Regional assessment of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolt resource use and body size in Eastern Canada
| dc.contributor.advisor | Sacobie, Charles | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Gillis, Carole-Anne | |
| dc.contributor.author | McCavour, Erin | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-02-18T19:52:37Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-02-18T19:52:37Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-12 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) are ecologically, economically, and culturally significant, particularly for many Indigenous Peoples, providing sustenance and holding spiritual, ceremonial, and relational importance. They play a vital role in linking freshwater and marine ecosystems through nutrient transport and trophic interactions. Populations across Eastern Canada are at risk, with many designated as endangered, threatened, or of special concern. This thesis examines resource use and body size relationships of smolts from multiple Eastern Canadian rivers, using archival samples (2000-2016) and new accidental mortalities (2022-2023) collected collaboratively. Carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) stable isotopes were analyzed to assess resource use prior to migration, across sites, and as a predictor of smolt body size. Tissue analyses revealed individual dietary specialization, with a decrease in δ¹⁵N from long to short-term diets. Resource use was generally consistent across rivers within the same assigned population and was found to have a weak influence on body size. | |
| dc.description.copyright | © Erin McCavour, 2024 | |
| dc.format.extent | xii, 99 | |
| dc.format.medium | electronic | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://unbscholar.lib.unb.ca/handle/1882/38250 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | University of New Brunswick | |
| dc.relation | MITACS | |
| dc.relation | New Brunswick Wildlife Trust Fund | |
| dc.rights | http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2 | |
| dc.subject.discipline | Biology | |
| dc.title | Regional assessment of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolt resource use and body size in Eastern Canada | |
| dc.type | master thesis | |
| oaire.license.condition | other | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Biology | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of New Brunswick | |
| thesis.degree.level | masters | |
| thesis.degree.name | M.Sc. |