutionary biology. Beyond its fundamental evolutionary implications, such knowledge can guide conservation decisions for populations of conservation and management concern. Here, we investigated the genomic basis of local adaptation in the Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) across its entire North American range.

Endangered predators and endangered prey: Seasonal diet of Southern Resident killer whales.

Understanding diet is critical for conservation of endangered predators. Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW) (Orcinus orca) are an endangered population occurring primarily along the outer coast and inland waters of Washington and British Columbia. Insufficient prey has been identified as a factor limiting their recovery, so a clear understanding of their seasonal diet is a high conservation priority.

Correction: Demographic history shaped geographical patterns of deleterious mutation load in a broadly distributed Pacific Salmon.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.

Demographic history shaped geographical patterns of deleterious mutation load in a broadly distributed Pacific Salmon.

A thorough reconstruction of historical processes is essential for a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms shaping patterns of genetic diversity. Indeed, past and current conditions influencing effective population size have important evolutionary implications for the efficacy of selection, increased accumulation of deleterious mutations, and loss of adaptive potential. Here, we gather extensive genome-wide data that represent the extant diversity of the Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) to address two objectives.

Temporal Dynamics of DNA Methylation Patterns in Response to Rearing Juvenile Steelhead () in a Hatchery versus Simulated Stream Environment.

Genetic selection is often implicated as the underlying cause of heritable phenotypic differences between hatchery and wild populations of steelhead trout () that also differ in lifetime fitness. Developmental plasticity, which can also affect fitness, may be mediated by epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation. Our previous study identified significant differences in DNA methylation between adult hatchery- and natural-origin steelhead from the same population that could not be distinguished by DNA sequence variation.

Increased natural reproduction and genetic diversity one generation after cessation of a steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) conservation hatchery program.

Spatial and temporal fluctuations in productivity and abundance confound assessments of captive propagation programs aimed at recovery of Threatened and Endangered populations. We conducted a 17 year before-after-control-impact experiment to determine the effects of a captive rearing program for anadromous steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) on a key indicator of natural spawner abundance (naturally produced nests or 'redds'). The supplemented population exhibited a significant (2.

Setting spatial conservation priorities despite incomplete data for characterizing metapopulations.

Management of spatially structured species poses unique challenges. Despite a strong theoretical foundation, practitioners rarely have sufficient empirical data to evaluate how populations interact. Rather, assumptions about connectivity and source-sink dynamics are often based on incomplete, extrapolated, or modeled data, if such interactions are even considered at all.

Gene flow between sympatric life history forms of Oncorhynchus mykiss located above and below migratory barriers.

Oncorhynchus mykiss have a diverse array of life history types, and understanding the relationship among types is important for management of the species. Patterns of gene flow between sympatric freshwater resident O. mykiss, commonly known as rainbow trout, and anadromous O.

Early marine migration patterns of wild coastal cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki clarki), steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), and their hybrids.

Background: Hybridization between coastal cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki clarki) and steelhead or rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) has been documented in several streams along the North American west coast. The two species occupy similar freshwater habitats but the anadromous forms differ greatly in the duration of marine residence and migration patterns at sea. Intermediate morphological, physiological, and performance traits have been reported for hybrids but little information has been published comparing the behavior of hybrids to the pure species.