ABSTRACT
Populations composed of individuals descended from multiple distinct genetic lineages often feature significant differences in phenotypic frequencies. We considered hatchery production of steelhead, the migratory anadromous form of the salmonid species Oncorhynchus mykiss, and investigated how differences among genetic lineages and environmental variation impacted life history traits. We genotyped 23,670 steelhead returning to the four California Central Valley hatcheries over 9 years from 2011 to 2019, confidently assigning parentage to 13,576 individuals to determine age and date of spawning and rates of iteroparity and repeat spawning within each year. We found steelhead from different genetic lineages showed significant differences in adult life history traits despite inhabiting similar environments. Differences between coastal and Central Valley steelhead lineages contributed to significant differences in age at return, timing of spawning, and rates of iteroparity among programs. In addition, adaptive genomic variation associated with life history development in this species varied among hatchery programs and was associated with the age of steelhead spawners only in the coastal lineage population. Environmental variation likely contributed to variations in phenotypic patterns observed over time, as our study period spanned both a marine heatwave and a serious drought in California. Our results highlight evidence of a strong genetic component underlying known phenotypic differences in life history traits between two steelhead lineages.
ABSTRACT
Life-history variation is the raw material of adaptation, and understanding its genetic and environmental underpinnings is key to designing effective conservation strategies. We used large-scale genetic pedigree reconstruction of anadromous steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) from the Russian River, CA, USA, to elucidate sex-specific patterns of life-history traits and their heritability. SNP data from adults returning from sea over a 14-year period were used to identify 13,474 parent-offspring trios. These pedigrees were used to determine age structure, size distributions and family sizes for these fish, as well as to estimate the heritability of two key life-history traits, spawn date and age at maturity (first reproduction). Spawn date was highly heritable (h2 = 0.73) and had a cross-sex genetic correlation near unity. We provide the first estimate of heritability for age at maturity in ocean-going fish from this species and found it to be highly heritable (h2 from 0.29 to 0.62, depending on sex and method), with a much lower genetic correlation across sexes. We also evaluated genotypes at a migration-associated inversion polymorphism and found sex-specific correlations with age at maturity. The significant heritability of these two key reproductive traits in these imperiled fish, and their patterns of inheritance in the two sexes, is consistent with predictions of both natural and sexually antagonistic selection (sexes experience opposing selection pressures). This emphasizes the importance of anthropogenic factors, including hatchery practices and ecosystem modifications, in shaping the fitness of this species, thus providing important guidance for management and conservation efforts.
