this post was submitted on 25 Apr 2024
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Science Memes

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salmon (mander.xyz)
submitted 6 months ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/science_memes@mander.xyz
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[–] sharkfucker420@lemmy.ml 165 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (2 children)

Why?

The goals of the Salmon change when they reach mating age. Now they don't need to survive in the ocean, they need to make sperm/eggs and survive the long trip to their birthplace. This trip is through fresh water lakes and rivers. That is a very different environment from the ocean. They will need to jump/swim up waterfalls. They will need to avoid predators, but very different ones than they faced in the ocean.At the end of their journey they will mate and die.

Because the goals and environmental pressures change so much the Salmon must also change to meet those new challenges. If they didn't they wouldn't be as successful in reaching their final destination and making more Salmon.

How?

Just like humans, hormones trigger biological changes. The change to fresh water also triggers changes and a countdown clock. The changes use a lot of energy, as does their trip and mating. Their body will literally consume itself to make the changes and meet the challenges it needs to so that the salmon make it home to mate.

In case anyone was curious

[–] nick@midwest.social 75 points 6 months ago

If there’s one person on lemmy that I trust for my aquatic animal info, it’s sharkfucker420

[–] nightofmichelinstars@sopuli.xyz 42 points 6 months ago

Thank you. My takeaway is that this is salmon puberty. I wonder if they, too, stare at themselves naked in the bathroom mirror and feel weird.

[–] Paradachshund@lemmy.today 35 points 6 months ago

His humps, his humps his humps his humps

[–] wesker@lemmy.sdf.org 29 points 6 months ago

I've seen this happen to human men who got too horny, tbh.

[–] IrritableOcelot 27 points 6 months ago (3 children)

Photoshopped, unfortunately. They change, but not that much.

[–] OtisRamflow@lemm.ee 41 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Might be exaggerated, but some get pretty crazy looking.

https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=714

[–] steal_your_face@lemmy.ml 5 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

What’s everyone’s favorite? Mine’s coho.

[–] OtisRamflow@lemm.ee 3 points 6 months ago

Chinook, looks like hot iron.

[–] Kedly@lemm.ee 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Welp, Lemmy's now able to hug a site to death now too! We did it Lemmy!

[–] Syd@lemm.ee 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

It's going strong here. Have you been banned from Alaska recently?

[–] Kedly@lemm.ee 2 points 6 months ago

Ah, it works for me now too. I guess it was a short hug of death xD

[–] SoleInvictus@lemmy.blahaj.zone 23 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

Oh no, they change that much and sometimes even more. The hump is a sexual selection trait - the bigger the hump, the more likely it is that a male will get to mate. This favors genotypes that lead to a big ol' hump. While not all pink salmon get a hump that large, the Barry Whites of the humpy salmon world have a great big shoulder boulder that makes the lady fish swoon.

Here's one of those fishy freaks: https://www.landbigfish.com/articles/default.cfm?ID=352

[–] IrritableOcelot 5 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Ahhhh it's a humpy, I stand corrected. Not familiar with them. That's absolutely wild!

[–] SoleInvictus@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 6 months ago

They're so weird! Imagine going through your life sleek and swift, just to turn into Quasimodo once you hit puberty. Then you die.

[–] shikitohno@lemm.ee 11 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Probably not photoshopped, more likely just different species and the one on the bottom has been butterflied and laid with the meat touching the ground so it looks much larger. Neither one has really started to change that much at the point these pictures were taken. Towards the end of the season, at least for west coast salmon, they'll often get a lot leaner and their scales turn a super vivid red. As they lose their fat reserves, the meat also becomes much more delicate.

[–] EldritchFeminity@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 6 months ago

The second one doesn't seem to be butterflied, as it would be missing a dorsal fin if it was, and the skin color is asymmetrical. They're 2 different species imo, but I'm only familiar with Atlantic salmon so I can't say for sure. Atlantic salmon normally look like the top one and get an upturned hook mouth but don't really change color.

[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 16 points 6 months ago

This is a good way to illustrate what "gooning" is.

[–] Cruxifux@feddit.nl 8 points 6 months ago

Same

[–] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 6 points 6 months ago

Happens to the best of us.

[–] JoYo@lemmy.ml 5 points 6 months ago

are they still salmon colored?

[–] Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca 4 points 6 months ago

Because they do not need to survive like that for long lol they die like immediately after.