Performance of Indigenous, Exotic, and Hybrid Strains of Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in Waters of the Adirondack Mountains, New York

Abstract

Eleven year-classes of wild, domestic, and wild × domestic hybrid strains of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) were stocked in a 0.19-ha Adirondack pond. Comparative survival and growth were assessed upon drainage in early fall. Rearing native wild strains to maturity in a hatchery, or domestic strains in a natural environment, did not consistently or materially affect survival of progeny, suggesting that superior performance of wild strains was largely inherent. Interstrain hybrids of wild × domestic showed survivals equivalent to the wild parents, but hybrids of two Canadian strains gave evidence of heterosis in both survival and net yield. Supplementary observations in other waters also indicated that one strain (Assinica) may be less adaptable to Adirondack conditions than the other (Temiscamie).Key words: brook trout, wild trout, domesticated trout, interstrain hybrid trout, survival, growth, heterosis, hybrid vigor