Sacramento River Winter-run Chinook Salmon Research Articles

Machine Learning Forecasts to Reduce Risk of Entrainment Loss of Endangered Salmonids at Large-Scale Water Diversions in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California

Incidental entrainment of fishes at large-scale state and federal water diversion facilities in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California, can trigger protective management actions when limits imposed by environmental regulations are approached or exceeded. These actions can result in substantial economic costs, and likewise they can affect the status of vulnerable species. Here, we examine data relevant to water management actions during January–June; the period when juvenile salmonids are present in the Delta. We use a quantile regression forest approach to create a risk forecasting tool, which can inform adjustments of diversions based on near real-time predictions. Models were trained using historical entrainment data (Water Years 1999–2019) for Sacramento River winter-run Chinook Salmon or Central Valley Steelhead and a suite of environmental and water operations metrics. A range of models was developed; their performance was evaluated by comparison of a quantile loss metric. The models were validated through examination of partial dependence plots, cross-validation procedures, and further evaluated through WY 2019 pilot testing, which integrated real-world uncertainty in environmental parameters into model predictions. For both species, the strongest predictor of loss was the previous week’s entrainment loss. In addition, risk increased with higher water exports and more negative Old and Middle Rivers (OMR) flows. Point estimates of loss were modestly correlated with observations (R2 0.4 to 0.6), but the use of a quantile regression approach provided reliable prediction intervals. For both species, the predicted 75th quantile appears to be a robust and conservative estimator of entrainment risk, with overprediction occurring in fewer than 20% of cases. This quantile balances the magnitude of over- and under-prediction and results in a low probability (< 5% of predictions) of unexpected high-take events. These models, and the web-based application through which they are made accessible to non-technical users, can provide a useful and complementary approach to the current system of managing entrainment risk.

Targeting river operations to the critical thermal window of fish incubation: Model and case study on Sacramento River winter‐run Chinook salmon

AbstractAllocating reservoir flows to meet societal and ecosystem needs under increasing water demands and climatic variability presents challenges to resource managers. Often, rivers have been regulated to meet flow and temperature compliance points or mimic historical patterns. Because it is difficult to assess if this approach is efficient, process‐based models are being used to design river operations. This paper describes a model for fish incubation survival based on the premise that mortality from thermal stress occurs over a critical window (CW) of embryo development. A model for the embryo CW based on metabolic studies of development is combined with density‐dependent and background mortalities to describe salmonid survival from egg fertilization to fry detection downstream. The model is calibrated with a two‐decade dataset of Sacramento River winter‐run Chinook salmon egg‐to‐fry survival. The effects of temperature exposure over a range of CWs were explored. Based on statistical and biological support, two alternative CWs were identified for temperature control: the entire incubation period and a short duration window prior to hatching. Survival under different CW assumptions and temperature control operations were simulated with an internet‐accessible form of the model. The analysis indicated that under years of limited cold‐water resources, targeting water releases to the CW prior to hatching would yield the highest incubation survival.

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.

Protecting a displaced species in an altered river: a case study of the endangered Sacramento River winter-run Chinook Salmon

Endangered Sacramento River winter-run Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) exist as a single population that spawns in the Sacramento River downstream of Shasta Dam near Redding, CA. Displaced from their historical habitat after dam construction circa 1940, their survival depends on cold water released from Shasta Reservoir. Managing and recovering the species is further complicated by their anadromous life history, habitat loss and degradation, largescale water supply management, and climate change. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife and other resource agencies coordinate closely to protect the species from extinction, confronting challenges with collaborative restoration and science-driven management. As climate change brings more frequent droughts, warmer weather, and increased variability in precipitation, Sacramento River winter-run Chinook Salmon recovery will require greater collaboration and a shift to more holistic restoration actions that promote and maintain the diversity and resilience of the species and its habitats.

Modeling the effect of habitat availability and quality on endangered winter-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) production in the Sacramento Valley

Reconciliation between water uses and sustaining aquatic species populations requires an effort to identify and quantify essential habitat characteristics for ecosystem health and valuation methods to predict ecosystem response to restoration actions. This process is particularly challenging for anadromous fish species such as California's Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon, due to their limited geographic range and diverse life history habitat requirements. Tools, such as life-cycle models, are needed to manage population dynamics and quantify the composite effects of processes across space and time. Nevertheless, complex institutions can hinder result interpretation and communication, and limit model use in decision-making. This paper focuses on the federally endangered and endemic Sacramento River winter-run Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) by developing a Winter-Run Habitat-based Population Model (WRHAP). WRHAP is a conceptual, freshwater rearing stage model that includes alternative rearing habitats reported in the literature (e.g., floodplains, off-channel and tributaries), defines rules of habitat use based on instream conditions, and incorporates a juvenile growth module that combines bioenergetics modeling with empirical growth rates. Model outputs reasonably follow observed out-migration patterns and provide a realistic smolt size distribution arriving at the San Francisco Bay. This effort demonstrates the importance of currently “non-critical” habitats (as defined by the Endangered Species Act) for juvenile development, with floodplain habitat contributing to a quarter of out-migrating biomass (despite < 18% availability and <10% of total rearing days), and off-channel growth being one of the most sensitive parameters (explaining ~13% of average juvenile weight variance). The model shows the utility of a simple population model to explore relationships between habitat quality/quantity and juvenile development, and to assist water/environmental management and decision-making processes focused on species recovery.

Spawn Timing of Winter-Run Chinook Salmon in the Upper Sacramento River

Spawn timing in anadromous Pacific salmon may be especially sensitive to environmental cues such as river temperature and flow regimes. In this study, we explored correlations between peak spawn timing and water temperature in endangered Sacramento River winter-run Chinook Salmon. In recent drought years, rising water temperatures during egg incubation have negatively affected the winter-run Chinook Salmon population. This paper seeks to understand how winter-run spawn timing may be affected by temperatures during the staging period prior to spawning, and how water releases from Shasta Dam might affect these dynamics. We fit a proportional-odds logistic regression model to evaluate annual spawn timing as a function of average temperatures in April and May below Keswick Dam. While the start date of spawning remains relatively constant from year to year, the timing of peak spawning varies annually. Cool springtime temperatures trigger winter-run Chinook Salmon to spawn earlier, whereas warm springtime temperatures trigger fish to spawn later. Before dam construction, winter-run Chinook Salmon spawned in cool, spring-fed streams that are now inaccessible to migrating salmonids. In their natal spawning grounds, temperature-driven spawn timing would have primarily ensured sufficient time for egg maturation in cool years, while secondarily preventing egg and alevin mortality in warm years. In the current winter-run spawning grounds, the relationship between temperature and spawn timing may have important applications to management of Shasta Dam water releases, especially during conditions when thermal mortality can affect developing winter-run Chinook Salmon eggs.

Spawn Timing of Winter-Run Chinook Salmon in the Upper Sacramento River

Spawn timing in anadromous Pacific salmon may be especially sensitive to environmental cues such as river temperature and flow regimes. In this study, we explored correlations between peak spawn timing and water temperature in endangered Sacramento River winter-run Chinook Salmon. In recent drought years, rising water temperatures during egg incubation have negatively affected the winter-run Chinook Salmon population. This paper seeks to understand how winter-run spawn timing may be affected by temperatures during the staging period prior to spawning, and how water releases from Shasta Dam might affect these dynamics. We fit a proportional-odds logistic regression model to evaluate annual spawn timing as a function of average temperatures in April and May below Keswick Dam. While the start date of spawning remains relatively constant from year to year, the timing of peak spawning varies annually. Cool springtime temperatures trigger winter-run Chinook Salmon to spawn earlier, whereas warm springtime temperatures trigger fish to spawn later. Before dam construction, winter-run Chinook Salmon spawned in cool, spring-fed streams that are now inaccessible to migrating salmonids. In their natal spawning grounds, temperature-driven spawn timing would have primarily ensured sufficient time for egg maturation in cool years, while secondarily preventing mortality in warm years. In the current winter-run spawning grounds, the relationship between temperature and spawn timing may have important applications to management of Shasta Dam water releases, especially during conditions when thermal mortality can affect developing winter-run Chinook Salmon eggs.

Applying a simplified energy-budget model to explore the effects of temperature and food availability on the life history of green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris)

In highly regulated systems, like large dammed rivers, conservation legislation requires that systems are managed, in part, to avoid adverse impacts on endangered species. However, multiple endangered species can occur in the same system, and management actions that benefit one species may be detrimental to another species. The current water management strategies in the Sacramento River basin are an example of this conflict. Cold-water releases from Shasta Reservoir during the summer and fall months are aimed at protecting Sacramento River winter-run Chinook (SRWRC) salmon by providing suitable incubation temperatures for their eggs. However, the effects of these regulated water temperature releases on another threatened species, green sturgeon, are less well understood. In this study, we applied a simplified dynamic energy budget (DEB) model (aka DEBkiss) to explore the effect of food limitation and water temperature on the growth rates of green sturgeon. This model captures these effects and able to predict the growth of green sturgeon at different food levels and temperature conditions. We then linked the DEB model with a physically‐based water temperature model. We applied the DEB - water temperature linked model for green sturgeon along with a temperature-dependent egg to fry survival model for SRWRC salmon to quantify the consequences of managing water temperatures to improve salmon eggs survival on the growth rate of green sturgeon. We found that mean temperature-dependent egg-to-fry survival of salmon increased across a modeled environmental gradient from critically dry to wet water year types, while the fractional growth rate of juvenile green sturgeon showed the opposite trend, and decreased as water years transitioned from dry to wet conditions. We also found a non-linear negative correlation between temperature-dependent mean growth rate of green sturgeon and mean temperature-dependent egg-to-fry survival of salmon, which indicated there is a river temperature related trade-off between early growth rate of green sturgeon and embryonic stage survival of salmon. However, the relatively small gains in the growth rate of green sturgeon achieved in years when temperature criteria for SRWRC salmon eggs were not met came at the cost of large reduction in temperature-dependent egg-to-fry survival of salmon. Thus, we concluded the current Sacramento River water-temperature management for the eggs of the endangered SRWRC salmon eggs have a relatively small impact on the growth rate of green sturgeon.

Alternative Juvenile Production Estimate (JPE) Forecast Approaches for Sacramento River Winter-Run Chinook Salmon

Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon are listed under the Endangered Species Act as Endangered and there are substantial efforts to estimate, predict, and limit mortalities at various stages of their life cycle. One such effort is the annual forecast of the number of juvenile winter-run entering the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The natural-origin Juvenile Production Estimate (JPE) is defined as the number of winter-run juveniles produced from natural spawning areas that enter the Delta, and its forecast is used to determine the allowable level of winter-run incidental take at the state and federal pumping facilities located in the south Delta. Current monitoring programs in the Sacramento Basin do not allow for direct estimation of the JPE and thus various methods have been used to forecast this value annually. Here we describe three alternative methods for forecasting the natural-origin JPE. The methods range from the status quo approach (Method 1), which expresses the JPE forecast only as a point estimate, to two other methods that account for forecast uncertainty to various degrees. A comparison of JPE forecasts for 2018 across the three methods indicates that relative to Method 1, Methods 2 and 3 result in lower JPE forecasts, by 24 and 18 percent, respectively, primarily owing to lower forecasts of the fry-to-smolt transition and the smolt survival rate occurring downstream of Red Bluff Diversion Dam. Because post-hoc estimates of juvenile winter-run abundance at the entrance to the Delta do not currently exist, we are unable to evaluate forecast skill among the three methods.

Central Valley Spring-Run Chinook Salmon and Ocean Fisheries: Data Availability and Management Possibilities

Author(s): Satterthwaite, William H.; Cordoleani, Flora; O'Farrell, Michael R.; Kormos, Brett; Mohr, Michael S. | Abstract: Central Valley spring-run Chinook Salmon (CVSC) are designated threatened by state and federal authorities. Although CVSC are caught in ocean fisheries, their harvest is not actively managed, because it is assumed that measures currently in place to protect endangered Sacramento River winter-run Chinook Salmon (SWRC) will also sufficiently protect CVSC. Recoveries of tags and genetically-identified CVSC suggest these fish have a more northerly distribution than SRWC. Further, escapement data and cohort reconstructions suggest that CVSC mature later than SRWC. Thus, regulations (time/area restrictions and minimum size limits) crafted to protect SRWC alone may not adequately protect CVSC; on the other hand, regulations to constrain impacts on Klamath River and California coastal Chinook Salmon populations may also reduce impacts on CVSC. Trends in CVSC escapement were deemed acceptable in recent status updates, but concerns remain because of the negative effects caused by recent drought and ocean conditions. Should more active management of CVC be desired, current options are limited. The most promising approach is based on estimating age-specific ocean fishing mortality rates by using cohort reconstructions applied to tagged Chinook Salmon that originate from the Feather River Hatchery. At a minimum, ocean fishing mortality rates could be monitored and compared to proxy thresholds. If reference harvest rates were established, harvest models could be developed to predict how CVSC would be affected by fishing regulations, similar to the way fall-run Chinook Salmon fisheries are evaluated. Abundance forecasts would require improved juvenile production data (e.g., from genetic sampling of juvenile emigrants), since sibling-based forecasts commonly used for fall-run Chinook Salmon would not be available in time for pre-season planning. It is unclear if ocean fishing mortality rate estimates derived from hatchery proxies for natural-origin fish are truly representative, but existing data do not demonstrate obvious differences in ocean distribution or size-at-age fish. Substantial new investments in tagging or sampling would be needed to directly estimate ocean fishing mortality rates for natural-origin CVSC. Establishing specific harvest targets or limits for CVSC requires an improved understanding of production throughout their life cycle through juvenile production estimates and long-term information on spawner age structure.

Endangered winter-run Chinook salmon rely on diverse rearing habitats in a highly altered landscape

Protecting habitats for imperiled species is central to conservation efforts. However, for migratory species, identifying juvenile habitats that confer success requires tracking individuals to reproduction. Here, we used otolith strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) to reconstruct juvenile habitat use by endangered Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon that survived to adulthood. The isotope data revealed that 44–65% of surviving adults reared in non-natal habitats, most of which is not designated as critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act. Juveniles entered these non-natal habitats at small sizes, yet left freshwater at a similar size to those that reared in the mainstem Sacramento River, suggesting these alternate rearing habitats provide suitable growth conditions. These findings indicate Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon rely on rearing habitats across a broader geographic region than previously known, potentially opening up greater restoration and conservation opportunities for species recovery.

Science Advancements Key to Increasing Management Value of Life Stage Monitoring Networks for Endangered Sacramento River Winter-Run Chinook Salmon in California

A robust monitoring network that provides quantitative information about the status of imperiled species at key life stages and geographic locations over time is fundamental for sustainable management of fisheries resources. For anadromous species, management actions in one geographic domain can substantially affect abundance of subsequent life stages that span broad geographic regions. Quantitative metrics (e.g., abundance, movement, survival, life history diversity, and condition) at multiple life stages are needed to inform how management actions (e.g., hatcheries, harvest, hydrology, and habitat restoration) influence salmon population dynamics. The existing monitoring network for endangered Sacramento River winter-run Chinook Salmon (SRWRC, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in California’s Central Valley was compared to conceptual models developed for each life stage and geographic region of the life cycle to identify relevant SRWRC metrics. We concluded that the current monitoring network was insufficient to diagnose when (life stage) and where (geographic domain) chronic or episodic reductions in SRWRC cohorts occur, precluding within- and among-year comparisons. The strongest quantitative data exist in the Upper Sacramento River, where abundance estimates are generated for adult spawners and emigrating juveniles. However, once SRWRC leave the upper river, our knowledge of their identity, abundance, and condition diminishes, despite the juvenile monitoring enterprise. We identified six system-wide recommended actions to strengthen the value of data generated from the existing monitoring network to assess resource management actions: (1) incorporate genetic run identification; (2) develop juvenile abundance estimates; (3) collect data for life history diversity metrics at multiple life stages; (4) expand and enhance real-time fish survival and movement monitoring; (5) collect fish condition data; and (6) provide timely public access to monitoring data in open data formats. To illustrate how updated technologies can enhance the existing monitoring to provide quantitative data on SRWRC, we provide examples of how each recommendation can address specific management issues

Development of a Chinook Salmon Sex Identification SNP Assay Based on the Growth Hormone Pseudogene

Abstract Genotypic sex identification assays can provide valuable information about fish populations when phenotypic sex determination is difficult. Here we describe the development of a TaqMan® assay (Ots_SexID) designed to identify the genotypic sex by targeting a region previously examined in the growth hormone pseudogene for winter-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) collected from the Sacramento River and spawned at the Livingston Stone National Fish Hatchery. Accuracy of the marker was assessed by comparing genotypic sex assignments for Chinook salmon spawned at Livingston Stone National Fish hatchery in 2012 (n = 84) with phenotypic sex recorded during spawning. Genotypic sex was observed to be concordant with phenotypic sex identified using Ots_SexID in 83/84 individuals, suggesting that the assay could be used to predict phenotypic sex with ∼︀99% accuracy. To evaluate the utility of the TaqMan assay in other parts of the species’ range, we examined collections from 29 other populations ranging from Alaska to California. Genotypic sex assignments based on the assay were generally concordant with observed phenotypes, but there were some strong exceptions. These results suggest that the new assay will be very useful for Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon, but also highlight the importance of thoroughly testing any genotypic sex identification assay before application in a population of interest.

Migration Patterns of Juvenile Winter-run-sized Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) through the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta

The decline of Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) remains one of the major water management issues in the Sacramento River. Few field studies have been published on winter-run, leaving gaps in our knowledge about their life history. This is especially true in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, which provides essential rearing and migratory habitats for winter-run, and serves as the center of water operations for California. Using long-term monitoring data that identified winter-run-sized fish (“winter-run”) using length-at-date criteria, we examined patterns of juvenile migration in terms of geographic distribution, timing, numbers, and residence times. We analyzed the role of flow, turbidity, temperature, and adult escapement on the downstream movement (“migration”) of winter-run. Winter-run passed Knights Landing (rkm 144 or 51 rkm upstream of the Delta) between October and April, with substantial variation in peak time of entry that was strongly associated with the first high flows of the migration season. Specifically, the first day of flows of at least 400 m3 s-1 at Wilkins Slough (rkm 190) coincided with the first day that at least 5% of the annual total catch was observed at Knights Landing. While the period during which winter-run left the Delta spanned several months based on Chipps Island (rkm 29) catch data, the median catch typically occurred over a narrow window in March. Differences in timing of cumulative catch at Knights Landing and Chipps Island indicate that apparent residence time in the Delta ranges from 41 to 117 days, with longer apparent residence times for juveniles arriving earlier at Knights Landing. We discuss the potential importance of the Yolo Bypass floodplain as an alternative rearing and migratory corridor, contingent on the timing, duration, and magnitude of floodplain inundation. These results carry implications for habitat restoration and management of Sacramento River flows.

An introduction to the use of electronic tagging to provide insights into salmon migration and survival

The west coast of North America serves as home for five species of semelparous salmon and the iteroparous steelhead and cutthroat trout, all in the genus Oncorhynchus. Currently, only Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) and steelhead trout (O. mykiss) reside in the rivers and streams of California’s Central Valley. By contrast, the coastal streams of California contain coho salmon (O. kisutch), Chinook salmon and, to a much lesser extent, cutthroat trout (O. clarki). The rivers and streams of the Central Valley are unique because they host four Chinook salmon runs identified by the season when most adults return to freshwater to spawn. These seasons include winter, spring, fall, and late-fall (Fry 1961; Stone 1874). Of the four runs, the fall run is the most abundant, largely due to supplementation by hatchery production (Fisher 1994). Fall-run juvenile Chinook salmon emigrate to the ocean soon after hatching. Some of their springrun and winter-run counterparts engage in similar conduct, thereby exhibiting what is known as ocean-type behavior. Late-fall and some spring-run juveniles use a different strategy, remaining in freshwater for a few weeks to several months before outmigrating to the ocean at a larger size. This pattern is described as stream-type behavior. The ocean-type juveniles spend relatively little time in streams and enter the ocean at a small size [80 mm fork length (FL)]. The stream-type juveniles enter the ocean at 120–180 mm FL. These larger stream-type smolts are also called yearlings. Central Valley steelhead are currently recognized only as winter run, although in the past there may have been a summer run as wIell (Needham et al. 1941). Juvenile steelhead vary in freshwater residency and age at ocean entry. While many enter the ocean as smaller sub-yearlings, others enter as larger yearlings or when even older. Populations of coho salmon migrate upstream and spawn in coastal streams and larger rivers outside of the Central Valley, especially in the area north of the Golden Gate, the estuarine exit for Central Valley salmonids. Today salmon populations are only a fraction of their historical abundance, primarily because of the loss of spawning habitat that has resulted from dam construction. Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon are classified as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, with Central Valley steelhead and spring-run Chinook salmon listed Environ Biol Fish (2013) 96:131–133 DOI 10.1007/s10641-012-0099-x

State-dependent life history plasticity in Sacramento River winter-run chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha): interactions among photoperiod and growth modulate smolting and early male maturation

An experiment was performed to determine the relative effects of photoperiod at emergence and growth rate on smolting pattern and early male maturation rate in Sacramento River (California, USA) winter-run chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) (listed as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act). Fry were ponded on the same day but at three different points in the seasonal photoperiod cycle (using artificial lighting) spanning the natural range of emergence timing in this population. Significant increases in gill Na+,K+-ATPase activity and seawater survival were found during March and April in all treatments, similar to yearling smolting patterns found in many salmonids. Fish that emerged early and grew at a relatively high rate also demonstrated signs of smolting in August–November. Male maturation was growth dependent, with HiFeed groups maturing at a rate double that found in LoFeed groups. Male maturation was also photoperiod dependent with a linear relation found between emergence date and rate of male maturation. These results demonstrate that individual life history pattern was variable and dependent on emergence timing and growth rate.

Hidden Process Models For Animal Population Dynamics

Hidden process models are a conceptually useful and practical way to simultaneously account for process variation in animal population dynamics and measurement errors in observations and estimates made on the population. Process variation, which can be both demographic and environmental, is modeled by linking a series of stochastic and deterministic subprocesses that characterize processes such as birth, survival, maturation, and movement. Observations of the population can be modeled as functions of true abundance with realistic probability distributions to describe observation or estimation error. Computer-intensive procedures, such as sequential Monte Carlo methods or Markov chain Monte Carlo, condition on the observed data to yield estimates of both the underlying true population abundances and the unknown population dynamics parameters. Formulation and fitting of a hidden process model are demonstrated for Sacramento River winter-run chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytsha).

Class I MHC polymorphism and evolution in endangered California Chinook and other Pacific salmon.

Twelve MHC class I exon 2 sequences were uncovered in a sample from the endangered Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon in the central valley of California. Phylogenetic analysis of the 12 sequences indicates that the alleles descend from two of six major allelic lineages found among four Pacific salmon species. Nine of the 12 alleles belong to an allelic lineage that began diversifying 8 million years ago, just prior to the estimated time of Chinook speciation. The most recent common ancestor of all 12 winter-run alleles is estimated to be 15 million years ago, approximately 5 million years before the radiation of the Pacific salmon species. The average nonsynonymous distance among the peptide binding-region codons of exon 2 for the 12 alleles is significantly higher than the average synonymous distance in these codons. We estimate the symmetrical overdominant selection coefficient against homozygotes for this exon to be 0.038. Thus, strong positive and balancing selection has maintained functional diversity in the peptide-binding region of the exon over millions of years and this variation has not yet been substantially eliminated by increased genetic drift due to the recent dramatic decline in abundance of this Chinook salmon population.

Pathology Associated with the Rosette Agent, A Systemic Protist Infecting Salmonid Fishes

Abstract Mortality and morbidity were observed among 1–5-year-old captive broodstock of Sacramento River winter-run chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha that had been reared in seawater and were infected with the systemic protist termed the “rosette agent.” Two types of lesions were found in naturally occurring infections. The first was disseminated and was characterized by systemic dispersion of parasites accompanied by minimal host inflammatory cell response, whereas the second was limited and nodular with parasites restricted to granulomas in the kidney, spleen, and liver. In the disseminated form of the disease, the parasite was detected within hematopoietic, epithelial, and mesenchymal cell types. Aggregates of the organism and associated cellular debris were found in the kidney, liver, spleen, heart, gill, brain, ovary, testis, and hindgut. Renal tubular necrosis, membranous glomerulonephritis, necrotizing interstitial nephritis, multifocal hepatocellular necrosis, and necrotizing vasculitis were...

Viability of Sacramento River Winter-Run Chinook Salmon

Viability of Sacramento River Winter-Run Chinook Salmon