Thetiger trout(Salmo trutta×Salvelinus fontinalis) is a sterile,intergeneric hybridof thebrown trout(Salmo trutta) and thebrook trout(Salvelinus fontinalis). Pronounced vermiculations in the fish's patterning gave rise to its name, evoking the stripes of atiger.Tiger trout are a rare anomaly in the wild, as the parent species are relatively unrelated, being members of differentgeneraand possessing mismatched numbers of chromosomes.[1][2][3]However, specialized hatchery rearing techniques are able to produce tiger trout reliably enough to meet the demands of stocking programs.[4][5]
| Tiger trout | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Salmoniformes |
| Family: | Salmonidae |
| Subfamily: | Salmoninae |
| Hybrid: | Salmo trutta×Salvelinus fontinalis |
Natural occurrence
editPrior to the 19th century, naturally occurring tiger trout were an impossibility, as the native range of brown trout in Eurasia and brook trout in North America do not overlap and the species could therefore never have encountered one another in the wild.[3]When the widespread stocking of non-native gamefish began in the 1800s, brown trout and brook trout began establishing wild populations alongside each other in some places and the opportunity for hybridization in the wild arose.[6]Instances of stream-born tiger trout were recorded in the United States at least as early as 1944 and, despite being exceptionally rare, they've been documented numerous times during the 20th and 21st centuries.[3]
Tiger trout result exclusively from the fertilization of brown trout eggs with brook trout milt, as brook trout eggs are generally too small to be successfully fertilized by brown trout milt.[1]Tigers are known as intergeneric hybrids as the two parent species share only a relatively distant relationship, belonging to different genera within theSalmon family.In fact, brook trout and brown trout have non-matching numbers of chromosomes, with the former possessing 84 and the latter 80.[7]Consequently, even in cases in which brown trout eggs are fertilized by brook trout in the wild, most of these eggs develop improperly and fail to yield any young.[1]
Hatchery rearing
editTiger trout can be produced reliably inhatcheriesand they have been incorporated into stocking programs in the United States at least as early as the 1960s.[8]Hatchery productivity is enhanced by heat shocking the fertilized hybrid eggs, causing the creation of an extra set of chromosomes which increases survival rates from 5% to 85%.[9]Tiger trout have been reported to grow faster than natural species,[10]though this assessment is not universal.[11]They are also known to be highlypiscivorousand are consequently a useful control againstrough fishpopulations.[7]This, along with their desirability as novel gamefish, means tigers have continued to be popular with many fish stocking programs. US states with tiger trout stocking programs include Arizona,[2]Arkansas,[12]Colorado,[13]Connecticut,[14]Idaho,[15]Washington,[16]West Virginia,[17]Wyoming,[4]Utah,[18]Virginia,[19]Oregon,[20]Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.[21]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^abc"Tiger trout — myth or fact?/Biological bits".The Daily Mining Gazette.The Mining Gazette.Retrieved24 June2022.
- ^ab"Tiger Trout".Arizona Game and Fish Department.Retrieved24 June2022.
- ^abc"Tiger Trout (Salmo trutta × Salvelinus fontinalis) - Species Profile".NAS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species.U.S. Geological Survey.Retrieved24 June2022.
- ^ab"Making tiger trout".Wyoming Game & Fish Department.Retrieved24 June2022.
- ^Altman, Jim (24 March 2022)."Trout Season goes year-round and DEEP is stocking up".FOX 61.Retrieved24 June2022.
- ^Pister, Edwin P. (June 2001)."Wilderness Fish Stocking: History and Perspective".Ecosystems.4(4): 279–286.Bibcode:2001Ecosy...4..279P.doi:10.1007/s10021-001-0010-7.JSTOR3658925.S2CID21528271.Retrieved9 July2022.
- ^abWindham, Rick (27 September 2018)."What is a tiger trout?".AP NEWS.Retrieved11 July2022.
- ^"Tiger trout are stocked". The Daily Record (Long Branch, New Jersey). April 26, 1963.
- ^Thousands of tigers released in Utah (trout that is!)Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, 24 May 2005. Retrieved 11 September 2006
- ^Watch out, Utah chubs: Tiger trout placed in Scofield ReservoirUtah Division of Wildlife Resources, 24 May 2005. Retrieved 11 September 2006
- ^Tiger Trout & HybridsArchived2006-08-28 at theWayback MachinePennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission. Retrieved 11 September 2006
- ^"State seeks big fish tales for tiger trout record".Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.19 April 2023.Retrieved2 November2023.
- ^"Great reservoir fishing abounds in southwest Colorado".CO,US.Colorado Parks and Wildlife.Retrieved13 January2024.
- ^"Fish Stocking Report 2021"(PDF).CT.GOV.Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection.Retrieved13 January2024.
- ^"New state record tiger trout set in southeast | Idaho Fish and Game".idfg.idaho.gov.Idaho Fish and Game. 30 May 2023.Retrieved13 January2024.
- ^"Tiger trout".wdfw.wa.gov.Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife.Retrieved13 January2024.
- ^"WVDNR stocking trophy tiger trout in April and May".WVDNR.GOV.West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. 8 April 2021.Retrieved13 January2024.
- ^Hall, Travis (7 February 2023)."Utah's Tiger Trout State Record Broken Twice in One Week".Field & Steam.Retrieved28 February2024.
- ^"Tiger Trout in Virginia".dwr.virginia.gov.Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.Retrieved16 January2023.
- ^"Diamond Lake: Inaugural stocking of tiger trout".Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.Retrieved19 July2023.
- ^"MassWildlife Trout Stocking Program".mass.gov.Retrieved11 July2022.