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The influence of resource subsidies on animal growth, survival and reproduction is well understood, but their ultimate effects on life history have been less explored. Some wild species have a partially migratory life history, wherein migration is dictated based upon threshold traits regulated in part by the seasonal availability of resources. We conducted a large-scale field manipulation experiment where we provided a terrestrial invertebrate subsidy to red-spotted masu salmon. Individuals in stream reaches that received a subsidy had, on average, a 53% increase in growth rate relative to those in control reaches. This increased growth resulted in a greater proportion of individuals reaching the threshold body size and smolting in the autumn. Consequently, 19–55% of females in subsidized reaches became migratory, whereas 0–14% became migratory in the control reaches. Our findings highlight seasonal ecosystem linkage as a key ecosystem property for maintaining migratory polymorphism in partially migratory animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]