Can structural enrichment reduce predation mortality and increase recaptures of hatchery-reared Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. fry released into the wild?

Captive-reared fish often have poor survival in the wild and may fail to boost threatened populations. Enrichment during the nursery period can in some circumstances generate a broader behavioural repertoire than conventional hatchery production. Yet, we do not know if enrichment promotes survival after release into the wild. We conducted a field experiment during three field seasons using age 0+ year Atlantic salmon Salmo salar to investigate if enrichment during rearing, in the form of structural complexity (shelters), reduced immediate (within 2 days after release) predation mortality by piscine predators (brown trout Salmo trutta) and if such rearing environments improved long-term (2-3 months after release) post-release survival. In addition, we investigated if predation mortality of released fry was size-selective. S. salar fry were reared in a structurally enriched environment or in a conventional rearing environment and given otolith marks using alizarin during the egg stage to distinguish between enriched and conventionally-reared fry. The outcome from the field experiments showed that structural enrichment did not consistently reduce immediate predation mortality and it did not improve, or had a negative effect on, the recapture rate of fry from the river 2-3 months after release. The data also showed that enriched rearing tended to reduce growth. Additionally, we found that S. trutta predators fed on small individuals of the released fry. Overall, the data suggest that structural enrichment alone is not sufficient to improve long-term survival of hatchery-reared fish after release and that other factors might affect post-release survival.

Trophic structure and community stability in an overfished ecosystem.

Since the collapse of the pelagic fisheries off southwest Africa in the late 1960s, jellyfish biomass has increased and the structure of the Benguelan fish community has shifted, making the bearded goby (Sufflogobius bibarbatus) the new predominant prey species. Despite increased predation pressure and a harsh environment, the gobies are thriving. Here we show that physiological adaptations and antipredator and foraging behaviors underpin the success of these fish. In particular, body-tissue isotope signatures reveal that gobies consume jellyfish and sulphidic diatomaceous mud, transferring "dead-end" resources back into the food chain.

Environmental variability in the early rearing environment generates behaviourally flexible cod: implications for rehabilitating wild populations.

The release of hatchery-reared fishes for restoring threatened and endangered populations is one of the most controversial issues in applied ecology. A central issue has been to determine whether releases cause extinction of local wild populations. This may arise either through domesticated or non-local fishes hybridizing with wild fishes, or through inappropriate behavioural interactions; for example, many hatchery fishes show exaggerated aggressive and competitive behaviour and out-compete wild counterparts. The impact of the impoverished hatchery environment in shaping behaviour is only now receiving attention. Attempts to counteract hatchery-related behavioural deficiencies have utilized intensive training programmes shortly before the fishes are released. However, we show here that simple exposure to variable spatial and foraging cues in the standard hatchery environment generates fishes with enhanced behavioural traits that are probably associated with improved survival in the wild. It appears that fishes need to experience a varying and changeable environment to learn and develop flexible behaviour. Using variable hatchery rearing environments to generate suitable phenotypes in combination with a knowledge of appropriate local genotypes, rehabilitation of wild fishes is likely to succeed, where to date it has largely failed.