Large‐scale, differential summer habitat use of three anadromous salmonids in a large river basin in Oregon, USA

Abstract

The summer distribution of three juvenile anadromous salmonid species was compared in the mainstem sections and nine tributaries of the Upper South Umpqua River Basin, Oregon, USA. Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum), was found at highest densities in the mainstem and mid‐elevation tributaries. Coho salmon, O. kisutch (Walbaum), was essentially absent from the mainstem, but was found at high densities in the low‐elevation tributaries. Steelhead trout, O. mykiss (Walbaum), was found in the mainstem and all nine tributaries; the highest densities of this species were in the upper mainstem reaches and high‐elevation tributaries. No significant correlations were found between ranks of mainstem and tributary densities among the three species (Spearman's rs;P > 0.05). Observed spatial segregation of basin habitat by these species during summer indicated that protection provided at the level of the river basin will be necessary to assure the continued existence of all stocks.