Date of Award
2015
Publication Type
Master Thesis
Degree Name
M.Sc.
Department
Biological Sciences
Keywords
Egg Quality, Egg size, Genetic effects, Lipids, Maternal Effects, Salmon
Supervisor
Pitcher, Trevor
Rights
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Maternal effects have received considerable attention within the literature, however our knowledge on environmental and genetic maternal effects on egg quality in fish still remains limited. I examined both environmental and genetic maternal effects on egg quality traits in hatchery, wild and farmed Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). I found that environmental differences during early life altered certain aspects of the reproductive biology in hatchery- and wild- salmon, namely gonad and egg development, while other important components of egg quality, fatty acid profile, were not affected. By using quantitative genetic models and breeding designs, I determined that egg size was strongly influenced by maternal genetic effects and was heritable across families. Together, these results suggest that differences in early- rearing environment and associated selection pressures during early life can alter critical life history traits in adults, as a result of both environmental and genetic maternal effects.
Recommended Citation
Haring, Michaela Whitney, "Maternal effects on egg quality in hatchery, wild, and farmed Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)" (2015). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 5249.
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/5249
