Single parentage dataset for Chinook salmon

Objective Parentage analysis is a routine methodology in fisheries research, but study systems exist where it is impractical to sample both parents. The ability to reliably assign offspring to a single parent is beneficial in these situations. We apply single-parentage assignments to a naturally spawning population of Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha to quantify production of anadromous returns by unsampled precocial males. Methods We use an approach that addresses two important aspects of parentage analyses: 1.) addressing the presence of family structure within the sampled parents and 2.) controlling for false-positive and false-negative assignments. Result Results indicate that 30% of reproductively successful males were precocials which produced 20% of the returning anadromous offspring. Conclusion This study provides a framework for applying single-parent assignments in a salmonid study system while explicitly addressing sources of assignment errors.