Title: Inadvertent Hatchery Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss Discovered in Native Westslope Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi Habitat: A Cautionary Tale

Journal Article · · Fisheries
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/fsh.10985 · OSTI ID:1998799
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Abstract Fish hatcheries across North America release billions of fish into the wild every year to augment harvest opportunities in sport, commercial, and tribal fisheries, as well as to recover depressed populations. Despite these benefits, wild fish populations may be negatively affected when hatchery fish compete and/or hybridize with native species. Native Westslope Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi have decreased by 90% across their historic range; however, the Flathead River in Montana is a rangewide stronghold for these imperiled fish. The primary threat to Westslope Cutthroat Trout is hybridization with invasive Rainbow Trout O. mykiss, which leads to hybrid swarm formation and genomic extinction. We collected Rainbow Trout in Mill Creek, a tributary of the Flathead River, downstream from a hatchery that produces the species, and used otolith 87Sr/86Sr to determine whether individual fish were inadvertently introduced from the hatchery. Differences in 87Sr/86Sr among water samples from Mill Creek and the marine-derived hatchery food provided high-classification accuracy to determine the natal origins of Mill Creek Rainbow Trout. We found that 83 of the 106 Rainbow Trout collected (78%) were of hatchery origin. Otolith microstructure analysis indicated these fish had been in Mill Creek for ~1–32 weeks prior to capture. Our results illustrate the utility of otolith 87Sr/86Sr to identify hatchery fish in natural habitats and point to a source of invasive Rainbow Trout that pose conservation risks to native fishes in the drainage.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
Bonneville Power Administration (BPA); USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1998799
Report Number(s):
PNNL-ACT-SA--10716
Journal Information:
Fisheries, Journal Name: Fisheries Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 48; ISSN 0363-2415
Publisher:
Oxford University PressCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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