Juvenile Chinook Research Articles

Dynamics of juvenile salmon and forage fishes in nearshore kelp forests

Abstract North‐east Pacific juvenile salmon and forage fishes, including the endangered salmon species Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch), chum (Oncorhynchus keta), and pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), and the forage fishes species of Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi), surf smelt (Hypomesus pretiosus), and sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus), utilize kelp environments. Many details of the kelp forest ecosystem function for these fishes are lacking. Kelp forests, salmon, and forage fishes are declining precipitously as the global climate shifts and developments along coastal shorelines expand. It is therefore essential to understand kelp forest function for these species. Analysis of 7 years of snorkelling survey videos indicates that both forage fishes and salmon use kelp forests throughout the outmigration season, and that their interactions occur in small and large groups, primarily along the outer edge of kelp beds. Over the course of outmigration, juvenile Chinook and coho salmon encounter sand lance first, followed by smelt and herring. The majority of interactions are intermingling, in which a subset proceed to predation, primarily on herring. It is important to develop and implement specific fishery and habitat conservation measures to preserve and restore these functions. Long‐term research has shown that intact, conserved nearshore habitats function better ecologically than restored habitats, and individual kelp forests can function differently for forage fishes and salmon. Therefore, conservation plans should be developed to conserve wild kelp forests which are documented to provide ecosystem function for salmon and forage fishes, by protecting them from various development impacts, including dredging, filling, and water‐quality decline. Coastal restoration is often only successful when ecosystem‐limiting factors that result in a loss of habitat are resolved. Kelp forest restoration, therefore, should be prioritized for regions of known high historical kelp forest importance, with restoration actions focused on correcting the limiting factors that caused loss and/or degradation.

Acute Toxicity of 6PPD-Quinone to Early Life Stage Juvenile Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and Coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) Salmon.

The breakdown product of the rubber tire antioxidant N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N'-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine-quinone (6PPD)-6-PPD-quinone has been strongly implicated in toxic injury and death in coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in urban waterways. Whereas recent studies have reported a wide range of sensitivity to 6PPD-quinone in several fish species, little is known about the risks to Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), the primary prey of endangered Southern Resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) and the subject of much concern. Chinook face numerous conservation threats in Canada and the United States, with many populations assessed as either endangered or threatened. We evaluated the acute toxicity of 6PPD-quinone to newly feeding (~3 weeks post swim-up) juvenile Chinook and coho. Juvenile Chinook and coho were exposed for 24 h under static conditions to five concentrations of 6PPD-quinone. Juvenile coho were 3 orders of magnitude more sensitive to 6PPD-quinone compared with juvenile Chinook, with 24-h median lethal concentration (LC50) estimates of 41.0 and more than 67 307 ng/L, respectively. The coho LC50 was 2.3-fold lower than what was previously reported for 1+-year-old coho (95 ng/L), highlighting the value of evaluating age-related differences in sensitivity to this toxic tire-related chemical. Both fish species exhibited typical 6PPD-quinone symptomology (gasping, increased ventilation, loss of equilibrium, erratic swimming), with fish that were symptomatic generally exhibiting mortality. The LC50 values derived from our study for coho are below concentrations that have been measured in salmon-bearing waterways, suggesting the potential for population-level consequences in urban waters. The higher relative LC50 values for Chinook compared with coho merits further investigation, including for the potential for population-relevant sublethal effects. Environ Toxicol Chem 2023;42:815-822. © 2023 His Majesty the King in Right of Canada and The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC. Reproduced with the permission of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Landscape characteristics influence projected growth rates of stream‐resident juvenile salmon in the face of climate change in the Kenai River watershed, south‐central Alaska

AbstractObjectiveClimate change is affecting the distribution and productivity of Pacific salmon throughout their range. At high latitudes, warmer temperatures have been associated with increased freshwater growth of juvenile salmon, but it is not clear how long this trend will continue before further warming leads to reduced growth. To explore the potential influence of climate warming on juvenile Chinook and Coho Salmon summer growth rates in southcentral Alaska, we coupled bioenergetics models with temperature sensitivity models for streams across the Kenai River watershed.MethodsWe measured diet (n = 772 stomachs) and growth (n = 3,791 weight/length values) under current conditions and used published air temperature projections to model growth for the 2030–2039 and 2060–2069 decades.ResultWe estimated direct effects of climate warming on juvenile growth (body mass at the end of May–September study period) will be primarily negative, ranging from +5.1% to −22.8% relative to a 2010–2019 baseline. Estimated effects depended on age cohort, feeding rate, and climate scenario. However, an extended growing season from warming could mitigate or offset predicted reductions in growth during midsummer.ConclusionOur results illustrate how diverse habitats are expected to produce variation in the magnitude of climate effects throughout juvenile salmon rearing environments.

From drought to deluge: spatiotemporal variation in migration routing, survival, travel time and floodplain use of an endangered migratory fish

We developed a novel statistical model to relate the daily survival and migration dynamics of an endangered anadromous fish to river flow and water temperature during both extreme drought and severe flooding in an intensively managed river system. Our Bayesian temporally stratified multistate mark–recapture model integrates over unobserved travel times and route transitions to efficiently estimate covariate relationships and includes an adjustment for telemetry tag battery failure. We applied the model to acoustic-tagged juvenile Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and found that survival decreased with decreasing river flows and increased water temperatures. We found that fish were likely to enter a large floodplain during flood conditions and that survival in the floodplain was comparable to the mainstem Sacramento River. Our study demonstrates the response of an endangered anadromous fish population to extreme spatial and temporal variability in habitat accessibility and quality. The general model framework we introduce here can be applied to telemetry of migratory fish through systems with multiple routes to efficiently estimate spatiotemporal variation in survival, travel time, and routing.

Variation in predator diet and prey size affects perceived impacts to salmon species of high conservation concern

Management of protected species is difficult when objectives include the recovery of both predator and its prey. Ideally, identifying trade-offs between competing objectives involves evaluating management alternatives with a quantitative model that integrates information on both species, but data are often limited. We used new predator diet data and simulation modeling to update our understanding of seal predation on juvenile Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in the Puget Sound. Under prey size assumptions used by previous studies, estimates suggest predation could be a significant source of mortality for Chinook salmon (mean: 37% of ocean age-0 juveniles), but varied considerably among years (range of median estimates: 22%–49%). However, when we estimated prey size from otoliths recovered from seal scats, the impact (numbers of fish consumed) decreased by 71%. Predation on coho salmon was estimated to be relatively low under both scenarios (6%–8% of ocean age-0 juveniles) with a 21% decrease in consumption using otolith-derived prey size. Our analysis highlights the importance of updating model inputs and re-evaluating assumptions of multi-species models used for ecosystem-based fisheries management.

Evaluation of Long-Term Mark-Recapture Data for Estimating Abundance of Juvenile Fall-Run Chinook Salmon on the Stanislaus River from 1996 to 2017

Conservation and management of culturally and economically important species rely on monitoring programs to provide accurate and robust estimates of population size. Rotary screw traps (RSTs) are often used to monitor populations of anadromous fish, including fall-run Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in California’s Central Valley. Abundance estimates from RST data depend on estimating a trap's efficiency via mark-recapture releases. Because efficiency estimates are highly variable and influenced by many factors, abundance estimates can be highly uncertain. An additional complication is the multiple accepted methods for how to apply a limited number of trap efficiency estimates, each from discrete time-periods, to a population’s downstream migration, which can span months. Yet, few studies have evaluated these different methods, particularly with long-term monitoring programs. We used 21 years of mark-recapture data and RST catch of juvenile fall-run Chinook Salmon on the Stanislaus River, California, to investigate factors associated with trap efficiency variability across years and mark-recapture releases. We compared annual abundance estimates across five methods that differed in treatment of trap efficiency (stratified versus modeled) and statistical approach (frequentist versus Bayesian) to assess the variability of estimates across methods, and to evaluate whether method affected trends in estimated abundance. Consistent with short-term studies, we observed negative associations between estimated trap efficiency and river discharge as well as fish size. Abundance estimates were robust across all methods, frequently having overlapping confidence intervals. Abundance trends, for the number of increases and decreases from year to year, did not differ across methods. Estimated juvenile abundances were significantly related to adult escapement counts, and the relationship did not depend on estimation method. Understanding the sources of uncertainty related to abundance estimates is necessary to ensure that high-quality estimates are used in life cycle and stock-recruitment modeling.

Wild Chinook salmon productivity is negatively related to seal density and not related to hatchery releases in the Pacific Northwest

Predation risk and competition among conspecifics significantly affect survival of juvenile salmon, but are rarely incorporated into models that predict recruitment in salmon populations. Using densities of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) and numbers of hatchery-released Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) smolts as covariates in spatially structured Bayesian hierarchical stock–recruitment models, we found significant negative correlations between seal densities and productivity of Chinook salmon for 14 of 20 wild Chinook populations in the Pacific Northwest. Changes in numbers of seals since the 1970s were associated with a 74% decrease (95% CI: −85%, −64%) in maximum sustainable yield in Chinook stocks. In contrast, hatchery releases were significantly correlated with Chinook productivity in only one of 20 populations. Our findings are consistent with recent research on predator diets and bioenergetics modeling that suggest there is a relationship between harbour seal predation on juvenile Chinook and reduced marine survival in parts of the eastern Pacific. Forecasting, assessment, and recovery efforts for salmon populations of high conservation concern should thus consider including biotic factors, particularly predator–prey interactions.

Harbour seals target juvenile salmon of conservation concern

Knowing the species and life stages of prey that predators consume is important for understanding the impacts that predation may have on prey populations, but traditional methods for determining diets often cannot provide sufficient detail. We combined data from two methods of scat analysis (DNA metabarcoding and morphological prey ID) to quantify the species and life stages of salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) consumed by harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) in the Strait of Georgia, Canada, where juvenile Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) salmon survival is poor. Harbour seals primarily consumed adult salmon of lesser conservation concern in the fall (August–November): chum (Oncorhynchus keta: 18.4%), pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha: 12.6%), sockeye (Oncorhynchus nerka: 7.4%), Chinook (7.1%), and coho (1.8%). However, the opposite species trend occurred during the spring when seals preferred juvenile salmon of greater conservation concern (April–July): coho (2.9%), Chinook (2.9%), sockeye (2.5%), pink (1.4%), and chum (0.8%) — percentages that can equate to many individuals consumed. Our data suggest that harbour seals select juveniles of salmon species that out-migrate at ages >1 year and provide evidence of a potential causal relationship between harbour seal predation and juvenile salmon survival trends.

Performance of four salmonids species in competition with Atlantic salmon

Abstract Economically and culturally important salmonid species often compete with Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) released from stocking programs or that escaped during aquaculture production. Such competitive interactions may lower the individual fitness of these species by reducing survival and body growth. Here, we exposed juvenile brown trout (S. trutta), rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), and coho salmon (O. kisutch) to juvenile Atlantic salmon in artificial streams for 10 months. Survival and fitness-related traits of the four species were not negatively impacted by the presence of Atlantic salmon. The results suggest that brown trout and rainbow trout have better competitive abilities than Atlantic salmon, and that Chinook salmon and coho salmon have limited competitive interactions with Atlantic salmon. Although we discuss certain environmental conditions that can favor Atlantic salmon as a competitor at the juvenile life stage, Atlantic salmon may have little impact on the productivity of these four species.

Foraging ecology of walleye and brown trout in a Great Lakes tributary

Abstract The role of alternative prey on predator diet selection and survival of juvenile (parr) Chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ) is not well understood in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Therefore, measures of predator foraging ecology (prey species and size selection), prey densities, and functional response relationships were determined for adult walleye ( Sander vitreus ) and brown trout ( Salmo trutta ) (hatchery-reared) feeding on parr and alternate prey in the Muskegon River, a tributary of Lake Michigan, USA, from 2004 to 2007. Walleye selected for smaller than average brown trout and rainbow trout (hatchery-reared) but walleye prey size (within-prey) was independent of predator size. In general, walleye showed neutral selection for all prey species but, in some years, showed positive selection for rainbow trout and negative selection for parr. Hatchery-reared brown trout selected the smallest parr in the environment although prey size was independent of predator size. Parr were positively selected by brown trout only in April. Functional response curves were fit to describe the consumption of parr and other prey types by walleye (type II) and brown trout (type I). Interactions among rainbow trout, walleye, and brown trout favored parr survival, i.e. the presence of alternate prey (rainbow trout) significantly influenced walleye predation on parr, while brown trout appeared to become quickly limited by size or escape ability of parr. Our results should enhance understanding of food web dynamics in Great Lakes tributary habitats.

Influence of ocean ecosystem variation on trophic interactions and survival of juvenile coho and Chinook salmon

The community of trophically transmitted marine parasites of juvenile coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) salmon across 8 years (2002–2009) was related to indices of physical and biological ocean conditions and adult returns. When the biomass of lipid-poor, southern origin copepods in the coastal ocean was high during juvenile salmon outmigration from fresh water (April–June), yearling coho and Chinook salmon harbored a different trophically transmitted parasite fauna and exhibited lower survival compared with years when the southern copepod biomass was low. As copepods are key intermediate hosts in many marine parasite life cycles, these results support a trophic linkage between the copepod community and salmon prey. Interannual variation in the parasite community was correlated with survival of coho salmon (r = −0.67) measured 1 year later and adult returns of Upper Columbia River summer and fall Chinook salmon (r = −0.94) 3 years from the time of ocean entry.

Juvenile Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in and Around the San Francisco Estuary

Central Valley Chinook must pass through the San Francisco Estuary as juveniles and again as maturing adults. Much attention has been given to the effects on Chinook of management of the freshwater part of the estuary, and the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, and especially to the effects on Chinook of diversions of water from the Delta. Here, I review available information on juvenile Chinook in and around the estuary that seems most relevant to management of the estuary and of Chinook. Most naturally produced juvenile fall Chinook enter the estuary as small fish (<50 mm) that typically use tidal habitats, and anthropogenic changes in the Delta and around the bays have sharply reduced that habitat. Nevertheless, there is evidence that many surviving naturally produced fall Chinook leave fresh water at <55 mm length. Juvenile Chinook from other runs are older and larger when they enter the estuary, and probably pass through it more rapidly. Presumably, these have been less directly affected by loss of tidal habitat, but are also affected by degradation of the estuarine ecosystem. The effects of Delta diversions on Chinook vary strongly by run and river of origin; surprisingly few Sacramento River fall Chinook have been recovered at the diversions. Central Valley Chinook, especially fall Chinook, are strongly affected by hatchery culture that reduces juvenile life-history diversity, probably results in density-dependent mortality in the estuary, and presumably reduces fitness for natural reproduction. Hatchery culture diverts juvenile fall Chinook away from, and precludes for selection for, the life history trajectories followed by most naturally produced fish, to which more attention should be given.

Development of a new method for the determination of residues of the neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid in juvenile chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) using ELISA detection

The neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid (IMI) has been proposed as an alternative to carbaryl for controlling indigenous burrowing shrimp on commercial oyster beds in Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor, Washington. A focus of concern over the use of this insecticide in an aquatic environment is the potential for adverse effects from exposure to non-target species residing in the Bay, such as juvenile Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and cutthroat trout (O. clarki). Federal registration and State permiting approval for the use of IMI will require confirmation that the compound does not adversely impact these salmonids following field applications. This will necessitate an environmental monitoring program for evaluating exposure in salmonids following the treatment of beds. Quantification of IMI residues in tissue can be used for determining salmonid exposure to the insecticide. Refinement of an existing protocol using liquid-chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) detection would provide the low limits of quantification, given the relatively small tissue sample sizes, necessary for determining exposure in individual fish. Such an approach would not be viable for the environmental monitoring effort in Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor due to the high costs associated with running multiple analyses, however. A new sample preparation protocol was developed for use with a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the quantification of IMI, thereby providing a low-cost alternative to LC-MS for environmental monitoring in Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor. Extraction of the analyte from the salmonid brain tissue was achieved by Dounce homogenization in 4.0 mL of 20.0 mM Triton X-100, followed by a 6 h incubation at 50-55 °C. Centrifugal ultrafiltration and reversed phase solid phase extraction were used for sample cleanup. The limit of quantification for an average 77.0 mg whole brain sample was calculated at 18.2 μg kg(-1) (ppb) with an average recovery of 79%. This relatively low limit of quantification allows for the analysis of individual fish. Using controlled laboratory studies, a curvelinear relationship was found between the measured IMI residue concentrations in brain tissue and exposure concentrations in seawater. Additonally, a range of IMI brain residue concentrations was associated with an overt effect; illustrating the utility of the IMI tissue residue quantification approach for linking exposure with defined effects.

Impacts of Channel Reconstruction on Invertebrate Assemblages in a Restored River

Ecosystem restoration often aims to recreate the physical habitat needed to support a particular life‐stage of a focal species. For example, river channel reconstruction, a common restoration practice along the Pacific coast, is typically used to enhance spawning habitat for adult Chinook salmon, a species experiencing large population declines. These restoration efforts rarely consider, however, that altering spawning habitat could have indirect effects on other life‐stages, such as juveniles, which might occur if, e.g. reconstruction alters the benthic food web. To determine how channel reconstruction impacts benthic macroinvertebrates, juvenile Chinook's primary prey, we conducted two studies at a restoration site in the Merced River, California. We asked (1) has gravel enhancement altered invertebrate assemblages in the restored reach compared with an unrestored reach? and, if so, (2) can shifts in the invertebrate community be explained by increased substrate mobility and by reduced heterogeneity that results from restoration? We show that invertebrate abundance and biomass were lower in the restored reach and that these changes were accompanied by a shift from dominance by filter‐feeding caddisflies (Hydropsyche) in the unrestored reach to grazing mayflies (Baetis) in the restored reach. Using an in situ manipulation, we demonstrated that this trend was driven by increased substrate mobility that reduces the abundance of Hydropsyche and by decreased substrate heterogeneity that reduces the abundance of Baetis. Our studies suggest that geomorphic changes typical of reconstructed rivers can alter food webs in ways that may have important implications for supporting the focal species of restoration efforts.

Effect of Commercially Available Egg Cures on the Survival of Juvenile Salmonids

There is some concern that incidental consumption of eggs cured with commercially available cures for the purpose of sport fishing causes mortality in juvenile salmon. We evaluated this by feeding juvenile spring Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (O. mykiss) with eggs cured with one of five commercially available cures. We observed significant levels of mortality in both pre-smolts and smolts. Depending on the experiment, 2, 3, or 4 of the cures were associated with mortality. Mortality tended to be higher in the smolts than in the parr, but there was no clear species effect. The majority of mortality occurred within the first 10 d of feeding. Removal of sodium sulfite from the cure significantly reduced the level of mortality. Soaking the eggs prior to feeding did not reduce mortality. We observed a clear relationship between the amount of cured egg consumed each day and the survival time. We conclude that consumption of eggs cured with sodium sulfite has the potential to cause mortality in juvenile steelhead and Chinook salmon in the wild.

Diel Behavior of Rearing Fall Chinook Salmon

In fisheries science, habitat use is often inferred when fish are sampled or observed in a particular location. Physical habitat is typically measured where fish are found, and thus deemed important to habitat use. Although less common, a more informative approach is to measure or observe fish behavior within given habitats to more thoroughly assess their use of those locations. While this approach better reflects how fish use habitat, fish behavior can be difficult to quantify, particularly at night. For example, Tiffan and others (2002, 2006) were able to quantify habitat availability and characteristics that were important for rearing juvenile fall Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River.

Dietary lipid composition affects the gene expression of gill Na+/K+-ATPase α1b but not the α1a isoform in juvenile fall chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)

We assessed the effects of dietary fatty acid composition on sodium-potassium ATPase (Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase) activity and isoform expression in the gills of juvenile fall chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha by supplementing diets with either anchovy oil (AO) or AO blended with canola oil (CO) so that CO comprised 0% (0CO), 11% (11CO), 22% (22CO), 33% (33CO), 43% (43CO), or 54% (54CO) of the measured dietary lipid content. The effects of diet were assessed in freshwater (FW) following 104 days of diet manipulation, in response to 24-h seawater (SW) transfer at this time, and following an additional 35 days of SW acclimation. Gill Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase activity was not significantly affected by diet at any sampling time, and there were no consistent effects of diet on the expression of the Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase alpha1a isoform. As dietary CO increased, Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase alpha1b mRNA decreased in fish held in FW, with the 43CO and 54CO diet groups having significantly lower levels than fish fed the 0CO and 11CO diets. Twenty-four-hour SW challenge did not affect the expression of the Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase alpha1a isoform in any diet group, but this isoform was down-regulated in all diet groups following 35 days of SW acclimation. Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase alpha1b expression levels increased in response to 24-h SW transfer and SW acclimation only in fish fed the 54CO diet. The effects of the two extreme diets (0CO and 54CO) were also assessed at various time points during 104 days of rearing in FW. Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase alpha1b mRNA levels were greater in fish fed diet 0CO versus those fed diet 54CO at all times during the FW culture period. These data demonstrate that dietary fatty acid composition can influence the gill Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase isoform physiology of juvenile fall-run chinook salmon prior to SW transfer.

Relationship of winter concealment habitat quality on pool use by juvenile spring Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Grande Ronde River Basin, Oregon USA

Winter concealment habitat quality was assessed and its use by juvenile spring Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) quantified in three hatch- ing areas of the Grande Ronde River Basin, Oregon USA. Fish densities were significantly higher in pools with a higher winter concealment habitat index than pools with a lower index. The mean fork length and mean growth rate of fish did not differ between pools with a higher or lower winter concealment habitat index, even though residual fish were significantly larger than fish that emigrated. Biomass-density was significantly higher in pools with a higher winter concealment habitat index than pools with a lower index in all three hatching areas. Biomass-density was positively associated with the amount of cobble substrate (10-24.9 cm/m 2 ) in all three hatching areas, and inversely associated with embeddedness in two of the hatching areas. Results of this study indicate that enhancing winter concealment habitat could improve habitat quality resulting in increased carrying capacity and winter usage by juvenile spring Chinook salmon.

Survey of Pathogens in Juvenile SalmonOncorhynchusSpp. Migrating through Pacific Northwest Estuaries

Abstract Although the adverse impact of pathogens on salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest is often discussed and recognized, little is currently known regarding the incidence and corresponding significance of delayed disease-induced mortalities. In the study reported herein, we surveyed the presence and prevalence of selected micro- and macroparasites in out-migrant juvenile coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch and Chinook salmon O. tshawytscha from 12 coastal estuaries in the Pacific Northwest over a 6-year period (1996–2001). The major finding of this study was the widespread occurrence of pathogens in wild salmon from Pacific Northwest estuaries. The six most prevalent pathogens infecting both juvenile Chinook and coho salmon were Renibacterium salmoninarum, Nanophyetus salmincola, an erythrocytic cytoplasmic virus (erythrocytic inclusion body syndrome or erythrocytic necrosis virus), and three gram-negative bacteria (Listonella anguillarum, Yersinia ruckeri, and Aeromonas salmonicida). The most pre...

Ecological Effects of Hatchery‐Reared Juvenile Chinook and Coho Salmon on Wild Juvenile Salmonids in Two Washington Streams

AbstractWe observed wild salmonid fry at sites downstream (treatment) and upstream (control) from experimental releases of hatchery‐reared Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha smolts and coho salmon O. kisutch fry in two streams to estimate the effects of hatchery releases on the density, group size, microhabitat use, and size of wild fish. Most hatchery‐reared Chinook salmon smolts that were released left treatment sites within a few days; hatchery‐reared coho salmon fry remained at treatment sites for at least several weeks. We found limited evidence to suggest that the release of hatchery‐reared Chinook salmon smolts or coho salmon fry caused consistent, significant effects on the density, group size, microhabitat use, or size of wild coho salmon fry in the two streams. We observed significant decreases in the densities of wild coho salmon and trout fry (steelhead (anadromous rainbow trout) O. mykiss and cutthroat trout O. clarki combined) after hatchery‐reared Chinook salmon were released, but they did not occur when large numbers of hatchery fish were present at treatment sites. We observed an increase in the group size of wild coho salmon in one stream when Chinook salmon were released, but not in the other stream. We observed few changes in microhabitat use by wild coho salmon fry associated with the release of hatchery‐reared fish; most changes were observed in only a single stream or occurred after only some of the releases. The lengths and weights of wild coho salmon fry over the sampling season were not significantly different between treatment and control sites in one study stream. These results suggest that small‐scale releases of hatchery‐reared Chinook or coho salmon have few significant ecological effects on wild salmonid fry in small, coastal Washington streams, particularly when wild fry occur at low densities.