Nest Placement and Egg Distribution in Atlantic Salmon Redds

Abstract

Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, deposit their eggs in excavated depressions called nests. These nests are built from downstream to upstream within one or more redds, and each redd corresponds to a continuous area of the streambed disturbed by the female digging activities. Redd topographic measurements and egg excavation were performed to determine number of nests per redd and per female, nest depth, distances between successive nests, number of eggs deposited per nest, and egg survival in nests created by six grilse Atlantic salmon, five spawning in an experimental stream (Lapitxuri channel) and one in a natural stream (Lurgorrieta Creek, a tributary of the Nivelle River in southwest France). All females constructed a single redd, except one which built two redds in the channel. Redd surface area ranged between 2.3 and 5.7 m². Each redd had a raised mound of gravel or dome under which most of the eggs were located, and an upstream depression or ‘pot’. Based on expected egg-to-juvenile survival rates previously obtained in the Lapitxuri channel and on juvenile recoveries, between 96 and 97% of the eggs deposited in the channel sections were retrieved. Each female constructed 7 to 11 nests over a period of 3 to 5 days. The first three nests had an average burial depth of 12.9 cm (±1.6 SD) which was greater than the last three nests (mean 9.5 cm±2.6 SD). Eggs removed from the first three nests had higher fertility rates (95.5% vs. 87.2%), greater survival (83.5% vs. 63.1%) and lower occurrences of abnormalities (1.9% vs. 5.5%) than those deposited in the last three nests. Typically, the percentage of eggs deposited per female decreased from the first to the last nest, such that the last two to three nests possessed only a small number of scattered eggs. Similar results were observed in the redd located in Lurgorrieta Creek. The adaptive consequences of the topographic features of redds and the egg allocation patterns we found are discussed.