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Laboratory:
Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Tungasletta 2, N-7005 Trondheim, Norway.
Contact person (name and e-mail):
Persons working on brown trout population genetics:
Kjetil Hindar, Torveig Balstad, Kjartan Østbye
General research topics of the laboratory:
Genetic population structure, conservation and management, reproduction biology, phylogeography.
General description of research on brown trout population genetics:
NINA’s population genetics group studies salmonid populations with emphasis on (1) describing the current genetic structure of Norwegian salmonids, (2) understanding patterns of genetic variation based on information on the natural history of the species (life history, population size, migration), and (3) assessing how human actions affect the genetic dynamics of the species. Brown trout is studied alongside other salmonids (Atlantic salmon, Arctic charr), mainly using allozymes.

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List of projects (brown trout) for the past 3 years:

 
Study #1
Researcher: Kjetil Hindar, Ian Fleming and Lars Petter Hansen at NINA
Collaborators: Andrew Ferguson, Queen’s Univ. Belfast; Alan Youngson, Marine Laboratory Aberdeen; Russell Poole, Salmon Research Agency of Ireland
Source of project funding: CEC contract AIR3 CT94 2484.
Topic: Introgression, hybridisation, reproduction biology.
Objective: Quantify hybridisation between Atlantic salmon and brown trout in presence and absence of farmed salmon, identify mechanisms of hybridisation, and assess the performance of hybrids at various life stages.
Design: Empirical, experimental and laboratory studies.
Methodology: Allozymes, mtDNA RFLP, minisatellite single locus probes.
Trout population: Hatchery stocks, anadromous populations.
Origin of samples: United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway (all Atlantic Basin).
Status: Project period 1994-1996, final report 1997.

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Study #2
Researcher: Kjetil Hindar
Collaborators: Asbjørn Vøllestad, University of Oslo (principal investigator)
Source of project funding: Research Council of Norway.
Topic: Fluctuating asymmetry, gene diversity, genetic monitoring.
Objective: Assess whether fluctuating asymmetry can be used as an indicator for acidification.
Design: Field and experimental studies.
Methodology: Allozymes.
Trout population: Resident and anadromous populations.
Origin of samples: Norway, Atlantic Basin.
Status: Finished.

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Study #3
Researcher: Kjetil Hindar
Collaborators: Steinar Engen and Jarle Tufto, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim; Nils Ryman, Stockholm University.
Source of project funding: Own funding; various other sources.
Topic: Gene flow, isolation by distance, estimation of effective population size.
Objective: Assess whether the genetic structure can be understood from knowledge about population size and patterns of homing and straying.
Design: A small creek (2.5km) was divided into 14 sectors of about equal length and trout samples from each sector and three reference samples from the main river were genetically analysed and compared.
Methodology: Field study, mathematical modelling.
Trout population: Resident and anadromous populations.
Origin of samples: Norway, Atlantic Basin.
Status: Ongoing.

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Study #4
Researcher: Kjetil Hindar
Source of project funding: Hydropower companies.
Topic: Stock enhancement, gene diversity.
Objective: Assess to what extent watercourse regulation alters the genetic structure of brown trout, and how the genetic effects of the regulation can be minimized.
Design: Field study.
Methodology: Allozymes.
Trout population: Hatchery stocks, resident populations.
Origin of samples: Norway, Atlantic Basin.
Status: Finished and ongoing (i.e. study #4 is an umbrella title for several applied projects).

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Publications (brown trout genetics)

Journal papers:

  • Hindar, K. 1994. Alternative life histories and genetic conservation. In Conservation Genetics. (Loeschcke, V., Tomiuk, J. & Jain, S. K., eds.), pp. 323-336. Basel: Birkhäuser Verlag.
  • Hindar, K. 1995. Ecological and genetic effects of transgenic fish. In Pan-European Conference on the Potential Long-Term Ecological Impact of Genetically Modified Organisms, pp. 233-244. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Press.
  • Hindar, K. 1998. Introductions at the level of genes and populations. In Invasive Species and Biodiversity Management (Sandlund, O.T., Schei, P. J. & Viken, Å., eds.), pp. 000-000. London: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
  • Hindar, K. & T. Balstad. 1994. Salmonid culture and interspecific hybridization. Cons. Biol. 8, 881-882.
  • Hindar, K. & Jonsson, B. 1995. Impacts of aquaculture and hatcheries on wild fish. In Protection of Aquatic Biodiversity. Proceedings of the World Fisheries Congress, Theme 3 (Philipp, D. P., Epifanio, J. M., Marsden, J. E. & Claussen, J. E., eds.), pp. 70-87. New Delhi: Oxford and IBH Publishing.
  • Ryman, N., Utter, F. & Hindar, K. 1995. Introgression, supportive breeding, and genetic conservation. In Population Management for Survival and Recovery: Analytical Methods and Strategies in Small Population Conservation (Ballou, J. D., Gilpin, M. & Foose T. J., eds.), pp. 341-365. New York: Columbia University Press.
  • Tufto, J., Engen, S. & Hindar, K. 1996. Inferring patterns of migration from gene frequencies under equilibrium conditions. Genetics 144, 1911-1921.
  • Vøllestad, L. A. & Hindar, K. 1997. Developmental stability and environmental stress in Salmo salar (Atlantic salmon). Heredity 78, 215-222.
  • Vøllestad, L. A. & Hindar, K. (Submitted manuscript). Developmental stability in brown trout: are there any effects of heterozygosity and acidification stress?
  • Vøllestad, L. A., Hindar, K. & Møller, A. P. (Submitted manuscript). A meta-analysis of fluctuating asymmetry in relation to heterozygosity.

Technical Reports:

  • Anon. 1996 (K. Hindar, coordinator; contributions from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Queen’s University Belfast, Marine Laboratory Aberdeen and the Salmon Research Agency of Ireland). Hybridisation between escaped farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and brown trout (Salmo trutta): frequency, distribution, behavioural mechanisms and effects on fitness. Progress Report, CEC Contract AIR3 CT94 2484. Trondheim: Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, 159 pp.
  • Anon. 1997 (K. Hindar, coordinator; contributions from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Queen’s University Belfast, Marine Laboratory Aberdeen and the Salmon Research Agency of Ireland). Hybridisation between escaped farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and brown trout (Salmo trutta): frequency, distribution, behavioural mechanisms and effects on fitness. Final Report, CEC Contract AIR3 CT94 2484. Trondheim: Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, 168 pp. + Appendix 106 pp.
  • Hindar, K. 1996a. Definition of "stocks" and "wild salmon" for scientific and management purposes. Copenhagen: ICES North Atlantic Salmon Working Group, 9 pp.
  • Hindar, K. 1996b. Stamfiske og utsettinger: noen genetiske vurderinger. In Fiskesymposiet 1996. EnFo Publ. 128-1996, pp. 133-137. Lysaker: Energiforsyningens Fellesorganisasjon. (‘Broodstock collection and releases: some genetic considerations’; in Norwegian).
  • Hindar, K. 1998. Interbreeding of farmed salmon and wild trout: does this risk the genetic integrity of wild populations? In Interactions between Salmon Culture and Wild Stocks of Atlantic Salmon: The Scientific and Management Issues (Youngson, A. F., Hansen, L. P. & Windsor, M. L., eds.), pp. 30-31. Report by the conveners of an ICES/NASCO Symposium at Bath, U.K., 18-22 April 1997. Trondheim: Norwegian Institute for Nature Research.
  • Hindar, K. (Submitted manuscript). Genetisk variasjon og respons til forsuring hos laks og ørret. Oslo: Research Council of Norway. (‘Genetic variation and response to acidification in Atlantic salmon and brown trout’, in Norwegian)
  • Hindar, K. & Balstad, T. 1996. Dokkareguleringen, del 2: Genetisk analyse av storørret og elveørret i Dokka. Laboratorium for Ferskvannsøkologi og Innlandsfiske, Rapport 163, 58-77. Oslo: Zoological Museum. (‘Regulation of R. Dokka, part 2: Genetic analysis of migratory and resident brown trout in R. Dokka’; in Norwegian).
  • Hindar, K. & Tufto, J. 1995. Dispersal and gene flow in migratory fish populations. In Fifth Congress of the European Society for Evolutionary Biology, p. 147. Edinburgh, 4-8 September 1995.
  • Hindar, K., L'Abée-Lund, J. H., Jensås, J. G., Møkkelgjerd, P. I., Balstad, T. & Arnekleiv, J. V. 1996. Effects of the spring spate 1995 on juvenile Atlantic salmon and brown trout in the River Gaula, Norway. NINA Oppdragsmelding 431, 1-12. Trondheim: Norwegian Institute for Nature Research. (In Norwegian, English summary)
  • Hindar, K., Fleming, I. A., Johnsen, B. O. & Jonsson, N. (Submitted manuscript). Håndbok for vurdering og kategorisering av anadrome fiskebestander. Trondheim: Directorate for Nature Management. (‘Handbook for evaluation and categorisation of anadromous fish populations’; in Norwegian)
  • Svenning, M.-A., Kanstad Hanssen, Ø., Hindar, K. & Balstad, T. 1998. Ecological and genetic status of the brown trout population in River Gámasjohka. NINA Oppdragsmelding 532, 1-17. Tromsø: Norwegian Institute for Nature Research. (In Norwegian, English summary)

Theses (eg, PhD and MSc theses):

  • Tufto. J. 1997. Gene Flow and Genetic Drift in Geographically Structured Populations: Ecological, Population Genetic, and Statistical Models. Dr. scient. thesis. Trondheim: Zoological Institute, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 10 pp. + 4 journal papers.

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