We report delayed effects on the growth and marine survival of pink salmon Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, which were exposed to oil as embryos under conditions similar to those observed after the 'Exxon Valdez' oil spill. Pink salmon eggs were incubated in water that became contaminated with polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) after percolating through gravel coated with weathered oil. Weathering ensured that the PAH composition of the water was dominated by alkyl-substituted naphthalenes and larger compounds. Most survivors of the exposures appeared healthy, and were released to the marine environment with coded-wire tags. Their survival was evaluated when they returned at maturity 2 yr later. Other survivors, also healthy in appearance, were retained in net pens to measure delayed effects on growth during the early juvenile stage. Pink salmon exposed to an initial concentration of total PAH equal to 5.4 ppb experienced a 15% decrease in marine survival compared to unexposed salmon. A delayed effect on growth was measured in juvenile salmon that survived embryonic exposure to doses as low as 18 ppb PAH. Reductions in juvenile growth could account for the reduced marine survival observed in the released fish. The demonstration of delayed effects on growth and survival support claims of delayed effects in pink salmon after the 'Exxon Valdez' oil spill, and indicate the potential for population-level effects resulting from embryonic exposure to oil. KEY WORDS: Exxon Valdez · PAH · Pink salmon · Toxicity testing · Oil pollution · Delayed effectsResale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher

Although migration plays a critical role in the evolution and diversification of species, relatively little is known of the genetic architecture underlying this life history in any species. Rainbow and steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) naturally segregate for both resident and migratory life-history types, respectively, as do other members of the salmonid family of fishes. Using an experimental cross derived from wild resident rainbow and wild migratory steelhead trout from Southeast Alaska and high throughput restriction-site associated DNA (RAD) tag sequencing, we perform a quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis to identify the number, position, and relative contribution of genetic effects on a suite of 27 physiological and morphological traits associated with the migratory life history in this species. In total, 37 QTL are localized to 19 unique QTL positions, explaining 4–13.63% of the variation for 19 of the 27 migration-related traits measured. Two chromosomal positions, one on chromosome Omy12 and the other on Omy14 each harbor 7 QTL for migration-related traits, suggesting that these regions could harbor master genetic controls for the migratory life-history tactic in this species. Another QTL region on Omy5 has been implicated in several studies of adaptive life histories within this species and could represent another important locus underlying the migratory life history. We also evaluate whether loci identified in this out-crossed QTL study colocalize to genomic positions previously identified for associations with migration-related traits in a doubled haploid mapping family.

Heritabilities of growth, precocious maturation and smolting were measured in 75 families of juvenile steelhead or rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss, progeny of within and between line matings (crosses) of wild, anadromous steelhead and wild, resident (lake) rainbow trout originally derived from the same anadromous stock 70 years earlier. The tagged yearling progeny were combined by line in common freshwater rearing containers and graded into three categories: mature, smolt or rearing (undifferentiated) at age 2 years. Heritabilities of precocious male maturity, smolting and growth were moderate to high, and the genetic correlation between growth and smolting was low. Smolting and precocious male maturity were highly variable among families within lines and significantly different between lines. Each of the four lines produced significant numbers of smolts at age two. Smolting and maturation were negatively genetically correlated, which may explain the persistence of smolting in the lake population despite strong selection against lake smolts; balancing selection on male maturation age may help to maintain variation for smolting. The high heritability of smolting, coupled with the inability of smolts that leave the lake to return to it indicates that the genetic potential for smolting can lie dormant or be maintained through a dynamic interaction between smolting and early maturation for decades despite complete selection against the phenotype. The results have significant implications for the preservation of threatened anadromous stocks in fresh water and the inclusion of resident fish of formerly anadromous populations, currently trapped behind long-standing barriers to migration, as one component of the same population. # 2004 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles