Initial Egg Weight, Time to Maximum Alevin Wet Weight, and Optimal Ponding Times for Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)

Abstract

Eggs of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) were segregated into eight size groups (range 163–437 mg) and incubated at 5, 7.5, 10, and 12.5 °C. The time required to reach maximum alevin wet weight (MAWW) varied significantly (p < 0.01) both with mean incubation temperature (T °C) and with initial egg weight (W mg). A good (R2 = 98.4%, n = 21) prediction of days postfertilization to MAWW (D) is given by[Formula: see text]Optimal ponding times are closely associated with the attainment of MAWW and can be estimated using this equation. Data relating mean incubation temperatures (T) to actual ponding time were collected from 17 hatcheries throughout British Columbia. The equation[Formula: see text]where D′ is days postfertilization to ponding, provided the best fit to the data (R2 = 97.5%, n = 85). Hatchery ponding times were not significantly different from times to MAWW predicted for 200-mg eggs.