Origin of Juvenile Chum Salmon from Gulf of Alaska Coastal Waters, 2000 and 2001 Determined from Genetic Variation and Hatchery Thermal Marks

摘要

Summer surveys (July- August) of juvenile salmon ecology along the continental shelf of the Gulf of Alaska are conducted annually by scientists from the Ocean Carrying Capacity program of the National Marine Fisheries Service's Auke Bay Laboratory. These surveys are an effort to link changes in salmon production to biological and physical factors in the ocean environment. An improved understanding of salmon distribution is one objective of this research. We identified the origin of juvenile chum salmon collected in transects from around the Gulf of Alaska in 2000 and 2001, using the presence of thermal marks in hatchery fish and the divergence of genetic characteristics among regional groups of populations.