In species with complex life cycles, life history theory predicts that fitness is affected by conditions encountered in previous life history stages. Here, we use a four-year pedigree to investigate if time spent in two distinct life history stages has sex-specific reproductive fitness consequences in anadromous Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ). We determined the amount of years spent in fresh water as juveniles (freshwater age, FW), and years spent in the marine environment prior to sexual maturation (sea age, SW) on 264 spawning adults. We then estimated reproductive fitness as the number of offspring (reproductive success) and the number of mates (mating success) using genetic parentage analysis (>5000 offspring). Sea age is positively correlated with reproductive and mating success of both sexes whereby older and larger individuals gained the highest reproductive fitness benefits (females: increase of 16.5 offspring/SW and 0.86 mates/SW; males: increase of 12.4 offspring/SW and 0.43 mates/SW). Younger freshwater age was related to older sea age and thus increased reproductive fitness, but only among females (females: −9.0 offspring/FW and −0.80 mates/FW). This implies that females can obtain higher reproductive fitness by transitioning to the marine environment earlier. In contrast, male mating and reproductive success was unaffected by freshwater age and males returned to spawn earlier than females despite the fitness advantage of later sea age maturation. Our results show that the timing of transitions between juvenile and adult phases has a sex-specific consequence on female reproductive fitness, demonstrating a life-history trade-off between maturation and reproduction in wild Atlantic salmon.

Time spent in distinct life-history stages has sex-specific effects on reproductive fitness in wild Atlantic salmon