Fast-tracking farmed king salmon climate change adaptation

<p dir="ltr">The thermal tolerance of pedigree Chinook salmon (<i>Oncorhynchus tshawytscha</i>) was tested in two tank-based challenges: (a) High temperature (HT) at 23.5 °C and (b) Temperature and Oxygen (TO) at 21.0 °C with low dissolved oxygen (DO), using commercial breeding programme fish. Fish were measured at the start and end of both challenges and survival was monitored. Survival and days to death in both the HT and TO treatments were moderately heritable. Low genetic correlations between these traits at the different challenge conditions indicate they are separate traits. The results demonstrate the significant potential to breed for improved thermal tolerance in all-female farmed Chinook salmon.</p>