Family variation in surface feeding behavior of steelhead fry predicts growth rate under hatchery conditions

Abstract

Hatchery reared salmonid fish often have lower fitness than their natural-origin counterparts when spawning in the wild. Although this difference appears to result from rapid adaptation to captivity, it is not known what traits are under selection. We hypothesize that variation in traits that confer a growth rate advantage to some individuals in the novel hatchery environment are under strong selection because survival at sea is correlated with size at release. Here we show that full sibling families of steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) show substantial variation in propensity to feed at the surface as fry, and that the more surface-oriented families grew faster under hatchery conditions. We hypothesize that surface-oriented fry gain an initial growth advantage that persists through size at release. Because surface orientation is a correlate of generalized boldness, hatcheries may inadvertently select for that phenotype, which could explain the fitness differences observed between hatchery and natural-origin fish in the wild.