A genetic analysis of egg, alevin and fry mortality in salmon ( Salmo salar), sea trout ( Salmo trutta) and rainbow trout ( Salmo gairdneri)

Abstract

Heritability of mortality in eggs, alevins and fry were estimated using data from salmon, sea trout and rainbow trout. The highest value (average for all species and both estimation methods) based on the sire component was obtained for the eyed egg stage, h 2 = 0.08, followed by the alevin stage, h 2 = 0.05, while estimates for fry mortality did not differ significantly from zero. The maternal effect was rather large for uneyed eggs and eyed eggs, while it was low for alevin mortality. Maternal effects were also found to have a significant influence on the mortality of salmon fry. It was, however, not possible to separate maternal effects from tank effects.