The diagram below shows the life cycle of the salmon. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The diagram illustrates the development of salmons from eggs to when they have grown mature.

Overall

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, the process includes 7 steps, starting with laying eggs and finishing with fully grown spawning salmons.

To begin

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with, salmon eggs are laid in freshwater areas and incubated for 3 months. The egg’s yolk sac grows larger in the subsequent weeks, forming a bunch called Alevin. The newborn fish known as fry, which are 5 to 10 weeks old, emerges at the next

stage

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of the process.

Although

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fries have gained the ability to swim, they have yet to show the distinctive features of their species. At the age of several months, salmon will have attained the “finger” pattern on their body that represents their species. At

this

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stage

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, they are called “Parr”. In the next 1 to 2 years, the Parrs grow significantly larger, turning into Smolt. These Smolts

then

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migrate in groups to the open ocean where they become adult fishes and remain for another 1 to 8 years. The reproduction

stage

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begins once salmons have fully grown and mated. At

this

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final

stage

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, they return to their birthplace to spawn and die 2 weeks later.