First-generation hatchery and wild spring Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha from the upper Yakima River, Washington, were placed into an artificial stream and allowed to spawn. Seven independent test groups were placed into the stream from 2001 through 2005. No differences were detected in the egg deposition rates of wild and hatchery females. Pedigree assignments based on microsatellite DNA, however, showed that the eggs deposited by wild females survived to the fry stage at a 5.6% higher rate than those spawned by hatchery females. Subtle differences between hatchery and wild females in redd abandonment, egg burial, and redd location choice may have been responsible for the difference observed. Body size did not affect the ability of females to spawn or the survival of their deposited eggs. How long a female lived was positively related to her breeding success, but female origin did not affect longevity. The density of females spawning in portions of the stream affected both egg deposition and egg-to-fry survival. No difference, however, was found in the overall distribution patterns of the two types of females. Other studies that have examined the effects of a single generation of hatchery culture on upper Yakima River Chinook salmon have disclosed similar low-level effects on adult and juvenile traits. The cumulative effect of such differences will need to be considered when hatcheries are used to restore depressed populations of Chinook

We used starch-gel electrophoresis to examine over 13 000 adult chum salmon, Oncorhynchus keta, from 153 collections at 105 locations in Washington, Oregon, and southern British Columbia from 1985–92. We identified 39 variable loci and 36 monomorphic loci. In general, alleles that occurred at a frequency > 10% were found in all locations and were temporally stable within locations. Localized alleles usually occurred at a frequency <6%. Significant allele frequency differences were found among chum salmon populations with different spawning times (summer, fall, and winter), even within the same watershed, and among populations of the same spawning time in different regions. Significant among-population diversity was also found within regions. Multidimensional scaling and UPGMA cluster analysis grouped populations by geography and run-timing, except where past stock transfers have resulted in interbreeding of hatchery and wild fish. These analyses indicate that both geography and spawning time are important isolating mechanisms and that, compared with the other populations, summer-run chum salmon from the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Hood Canal are a distinct evolutionary lineage. This information is currently being used to conserve the genetic diversity of wild chum salmon and manage mixed-stock fisheries.

Recent advances in molecular interrogation techniques now allow unprecedented genomic inference about the role of adaptive genetic divergence in wild populations. We used high-throughput genotyping to screen a genome-wide panel of 276 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for the economically and culturally important salmonid Oncorhynchus mykiss. Samples included 805 individuals from 11 anadromous and resident populations from the northwestern United States and British Columbia, and represented two major lineages including paired populations of each life history within single drainages of each lineage. Overall patterns of variation affirmed clear distinctions between lineages and in most instances, isolation by distance within them. Evidence for divergent selection at eight candidate loci included significant landscape correlations, particularly with temperature. High diversity of two nonsynonymous mutations within the peptide-binding region of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II (DAB) gene provided signatures of balancing selection. Weak signals for potential selection between sympatric resident and anadromous populations were revealed from genome scans and allele frequency comparisons. Our results suggest an important adaptive role for immune-related functions and present a large genomic resource for future studies

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