Research on Atlantic salmon

Research opportunities

• Assess population diversity and genetic variation among individuals within and between study rivers. This could include analyzing rates of loss of genetic diversity, fitness and relative captive and wild contributions to offspring parentage.

Research opportunities

• An examination of juvenile survival rates using appropriate methods, sites and strategies for each life stage.
• Assess population diversity and genetic variation among individuals within and between study rivers. This could include analyzing rates of loss of genetic diversity, fitness and relative captive and wild contributions to offspring parentage.
• An assessment of conservation requirements for Atlantic salmon in the Greater Kouchibouguac Ecosystem, and further, as it relates to past requirements calculations.

• Short and long term impacts of smolt-to-adult supplementation as it relates to populations or stocks where human intervention is required:
  • Evaluate the reproductive success of captive-reared adults. Which could include the assessment of gamete viability and whether there is a spawning population density effect that could limit reproductive success.
  • Evaluation of overall fitness measures of captive reared adults. This could include physiology, stress levels during transport and release activity; morphology, changes over time and comparisons to wild stock; maturation rates and timing; egg size; viability and fecundity.
• Assess population diversity and genetic variation among individuals within and between study rivers. This could include analyzing rates of loss of genetic diversity, fitness and relative captive and wild contributions to offspring parentage.

Research opportunities

• Short and long term impacts of smolt-to-adult supplementation as it relates to populations or stocks where human intervention is required (fitness, juvenile densities, size-at-age, maturation timing, relative contribution of wild/captive-reared fish, degree of mixing b/w captive-reared and wild, baseline genetic diversity before supplementation vs after).
• An assessment of the river’s conservation requirements of Atlantic salmon, and further, as it relates to past requirement calculations.
• Assess supplementation viability through studying the relation and diversity of the Clyburn Brook salmon stock to salmon stocks from neighbouring river systems.

Research opportunities

• An assessment of Trout River’s conservation requirements of Atlantic salmon, and further, as it relates to past requirements calculations.
• Short and long term impacts of smolt-to-adult supplementation as it relates to populations or stocks where human intervention is required.
• Assess population diversity and genetic variation among individuals within the study river and across nearby rivers. This could include analyzing gene flow and homing patterns within Trout River; investigating the resident population; and comparing across rivers.
• Analyze the effects of supplementation through the changes in the population’s genetic integrity, fitness and relative captive and wild contributions to offspring parentage.
• Investigate potential aquatic invasive species, their impacts on Atlantic salmon, and best monitoring and management practices to ensure ecological integrity of Trout River.

• Assess population diversity and genetic variation among individuals within and between study rivers. This could include analyzing rates of loss of genetic diversity, fitness and relative captive and wild contributions to offspring parentage.

Research opportunities

• Study the impacts of climate change on the freshwater ecosystems and Atlantic salmon habitat.
• Identification of key spawning habitat and the use of this habitat as it relates to spawning and reproductive success.
• Marine mortality: how the park rivers fit into the larger marine mortality picture.
  • Environmental effects on smoltification and at sea survival, i.e. temperature effects on physiology and marine survival.
  • Temporal and spatial distribution of salmon at sea to determine the locations and timing of mortality.
  • Performance within the marine environment as it relates to the genetic make-up and fitness of populations of salmon within the national park sites.

Research opportunities

• Study the impacts of climate change on the freshwater ecosystems and Atlantic salmon habitat.
• Identification of key spawning habitat and the use of this habitat as it relates to spawning and reproductive success.

• Study the impacts of climate change on the freshwater ecosystems and Atlantic salmon habitat.
• Identification of key spawning habitat and the use of this habitat as it relates to spawning and reproductive success.
• Performance within the marine environment as it relates to the genetic make-up and fitness of inner Bay of Fundy salmon stocks within the Atlantic national parks. Are there families/treatments within our Live Gene Bank (LGB) that seem to perform better than others?

Research opportunities

• Identification of key spawning habitat and the use of this habitat as it relates to spawning and reproductive success.
• Study the impacts of climate change on the freshwater ecosystems and Atlantic salmon habitat (identify potential thermal barriers, change-over time in days of thermal stress conditions, occurrence/timing of weather events that may destroy redds or harm juveniles).

Research opportunities

• Study the impacts of climate change on the freshwater ecosystems and Atlantic salmon habitat.

• Identification of key spawning habitat and the use of this habitat as it relates to spawning and reproductive success.
• Assess the use of the lacustrine habitat by juveniles, precocious parr and pre-spawning adults.
• Study the impacts of climate change (e.g., stochastic events, water quality, thermal stress) on the freshwater ecosystems and Atlantic salmon habitat.

Research opportunities

• Identify integrated cultural resources activities.

Research opportunities

• Determine the visitors’ educational experience, in terms of quality of experience or interaction, whether it was an intended or unintended educational experience, and future interest.
• Measure the success and shortcomings of species at risk awareness.
• Determine how values, attitudes, and behaviours change as a result of regional recovery initiatives.
• Compare pre-collapse Atlantic salmon engagement in cultural activities, such as angling and preparing, to post-collapse engagement in recovery and conservation activities.
• Study poaching activity and the social effects on communities where recovery action is present.