Restoring biodiversity and a valuable fishery: Atlantic salmon reintroduction into Lake Ontario

安大略湖曾经盛产大西洋鲑鱼，支撑着安大略湖最有价值的渔业之一，但这些鱼在一个世纪前就从湖中灭绝了。成功地将大西洋鲑鱼重新引入安大略湖已经成为管理机构和保护组织的首要任务，因为据估计，它可以在10年内通过渔业为当地经济提供高达1500万美元的新收入，并且将是恢复失去的生物多样性的重要一步。一个自我维持的大西洋鲑鱼种群也将通过它们作为顶级捕食者的角色提供生态系统服务，增加食物网和渔业的弹性。2010年，我们与多个组织在NSERC战略合作伙伴基金上合作，确定了高河流死亡率是成功恢复安大略湖大西洋鲑鱼的主要障碍。我们现在将以过去的研究为基础，采用综合方法详细说明鱼类死亡的原因，并提供最佳的缓解办法。这些分析将包括环境dna和下一代，实时监测大西洋鲑鱼的运动、表现、生存和死亡原因。利用稳定同位素和肠道DNA对食物网进行分析，将检验竞争和捕食对大西洋鲑鱼的影响。最后，免疫和运动挑战后的转录谱分析将详细说明不同菌株和饲养处理之间生存差异的机制。因此，该项目将对影响这种具有相当生态和经济价值的物种重新引入结果的因素进行全面的科学评估，并将有助于制定孵化场饲养、放生时间、品种和地点选择的最佳做法，以支持安大略湖和整个加拿大大西洋鲑鱼的恢复。

Atlantic salmon were once abundant in Lake Ontario and supported one of its most valuable fisheries, but thesefish were extirpated from the lake a century ago. The successful reintroduction of Atlantic salmon into LakeOntario has become a top priority for management agencies and conservation groups, as it has been estimatedthat it could provide up to $15 million in new revenue over 10 years to local economies through fisheries, andwould be a substantial step towards the recovery of lost biodiversity. A self-sustaining population of Atlanticsalmon would also provide ecosystem services through their role as a top predator, increasing the resiliency offood webs and fisheries. In 2010, we partnered with multiple organizations on an NSERC Strategic PartnershipGrant that identified high in-stream mortality as a major hurdle to successful Atlantic salmon rehabilitation inLake Ontario. We will now build on this past research by using an integrated approach to detail the causes ofin-stream mortality and provide best approaches for mitigation. These analyses will include environmentalDNA and next-generation, real-time monitoring of movement, performance, survival, and causes of mortalityof Atlantic salmon. Food web analyses using stable isotopes and gut content DNA will examine theconsequences of competition and predation on Atlantic salmon. Finally, transcriptional profiling followingimmune and exercise challenges will detail the mechanisms underlying differences in survival across strainsand rearing treatments. The project will thus provide a comprehensive scientific evaluation of the factorsaffecting reintroduction outcome in a species of considerable ecological and economic value, and willcontribute to the development of best practices for hatchery rearing, release timing, and strain and site selectionto support the restoration of Atlantic salmon in Lake Ontario and throughout Canada.