Author: Rachel LovellFord Publisher: ISBN: Category : Coho salmon Languages : en Pages : 146
Book Description
Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) migration and spawning are unique components of the salmon life cycle because they require synchrony of behavior with other individuals as well as with acceptable fluvial conditions. As with other organisms that exhibit group mating behavior, it is likely that environmental cues trigger coho salmon movement to spawning grounds. These cues may also provide usable habitat for migration and spawning. River discharge, temperature, and length of day have long been assumed to be the environmental cues which trigger migration and spawning of coho salmon as coho return within the same season each year to spawn. Hatchery studies have also shown that the timing of reproductive behavior is heritable. If this heritability is determined by the fluvial conditions of the spawning grounds, then a predictable relationship should exist between reproductive behavior and the hydrologic and thermal regimes. Surprisingly, no defensible correlations between discharge thresholds and spawning or migrating activity have been identified for naturally reproducing coho salmon. Thermal, velocity, and depth limitations have been identified for coho salmon, but these values have not been examined in combination or within the context of a hydrologic and thermal regime. This study compares interannual patterns in the timing of coho mid-river migration in the North Umqua (180 km up river from the estuary) and the initiation of spawn timing in the Smith River basins (Oregon) with river discharge and water temperature data to ascertain whether these behaviors are driven by fluvial conditions. Additionally, we used this data to identify the window over which most migration and spawning takes place in our test systems. On the North Umpqua, coho salmon mid-river migration initiated (first 5% of migrants) after summer peak temperatures and following a threshold average daily temperature of 18° C, but before fall storm events occurred. In most years, approximately 75% of the migrating coho salmon have moved past the Winchester Dam before fall storms initiated and when discharge remained less than the 11 year average for the month of November, more similar to summer than winter flow levels. Additionally, characteristic lengths and numbers of peaks within the distribution of annual migrations were attributable to the generational cohort that the migration belonged to despite the similarity in population size across all years. These patterns in the distribution of generational cohorts suggest an inherited timing response as well as highlight cohorts which may contain diminished sub-populations. The initiation of coho salmon spawning appears limited both by a thermal threshold of 12° C in all basins, as well as by a minimal discharge threshold, which is unique to each stream. Continued spawning activity occurs as discharge remains elevated from fall levels. It is also notable that there was no statistical difference in the date of the initiation of spawning within each basin in a given year or across years at a given site. Together, these studies highlight the important role that the coho salmon genome plays in reproductive timing as well as the ways that fluvial thresholds limit reproductive behavior in time. Coho have survived because of their genome has been resilient when faced with environmental change. Future work should consider variability in fluvial conditions relative to coho salmon phenotypic plasticity over time. Coho salmon phenotypic plasticity will determine whether the rate of change of the hydrologic and thermal regimes important to coho salmon survival outpaces the coho's ability to adapt. This study contributed to this future work by establishing baseline relationships between the behavior of a threatened species and measurable environmental thresholds.
Author: Michelle Eileen Stratton Publisher: ISBN: Category : Coho salmon Languages : en Pages : 170
Book Description
The timing of freshwater entry by anadromous salmonids varies markedly among species and populations within species and is frequently used as an indicator of local adaptation to sitespecific patterns of selection. Although complex stock structure is most often associated with large watersheds that have extensive habitat diversity, even small drainages can produce multiple co-occurring stocks that differ in migratory timing. In addition, migration timing can be influenced by within-year environmental conditions experienced by migrating individuals en route to spawning sites, staging near the river mouth in the ocean, or within the river itself. Each stage of migration through both freshwater and saltwater could be altered based on climatic drivers and how each individual fish reacts to these stressors. The objective of this thesis was to assess the potential for stock structure in Coho Salmon within a small coastal watershed on Kodiak Island, Alaska by 1) identifying important differences in spawning and holding locations associated with run timing, length, and stream life between main stem and tributary spawners, 2) quantifying the influence of large-, intermediate-, and local-scale climate variables on freshwater entrance timing and in-river movements. To address the first objective, fish were tracked to their spawning locations using acoustic telemetry in three spawning seasons (2015-2017). I detected no statistically or biologically meaningful differences in body size (length, mm) or migration timing into the river between main stem and tributary spawning fish. Unexpectedly, I found that a large portion of fish (80%) utilize the lake during their in-river migration suggesting the lake may represent critical staging habitat for adult Coho Salmon prior to spawning. I also identified holding habitat throughout the river that both spawning groups consistently used across years that also appears to be important to premature migrating Coho Salmon. In Chapter Two, I analyzed 33 years of freshwater entrance timing data and utilized radio tags to track in-river movement to quantify the influence of precipitation and temperature on total distance moved and probability of moving. Despite marked variation among years, I found no evidence of a temporal trend in entrance timing based on escapement counts, which contrasts with other recent examples throughout Alaska reporting changes in run timing. The strongest influence on timing of freshwater entry was ocean sea surface temperature, where cold temperatures delayed entry up to 11 days. Within-river movements were positively related to precipitation and temperature, confirming local traditional knowledge in this system, and consistent with life history patterns of Coho Salmon. The primary messages of this thesis are that i) any within-watershed stock structure is unlikely to be differentially affected by harvest or management given overlapping run timing, body size, and use of main stem holding areas; future population genetics analyses would be an obvious and illuminating next step to assess the extent to which main stem and tributary spawners are reproductively isolated groups; ii) both main stem and tributary spawners use Buskin Lake as holding habitat prior to spawning, and thus assumptions that fish that enter the upper watershed are destined to spawn in headwater tributaries are invalid, which in turn limits the utility of enumerating adult passage into the lake for escapement-based management, iii) adult freshwater entrance timing is highly variable but not changing systematically through time, though the extent to which the variation in timing reflects environmental response vs. uncertainty in the counts at the weir is unknown, and iv) low precipitation and warm temperatures suppress movement and result in protracted use of main stem and lake habitats for holding, which may put some individuals at risk to angler harvest or, in extreme events, potentially low dissolved oxygen environments. Spatial management that restricts fishing in locations of known primary holding habitats may be an option to reduce probability of mortality and stress in years of low adult abundance.
Author: Brian C. Spence Publisher: ISBN: Category : Coho salmon Languages : en Pages : 402
Book Description
The timing of two events in the early life history of coho salmon--emergence from the gravel and entry into the ocean--is presumed to have evolved to ensure maximum survival during these transition periods. Anthropogenic disturbances may disrupt the timing of these events to the detriment of salmon populations. Multivariate analyses were used to examine regional patterns in downstream migration in relation to environmental variation for 50 smolt populations located between central California and southern Alaska. Significant latitudinal gradients were observed in the timing of the peak of migration, duration of migration, and degree of interannual variation in the peak of migration. Smolt migrations of northern populations generally occurred later in the spring, were shorter in duration, and exhibited lower interannual variability in their timing than did those of southern populations. Some variability in these patterns was associated with watershed characteristics (e.g., elevation, distance from ocean); however, latitudinal patterns transcended this variability and may reflect adaptation to differences in temporal "windows of opportunity" in the ocean environments into which smolts enter. Logistic regression models were used to model within- and between-year variation in probability of smolts migrating during 2-d intervals from four streams in Alaska, British Columbia, and Oregon as a function of time interval, lunar periodicity, temperature (absolute, change, cumulative degree days), and streamflow (absolute, change). Migration probability was positively associated with time, temperature, and change in flow, and negatively associated with absolute flow for at least four of the five data sets examined (P
Author: Bror Jonsson Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media ISBN: 9400711891 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 720
Book Description
Destruction of habitat is the major cause for loss of biodiversity including variation in life history and habitat ecology. Each species and population adapts to its environment, adaptations visible in morphology, ecology, behaviour, physiology and genetics. Here, the authors present the population ecology of Atlantic salmon and brown trout and how it is influenced by the environment in terms of growth, migration, spawning and recruitment. Salmonids appeared as freshwater fish some 50 million years ago. Atlantic salmon and brown trout evolved in the Atlantic basin, Atlantic salmon in North America and Europe, brown trout in Europe, Northern Africa and Western Asia. The species live in small streams as well as large rivers, lakes, estuaries, coastal seas and oceans, with brown trout better adapted to small streams and less well adapted to feeding in the ocean than Atlantic salmon. Smolt and adult sizes and longevity are constrained by habitat conditions of populations spawning in small streams. Feeding, wintering and spawning opportunities influence migratory versus resident lifestyles, while the growth rate influences egg size and number, age at maturity, reproductive success and longevity. Further, early experiences influence later performance. For instance, juvenile behaviour influences adult homing, competition for spawning habitat, partner finding and predator avoidance. The abundance of wild Atlantic salmon populations has declined in recent years; climate change and escaped farmed salmon are major threats. The climate influences through changes in temperature and flow, while escaped farmed salmon do so through ecological competition, interbreeding and the spreading of contagious diseases. The authors pinpoint essential problems and offer suggestions as to how they can be reduced. In this context, population enhancement, habitat restoration and management are also discussed. The text closes with a presentation of what the authors view as major scientific challenges in ecological research on these species.
Author: National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Water Resources Management, Instream Flows, and Salmon Survival in the Columbia River Basin Publisher: National Academy Press ISBN: Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 274
Book Description
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Author: Publisher: ISBN: Category : Coho salmon Languages : en Pages : 124
Book Description
Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) rely on unique habitats during the winter season, which may dictate how much individuals may growth and when migration from freshwater rearing habitat to the ocean occurs. Here I analyze movement timing and growth patterns for coho salmon through a field-based study and a literature review. For the field portion, I examined hatchery-stocked juvenile coho salmon across four stream basins in the Russian River watershed, California to determine the relative importance of climate, landscape, and fish size metrics in predicting movement and growth patterns over a winter rearing and spring smolt outmigration time period (December 2014-June 2015). I observed three unique movement strategies: winter parr movement, spring smolt movement, and inter-tributary movement. Movement was predicted in relation to daily temperature and precipitation, followed by in-stream and upslope basin conditions in random forest modeling. Specifically, fish that moved later were associated with basins that contained higher productivity and low-gradient floodplain habitats, while fish that moved earlier came from streams that lacked invertebrate prey and had limited low-gradient rearing habitat. Fish size and timing of movement were the primary predictors of growth, with relatively larger fish in the spring growing faster than fish that were relatively smaller prior to winter. These relationships suggest that hatchery-release fish are still highly influenced by environmental conditions once released, especially in terms of initial seasonal movement, and that watershed conditions should be considered when utilizing hatchery-rearing programs to supplement wild fish populations. In North America, coho salmon populations are distributed from Alaska through California, and may exhibit unique movement and growth patterns in relationship to population-scale vulnerability (Endangered Species Act listing), basin area, and availability and types of rearing habitat. For the second part of my thesis, I conducted a literature review to assess what factors are commonly considered in predicting movement and growth patterns for these fish, as well as the types (season and life stage) and number of movement strategies reported. Eighteen studies were summarized, of which sixteen identified unique movement strategies, ranging from one to four. Despite a wide range of basin areas and latitudes, winter parr and spring smolt movements were commonly observed, with authors primarily relating these behaviors to in-stream habitat and fish size metrics. Additionally, growth was linked positively and primarily with off-channel winter rearing, which may outweigh the importance of fish size in predicting growth when high quality rearing habitats are available during the winter season. Recognizing movement timing diversity and its drivers can help recover threatened coho salmon populations. More widely distributed populations may have unique phenotypic expressions based on localized genetic and environmental interactions, increasing diversity and overall stability across the population, a concept known as the portfolio effect. Understanding fish-habitat relationships can aid recovery efforts by providing a framework of climatic and watershed conditions that support unique behaviors, even in already severely limited populations.
Author: Rachel LovellFord
Author: Michelle Eileen Stratton
Author: Brian C. Spence
Author: Jeffrey Allan Booth
Author: Bror Jonsson
Author: National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Water Resources Management, Instream Flows, and Salmon Survival in the Columbia River Basin
Author: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office
Author: Nathan R. Senner
Author: 
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