Despite identification of multiple factors mediating salmon survival, significant disparities in survival-to-adulthood among hatchery- versus wild-origin juveniles persist. In the present report, we explore the hypothesis that hatchery-reared juveniles might exhibit morphological defects in vulnerable mechanosensory systems prior to release from the hatchery, potentiating reduced survival after release. Juvenile steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) from two different hatcheries were compared to wild-origin juveniles on several morphological traits including lateral line structure, otolith composition (a proxy for auditory function), and brain weight. Wild juveniles were found to possess significantly more superficial lateral line neuromasts than hatchery-reared juveniles, although the number of hair cells within individual neuromasts was not significantly different across groups. Wild juveniles were also found to possess primarily normal, aragonite-containing otoliths, while hatchery-reared juveniles possessed a high proportion of crystallized (vaterite) otoliths. Finally, wild juveniles were found to have significantly larger brains than hatchery-reared juveniles. These differences together predict reduced sensitivity to biologically important hydrodynamic and acoustic signals from natural biotic (predator, prey, conspecific) and abiotic (turbulent flow, current) sources among hatchery-reared steelhead, in turn predicting reduced survival fitness after release. Physiological and behavioral studies are required to establish the functional significance of these morphological differences.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 7. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 20 February 2018.
All research outputs
#7,535,607
of 34,358,242 outputs
Outputs from PLOS ONE
#71,724
of 224,513 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#55,847
of 244,284 outputs
Outputs of similar age from PLOS ONE
#1,834
of 5,803 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 34,358,242 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done well and is in the 78th percentile: it's in the top 25% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 224,513 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 17.2. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 68% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 244,284 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done well, scoring higher than 77% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 5,803 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 68% of its contemporaries.
