Single rays as indicators of fin vestigialization in coho salmon: patterns and perspectives

Although finrays in salmon normally contain a pair of elements (biramous), finrays with a single element (uniramous) occasionally develop. Exposure to chronic stress during character development has been shown to increase fluctuating asymmetry, suggesting the occurrence of single finrays may be stress‐induced. On the other hand, single finrays may be evolutionary atavisms, reflecting fin vestigialization caused by reduced selection pressure. To assess the merits of these hypotheses, cleared and stained paired and median fins were examined for single finrays in juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch Walbaum) from two compatible hatchery stocks and their reciprocal hybrids which had been exposed to different patterns of chronic temperature fluctuation throughout embryogenesis. In the median fins, uniramous secondary finrays predominated, and single primary finrays were infrequent. Single finrays in the median fins did not respond to thermal treatment or cross, suggesting the fins were evolutionarily stable and under strong developmental control. The paired fins were observed to contain only primary finrays. Frequencies of single pelvic finrays increased under thermal stress, as did fluctuating asymmetry, suggesting increased sensitivity to stress due to reduced developmental control in this fin. However, the presence or absence of single finrays in the paired fins did not alter the statistical significance of the conclusions regarding levels of fluctuating asymmetry, the number of asymmetric fish, or the contribution to meristic variation from asymmetry. Locations of single finrays in the paired fins were unaffected by thermal treatment or cross. Single finrays were most commonly observed in the trailing margins of both paired fins, a finding consistent with vestigialization theory. Frequency histograms of single pectoral finray locations revealed a second peak in the leading quarter of the fin. The esults support the hypothesis that single primary finrays are evolutionary atavisms, and that reduced selection pressure is differentially influencing the paired fins.