Sperm motility and offspring pre-and posthatching survival in hybridization crosses among a landlocked and two anadromous atlantic salmon populations: Implications for conservation

Abstract

The landlocked salmon (Salmo salar m. sebago) endemic to Lake Saimaa, Finland, is critically endangered and severely threatened by low genetic diversity and inbreeding. To explore the possibility of increasing the genetic diversity of threatened salmon populations by controlled hybridization (genetic rescue), we studied sperm motility and offspring pre- and posthatching survival in hybridization crosses of landlocked salmon with two geographically close anadromous salmon populations (Rivers Neva and Tornio) relative to the pure-bred populations. While some degree of gametic incompatibility between landlocked and Tornio salmon cannot be ruled out, there were no indications of outbreeding depression in survival traits in these first-generation hybridizations. Instead, prehatching survival of landlocked salmon eggs fertilized with Neva salmon sperm and posthatching survival of anadromous salmon eggs fertilized with landlocked salmon sperm were higher than survival in pure-bred landlocked salmon. These differences might imply genetic rescue effects (hybrid vigor), although there were also strong maternal effects involved. Our results on early viability point to the possibility of applying genetic rescue to the landlocked salmon population by hybridization with an anadromous population.