Research Document - 2016/031
Molecular techniques for parentage analysis to assess supplementation effectiveness for Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) on the Miramichi River
By Scott A. Pavey
Abstract
The current supplementation program for Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) on the Miramachi River involves capturing mature adults, fertilizing eggs, and raising young in a hatchery before releasing them back into the wild. A pilot study for a different strategy may occur on the Northwest Miramichi, where juveniles are collected, raised to mature adults in a hatchery, and released into the river to naturally spawn. Here I perform a literature review and make recommendations to monitor the effectiveness of this pilot project. The proposed technique is to use genetic markers for parentage analysis, so that both wild and supplemented adults can be compared for their contribution to the next generation. Current high-throughput genotyping techniques of both single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and microsatellites are compared with simulations. While all three techniques performed adequately, the most flexible and promising is genotyping-in-thousands (GT-Seq). Sampling design recommendations are made, such as genetically sampling an equal amount of wild and supplemented individuals.
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