Magnetic map in nonanadromous Atlantic salmon
Edited by Mary E. Power, University of California, Berkeley, CA, and approved September 6, 2018 (received for review May 16, 2018)
Significance
Diverse species that undertake long-distance migrations use geomagnetic “map” information to orient. Whether this is true for nonmigratory populations within these species or those migrating over considerably shorter distances is less studied. We show nonanadromous Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) can extract map information from the geomagnetic field. Despite having no recent history of ocean migration and being translocated from Maine to Oregon approximately 60 years ago, juveniles exposed to magnetic fields characteristic of the North Pacific displayed adaptive orientation responses similar to those of anadromous Pacific salmonids. This navigational ability generates some concern since Atlantic salmon are transported throughout the world for aquaculture. Escaped individuals might have greater potential to successfully navigate, and thus invade, novel habitats than previously suspected.
Abstract
Long-distance migrants, including Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp), can use geomagnetic information to navigate. We tested the hypothesis that a “magnetic map” (i.e., an ability to extract positional information from Earth’s magnetic field) also exists in a population of salmon that do not undertake oceanic migrations. This study examined juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) originally from a nonanadromous population in Maine transferred ∼60 years ago to a lake in central Oregon. We exposed juveniles to magnetic displacements representative of locations at the latitudinal boundaries of the Pacific salmon oceanic range in the North Pacific and at the periphery of their ancestral oceanic range in the North Atlantic. Orientation differed among the magnetic treatments, indicating that Atlantic salmon detect map information from the geomagnetic field. Despite no recent history of ocean migration, these fish displayed adaptive orientation responses similar to those observed in native Pacific salmonids. These findings indicate that use of map information from the geomagnetic field is a shared ancestral character in the family Salmonidae and is not restricted to populations with anadromous life histories. Lastly, given that Atlantic salmon are transported throughout the world for capture fisheries and aquaculture, such a robust navigational system is of some concern. Escaped individuals may have greater potential to successfully navigate, and thus invade, introduced habitats than previously suspected.
Acknowledgments
We thank Joseph O’Neil, Ryan Couture, and Joyce Mahr for assistance in rearing and maintaining fish. We appreciate Tom Quinn’s comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. This study was supported by funding from Oregon Sea Grant, the Oregon Hatchery Research Center, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Oregon State University’s Department of Fisheries and Wildlife.
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© 2018. Published under the PNAS license.
Submission history
Published online: October 8, 2018
Published in issue: October 23, 2018
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Acknowledgments
We thank Joseph O’Neil, Ryan Couture, and Joyce Mahr for assistance in rearing and maintaining fish. We appreciate Tom Quinn’s comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. This study was supported by funding from Oregon Sea Grant, the Oregon Hatchery Research Center, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Oregon State University’s Department of Fisheries and Wildlife.
Notes
This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.
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Competing Interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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Magnetic map in nonanadromous Atlantic salmon, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.
115 (43) 10995-10999,
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1807705115
(2018).
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