Species Selective Predation on Juvenile Pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) and Chum Salmon (O. keta) by Coho Salmon (O. kisutch)

Abstract

Predation on juvenile pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) and chum salmon (O. keta) by yearling coho (O. kisutch) was studied in marine enclosures in Masset Inlet, B.C. These experiments demonstrate that coho prey selectively upon pink salmon even when chums are both significantly smaller and more abundant than pink salmon. Reexamination of the results of similar experiments conducted in Burke Channel, B.C., also confirms that mortality was biased towards pink salmon. Prey species may be more important than prey size for coho that prey upon mixed populations of pink and chum salmon during early sea-life.