Phenotypic Differentiation in Seasonal Ecotypes of Chum Salmon, Oncorhynchus keta

Abstract

We compared the reproductive environments and phenotypes of early and late season breeding stocks of chum salmon, Oncorhynchus keta, to test the hypothesis that seasonal separation has resulted in phenotypically distinct forms. These were autumn- and winter-spawning populations from Bush Creek (Vancouver Island, B.C.) and a winter-spawning stock from nearby Walker Creek. All stocks had a similar time of downstream migration of the fry. No differences were found among the Walker Creek and the autumn-spawning stock of Bush Creek in age at maturity, length composition of spawners, egg size, vertebral counts of adults and fry, and time of fry migration. The winter-spawning stock of Bush Creek differed from the other stocks in egg size and vertebral counts. Discriminant analysis of 10 morphological features of the fry revealed considerable overlap in body form among the stocks. These results do not support the hypothesis that distinct life history morphs are associated with the season of reproduction. We propose that the large amount of similarity in terms of morphology and seasonality among the populations may be the product of selection. Genetic divergence may have occurred to compensate for the environmental differences experienced during embryonic development.