Time spent in distinct life-history stages has sex-specific effects on reproductive fitness in wild Atlantic salmon

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dc.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Helsinki-Primmer, Craig
dc.contributor.authorPrimmer, Craig
dc.date.accessioned2025-04-29T14:01:31Z
dc.date.issued2020-02-26
dc.date.issued2020-02-26
dc.descriptionIn species with complex life cycles, life history theory predicts that fitness is affected by conditions encountered in previous life history stages. Here, we use a four-year pedigree to investigate if time spent in two distinct life history stages has sex-specific reproductive fitness consequences in anadromous Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). We determined the amount of years spent in fresh water as juveniles (freshwater age, FW, measured in years), and years spent in the marine environment as adults (sea age, SW, measured in sea winters) on 264 sexually mature adults collected on a river spawning ground. We then estimated reproductive fitness as the number of offspring (reproductive success) and the number of mates (mating success) using genetic parentage analysis (>5000 offspring). Sea age is significantly and positively correlated with reproductive and mating success of both sexes whereby older and larger individuals gained the highest reproductive fitness benefits (females: 62.2% increase in offspring/SW and 34.8% increase in mate number/SW; males: 201.9% offspring/SW and 60.3% mates/SW). Younger freshwater age was significantly related to older sea age and thus increased reproductive fitness, but only among females (females: -33.9% offspring/FW and -32.4% mates/FW). This result implies that females can obtain higher reproductive fitness by transitioning to the marine environment earlier. In contrast, male mating and reproductive success was unaffected by freshwater age and more males returned at a younger age than females despite the reproductive fitness advantage of later sea age maturation. Our results show that the timing of transitions between juvenile and adult phases has a sex-specific consequence on female reproductive fitness, demonstrating a life-history trade-off between maturation and reproduction in wild Atlantic salmon.
dc.identifierhttps://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.4b8gtht8j
dc.identifier.urihttps://datakatalogi.helsinki.fi/handle/123456789/4987
dc.rights.licensecc-zero
dc.subjectparentage analysis
dc.subjectSalmo salar
dc.subjectseaage at maturity
dc.subjectAtlantlantic salmon
dc.subjectreproductive fitness
dc.subjectgenotype
dc.subjectmaturation
dc.subjectHolocene
dc.subjectreproductive success
dc.subjectFitness trade-off
dc.subjectlife-history
dc.subjectreproductive success
dc.titleTime spent in distinct life-history stages has sex-specific effects on reproductive fitness in wild Atlantic salmon
dc.typedataset

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