Elemental composition of a migratory and a land-locked strain of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar

1. The growth and elemental composition of an anadromous strain and a land-locked strain of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) were compared.

2. All fish were raised from the egg stage under identical conditions.

3. The land-locked strain was significantly higher in lipids than the anadromous strain throughout the study.

4. Results of exposure to seawater at 2-week intervals between days 431 and 512 of the study indicated that neither strain produced smolts.

5. Strains could not be separated by discriminant analysis into separate groups, based on concentrations of the six most abundant elements or all ten elements sampled during the expected period of smolting (days 440–550).

6. The laboratory fish differed significantly in composition from those collected in the Merrimack River.

7. The log_e of the whole-body element content increased significantly with log_e of wet body wt in both strains.