Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Consequences Of Environmental Manipulation On Behavioural And Neuromorphological Plasticity As It Relates To The Reintroduction Of Atlantic Salmon (Salmo Salar) To Lake Ontario, Ali I. Mokdad

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The reintroduction of imperilled species has become an important tool in conservation biology and relies on the captive-rearing of remaining individuals, or a subset thereof, as a lifeline to prevent extinction. The success of reintroduction efforts has generally been low, mainly due to poor post-release performance of captive-reared animals. Captive-breeding programs tend to produce behaviourally and neurologically compromised animals that deviate from wild phenotypes and are less fit in natural settings. While genetic adaptation can account for some of the behavioural deficiencies expressed by captive-reared animals, phenotypic plasticity has been shown to play a large role. Phenotypic plasticity is generally …