This thesis investigates the comparative growth and mortality of a naturalized
(wild) and domestic (aquaculture) strain of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
common to Lake Huron. I first conducted a laboratory-based experiment,
comparing the growth rates of the two strains. Under optimal and competition
treatments, the domestic strain achieved a body weight ~2x that of wild
conspecifics. Next, I conducted a replicated, whole-ecosystem study comparing
the same strains. Both strains experienced equally low survival and the domestic
strain segregated into a fast-growing group, (~3x growth relative to the wild
strain), and a slow-growing group that had a lower growth rate than wild trout. A
high growth rate for fast-growing domestic trout was achieved by a reliance on
high energy prey as well as through low metabolic costs relative to wild strains.
Together, these results demonstrate that aquaculture strains of rainbow trout have
greater growth potential relative to wild conspecifics and may outcompete them in
nature.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:MWU.1993/17597 |
| Date | 13 March 2013 |
| Creators | Martens, Matthew Thomas |
| Contributors | Blanchfield, Paul (Biological Sciences), Anderson, Gary (Biological Sciences) Hanson, Mark (Environment and Geography) Devlin, Robert (Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada) |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Detected Language | English |
Page generated in 0.0083 seconds