Abstract
Chum salmon (Oncorhyncus keta) is a cold-water species reported to migrate within a wide range of habitats, including Korea, Japan, North America, and Russia, playing important roles in the river–sea nutrient cycle and food web. However, research on this species has not been widely performed in South Korea owing to its geographical location at the southern edge of migration. In this study, we analyzed the spatial distribution and morphological characteristics of chum salmon migrating to South Korea using the length–weight relationship. We also analyzed 3 years of catch, sex ratio, and individual information (total length (cm), weight (kg), n = 4400) from ten rivers (eight in the East coast and two on the South coast) with a total of 17 years of water quality and the distance they traveled (n = 50) using multivariate analysis. As a result, we discovered a trend of less migration in the southern part of South Korea for all individuals migrating to South Korea. Furthermore, the weight ratio of males/females was significantly different (p < 0.05). Based on the length–weight relationship analysis, the a and b values were between 0.0011 and 0.038 and 2.65 and 3.49, respectively. In the correlation analysis, catch is negatively correlated with distance traveled and temperature (p < 0.05), and positively correlated with pH, dissolved oxygen, distance, and female ratio (p < 0.05). This is possibly the result of differences in water quality during early life stages or the presence of an estuarine barrage at the mouth of the Nakdong River. This research may be used as fundamental distribution and morphological variations of chum salmon in South Korea.
Highlights
Salmonids comprise 11 genera, with 65–70 species worldwide [1]
Chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) is a cold-water fish distributed around the North Pacific Ocean including the Bering Sea, Alaska, and East Asia [3]
Among over 120,000 chum salmons that migrated to South Korea within seventeen years, we were able to calculate the mean total length and body weights of chum salmon in
Summary
Salmonids comprise 11 genera, with 65–70 species worldwide [1]. The subfamilySalmonidae is composed of five to nine extant genera and approximately 30 species [2].Among these, chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) is a cold-water fish distributed around the North Pacific Ocean including the Bering Sea, Alaska, and East Asia [3]. Salmonids comprise 11 genera, with 65–70 species worldwide [1]. Salmonidae is composed of five to nine extant genera and approximately 30 species [2]. Chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) is a cold-water fish distributed around the North Pacific Ocean including the Bering Sea, Alaska, and East Asia [3]. It is understood that 95% of chum salmon biomass consists of oceanic organic matter, which enhances river–ocean nutrient circulation during decomposition following spawning [4]. The behavior of returning from oceans to natal rivers to spawn is publicly wellknown, rendering it aesthetically valuable [5].
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