WSU/UI and NMFS SALMON INITIATIVE Salmon Restoration Research Program Executive Summary
Objective
Establish a multi-investigator program in the area of
Fish Reproduction and Salmon Biology to enhance
research activities and promote interactions between
the investigators. The benefit is an integrated program
to address and apply basic aspects of fish reproduction
and biology to the improvement of native salmon stocks
in the Northwest.
Organization
Utilizes the organization and existing structure for
the Center for Reproductive Biology at the
University of Idaho and Washington State University to
help administer and integrate the research programs
with the Northwest Fisheries Sciences Center, National
Marine Fisheries Services.
Summary
The collaborative fish reproduction research proposed
will address concerns regarding the conservation and
enhancement of native salmon populations. The products
expected from these projects are (1) an increase in the
number of salmonid populations represented and the
inclusion of maternal genomes in a developing germplasm
repository, (2) a more complete accounting of the
genetic sex of the wild populations and a more complete
understanding of the genes on the Y chromosome, (3) new
methods to estimate genetic damage in salmonid
populations, (4) increases in egg and sperm quality,
(5) identification of the interactions between disease,
immunology and reproduction and (6) identification of
mechanisms of olfactory imprinting to develop hatchery
practices that will minimize straying and negative
interactions between hatchery and wild salmon.
All of the projects are designed to identify possible
insults that may compromise the reproductive
performance of threatened and endangered native
populations of fish. The salmon biology research
directly addresses many of the questions and issues
raised in the NWRSC Salmon Research Plan.
Projects
The central theme of the proposed projects is an
integrated approach to a basic understanding of
the
mechanisms controlling salmon biology and reproduction.
The outcomes of these research activities are expected
to provide (1) new information with which to make
informed decisions and (2) new or improved procedures
to increase the reproductive efficiency of captive
broodstock programs.
WSU/UI PROJECTS
Project 1
Dr. Joseph Cloud, UI, Establishing a Germplasm Repository for ESA-listed Anadromous Salmonids in the Columbia Basin.
Project 2
Dr. James Nagler, UI; Gary Thorgaard, WSU; and Ruth Phillips, WSU, Genetic Sex of Wild Chinook Salmon
Project 3
- Dr. Gary Thorgaard, WSU, Genetic analysis of domestication behavior in Oncorhynchus mykiss
Project 4
- Dr. Rolf Ingermann, UI, Impact of Stress on Gamete Quality in Salmonids
Project 5
- Dr. Douglas Call and Terry McElwain, WSU, Microarray detection of multiple pathogens in managed and wild salmon populations
Project 6
- Dr. Ken Cain, UI, Reduction of disease-related impacts on important salmonid stocks through broodstock immunization against key pathogens.
Project 7
- Dr. Buel D. Rodgers, WSU, Identification of Environmental Stressors Encountered During Salmonid Migration
Project 8
Dr. Ruth Phillips, WSU-Vancouver, Mapping the Male
Specific Genes on the Y Chromosome in Chinook
Salmon.
NMFS PROJECTS
Project 9
Dr. Penny Swanson, REUTD, Northwest Fisheries Service Center and Dr. Briony Campbell, University of Washington, "Environmental and endocrine regulation of early stages of gametogenesis in salmon".
Project 10
Lyndal Johnson, EC, Northwest Fisheries Service Center, "Contaminant effects on fish reproduction".
Project 11
Dr. Andrew Dittman, REUTD, Northwest Fisheries Service Center, "Mechanism of olfactory imprinting and homing, and impacts of hatchery practices on straying in salmon"
Project 12
Dr. Nat Scholz, EC, Northwest Fisheries Service Center, "Contaminant effects on fish neurobiology and development"
Project 13
Dr. Mark Strom, REUTD, Northwest Fisheries Service Center, "Fish migratory health and disease".
Project 14
Dr. Brian Beckman and Dr. Don Larsen, REUTD, Northwest Fisheries Service Center, "Effects of genetics and environment on salmon life history pathways".
Project 15
Dr. Linda Park, CB, Northwest Fisheries Service Center, "Mapping genes for development, age of maturity and Growth".