Loss of plasticity in maturation timing after ten years of captive spawning in a delta smelt conservation hatchery

Melanie E F LaCava; Joanna S Griffiths; Luke Ellison; Evan W Carson; Tien-Chieh Hung; Amanda J Finger

doi:10.1111/eva.13611

Loss of plasticity in maturation timing after ten years of captive spawning in a delta smelt conservation hatchery

Evol Appl. 2023 Nov 2;16(11):1845-1857. doi: 10.1111/eva.13611. eCollection 2023 Nov.

Authors

Melanie E F LaCava¹, Joanna S Griffiths², Luke Ellison³, Evan W Carson⁴, Tien-Chieh Hung³, Amanda J Finger¹

Affiliations

¹ Genomic Variation Laboratory, Department of Animal Science University of California, Davis Davis California USA.
² Department of Environmental Toxicology and Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology University of California, Davis Davis California USA.
³ Fish Conservation and Culture Laboratory, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering University of California, Davis Davis California USA.
⁴ US Fish and Wildlife Service San Francisco Bay-Delta Fish and Wildlife Office Sacramento California USA.

Abstract

Adaptation to captivity in spawning programs can lead to unintentional consequences, such as domestication that results in reduced fitness in the wild. The timing of sexual maturation has been shown to be a trait under domestication selection in fish hatcheries, which affects a fish's access to mating opportunities and aligning their offspring's development with favorable environmental conditions. Earlier maturing fish may be favored in hatchery settings where managers provide artificially optimal growing conditions, but early maturation may reduce fitness in the wild if, for example, there is a mismatch between timing of reproduction and availability of resources that support recruitment. We investigated patterns of maturation timing in a delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) conservation hatchery by quantifying changes to the median age at maturity since the captive spawning program was initiated in 2008. Over the span of a decade, we observed a small, but significant increase in age at maturity among broodstock by 2.2 weeks. This trait had low heritability and was largely controlled by phenotypic plasticity that was dependent on the time of year fish were born. Fish that were born later in the year matured faster, potentially a carryover from selection favoring synchronous spawning in the wild. However, higher DI (domestication index) fish showed a loss of plasticity, we argue, as a result of hatchery practices that breed individuals past peak periods of female ripeness. Our findings suggest that the hatchery setting has relaxed selection pressures for fish to mature quickly at the end of the year and, consequently, has led to a loss of plasticity in age at maturity. Hatchery fish that are re-introduced in the wild may not be able to align maturation with population peaks if their maturation rates are too slow with reduced plasticity, potentially resulting in lower fitness.

Keywords: age at maturity; conservation; delta smelt; domestication selection; heritability; phenotypic plasticity; relaxed selection.