scholarly journals Interannual changes in recruitment of the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) population in the River Oir (Lower Normandy, France): relationships with spawners and in-stream habitat

2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 695-707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Luc Baglinière ◽  
Frédéric Marchand ◽  
Vincent Vauclin

Abstract Since 1985, the dynamics of the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) population in the River Oir, a spawning tributary of the River Sélune (Lower Normandy, France), have been studied from a data set of parr density and the number and the age structure of migrating fish (smolts and adults). Parr densities (1.5–17.4 per 100 m2) and smolt production (0.25–9.2 per 100 m2) varied considerably from year to year. Migrating juveniles were mainly 1 year old. Abundance of parr and smolts was strongly correlated with 0+ densities. Egg-to-smolt survival rates were highly variable year on year (0.044–1.07%). During the juvenile freshwater phase, mortality was highest between the egg and the 0+ stage (97.5–99.9%). The fluctuations in abundance of juvenile salmon appear to be linked to the number and distribution of spawners within the stream during spawning, and also to the amount of silt deposition on the spawning beds. As a result, mortality was highest during the under-gravel phase, and the mean survival rate from egg to smolt was much lower than in rivers less impacted by human activities. Therefore, during the study period, the low production of smolts during some years might lead to a low renewal rate of the salmon population.

1989 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis L. Scarnecchia ◽  
Árni Ísaksson ◽  
S. E. White

Investigations were conducted on the effects of oceanic variations (as measured by sea temperatures) and catches by the West Greenland salmon fishery on the sea age composition of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) stocks from 21 Icelandic west coast rivers. Annual ratios of grilse to two-sea-winter (2SW) salmon were strongly correlated among the 21 rivers. All eight rivers with time series extending back before the expansion of the West Greenland fishery showed lower ratios during the earlier period. Only 2 of the 21 rivers, however, had significantly declining ratios over their time series. In addition, for only one river was West Greenland catch significantly related to the ratios (P < 0.05), and for only one river did ratios increase when the expanded West Greenland fishery was active. Overall, the effects of the fishery on stock composition are evidently minimal. The mean April–May temperature when the smolts were to migrate out of rivers was significantly and positively related to subsequent ratios for five of the rivers, which, along with correlations among the ratios, indicated that more rapid growth of smolts in their first summer may have increased the ratios of grilse to 2SW salmon on several rivers.


1969 ◽  
Vol 26 (9) ◽  
pp. 2535-2537 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. H. C. Pippy

Bacterial kidney disease was presumptively identified in each of 25 hatchery-reared juvenile salmon (Salmo salar) but in only 2 of 235 wild juveniles in the Margaree River system. Apparently spread of disease from the hatchery to wild salmon in the river is very gradual.


1979 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 132-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip E. K. Symons

Smolt production at different egg deposition densities is estimated from data on survival rates and space requirements of juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) reported in the literature. Average maximum production of smolts is estimated to be approximately 5/100 m2 for 2+ smolts, 2/100 m2 for 3+ smolts, and 1/100 m2 for 4+ smolts. Minimum egg depositions recommended for production of these numbers of smolts are 220/100 m2, 165–220/100 m2, and 80/100 m2 for each age of smolts, respectively. The escapement of adults required to produce these depositions must be estimated from observed average weights of returning females and a reported fecundity of Atlantic salmon between 1650 and 1760 eggs/kg of female. With the exception of Ungava rivers, average smolt age in any particular river can be estimated from the number of days per year on which water temperature reaches or exceeds 7 °C. Key words: fishery resources, fishery management, production (biological), escapement, survival, game fish, freshwater fish, rivers


2018 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 1107-1121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gérald Chaput ◽  
Jonathan Carr ◽  
Jason Daniels ◽  
Steve Tinker ◽  
Ian Jonsen ◽  
...  

Abstract The migration dynamics and inter-annual variation in early at-sea survival of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts over 14 years of study are reported for four river populations located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (Canada). Acoustically tagged smolts were monitored at three points along their migration from freshwater to the Labrador Sea, a migration extending more than 800 km at sea and a period of 2 months. A hierarchical state-space version of the Cormack–Jolly–Seber model was used to estimate apparent survival rates from incomplete acoustic detections at key points. There was a positive size-dependent probability of survival through the freshwater and estuary areas; the odds of survival of a 16 cm smolt were 1.5–1.7 times higher than for a 13.5 cm smolt, length at tagging. Length adjusted (centred to the mean fork length of smolts during the study of 14.6 cm) survivals through the estuary and nearshore waters were estimated to range between 67 and 90% for the two river populations migrating through Chaleur Bay in contrast to lower survival estimates of 28–82% for the two populations from the neighbouring Miramichi Bay. Across the 14 years of study, survival estimates varied without trend for the populations of Chaleur Bay, but declined for the populations migrating through Miramichi Bay. Survival through the Gulf of St. Lawrence was variable but generally high among years and rivers, ranging from 96% day−1 to 99% day−1. Long term, replicated studies at multiple sites using acoustically tagged smolts can provide empirical data to examine hypotheses of the location and timing of factors contributing to smolt and post-smolt mortality of salmon at sea.


2001 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 1187-1195 ◽  
Author(s):  
S P Good ◽  
J J Dodson ◽  
M G Meekan ◽  
D AJ Ryan

We investigated the size-selective mortality of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) fry during two consecutive summers that differed markedly in weather conditions. We sampled fry shortly after emergence in June and at the end of August to compare the distributions of back-calculated body size at hatching by examining otolith microstructure. Size-selective mortality was observed in both summers; however, the direction and strength of mortality differed. During the drought conditions of 1995, selective mortality was relatively weak and directed towards the smaller fry in the population. During the flood conditions of 1996, selective mortality was relatively strong and directed towards the larger fry of the same population. Interannual variability in size-selective mortality contributed to significant differences in the mean size of fry at the end of their first summer of life. Size-selective mortality rates estimated from the shifts in fish length at hatching observed during the first summer of life were comparable with published estimates of total mortality of Atlantic salmon fry, indicating that early mortality may be largely size selective. Mortality associated with hydroclimatic events can select against either small or large fish and is a key determinant of mean size attained by the end of the first summer of life.


1985 ◽  
Vol 42 (9) ◽  
pp. 1513-1521 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. H. A. Martin ◽  
K. A. Mitchell

The possible influence of sea temperature upon the age of return of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) was examined using the catch and weight data of grilse and multi-sea-winter (MSW) salmon of the Aberdeen Harbour Board caught either within or adjacent to the River Dee (Aberdeenshire). This data set, apart from a 10-yr period of commercial confidentiality, is very suitable because uniformity of effort allowed catch per unit effort to be calculated. Only in the last few years was external pressure (high seas fishing) applied to the system. Various temperature series were examined but the known loci of high seas fishing and the temperature ranges involved suggested that the most relevant series is from the subarctic. Increase in temperature is shown to be associated with larger numbers of fish returning as MSW salmon and fewer as grilse. The average weight of grilse increases with grilse catch numbers. Regression equations for grilse and MSW salmon catch numbers are produced for the period 1877–1972. There is a marked 4-yr periodicity in the grilse catch data. A hypothesis is proposed that the temperature of the subarctic influences the migratory pattern, that fish travel further north into the Arctic/subarctic only during those years when the minimum temperature remains above 2 °C.


2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (12) ◽  
pp. 1947-1958 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikhail Yu. Ozerov ◽  
Alexey E. Veselov ◽  
Jaakko Lumme ◽  
Craig R. Primmer

Combining population genetic and landscape ecology approaches provides an understanding of how environmental factors affect individual dispersal, population size, and structure. We first generated a set of predictions of the expected effect of “riverscape” characteristics on salmonid genetic diversity and divergence, based on the results of earlier research on this topic in salmonid fishes. We then tested these predictions in a data set consisting of the microsatellite data and riverscape characteristics of 39 Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ) populations from northwest Russia. The carrying capacity of the river was an important factor shaping the genetic diversity and differentiation of Atlantic salmon populations in the region: salmon in rivers with a larger carrying capacity tended to have higher genetic diversity and lower genetic differentiation. The importance of other riverscape characteristics often varied between anadromous and freshwater populations. Taken together, these associations demonstrate a high and complex level of river landscape influence on the genetic diversity and structure of Atlantic salmon populations and highlight the importance of spawning and nursery area maintenance for the conservation of salmonids.


1989 ◽  
Vol 46 (11) ◽  
pp. 2003-2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilles L. Lacroix

Densities, growth, and production of juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) were estimated at sites in two acidic rivers of different pH, the Westfield and North rivers, in Nova Scotia, Canada, from 1982 to 1984. Annual production was significantly lower in the more acidic Westfield River (< 0.4 g∙m−2∙yr−1 at pH 4.7–5.4) than in the North River (1.4 g∙m−2∙yr−1 at pH 5.6–6.3). Low production rates in the more acidic river were attributable to the lower densities and poorer survival of juveniles at the lower pH levels. Low densities of parr in the more acidic river were a function of the high initial mortality of postemergent fry, and the mortality of parr during periods of pH minima such as over winter. Marking and recapture information and trapping at a weir for counting migrating fishes indicated that there was little emigration of parr other than in the spring when some movements occurred preceding and during smoltification. Average potential yield of 2-yr smolts was 0.8 smolt/100 m2 in the Westfield River and in the range of 2.7–6.6 smolts/100 m2 at higher pH levels in the North River. Growth was not limiting to production at the lower pH levels. After the first winter, 1-yr-old parr were much larger at the lower pH than they were at less acidic pH levels, the faster growth possibly resulting from the lower density of parr at the lowest pH. A temperature-related biphasic growth of 1-yr-old parr with periods of maximum growth in spring and autumn was recorded. Reduced production, a result of deleterious effects of low pH on survival and density in the Westfield River was probably sufficient to prevent the continued maintenance of a naturally produced salmon population in that river, whereas production at higher pH levels in the North River was comparable to that in near-neutral waters of other areas.


1969 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 909-919 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. C. Pippy

Pomphorhynchus laevis (Zoega) Müller, 1776, an acanthocephalan, occurred in 25.4% of 974 juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) from 18 drainage systems in the British Isles and was absent in 1063 juvenile salmon from 36 systems in North America. Its incidence in Irish smolts was about 25 times that in Scotland, England, and Wales. A comparison of its distribution with that of potential intermediate hosts in the British Isles suggests that the amphipod Gammarus duebeni is the intermediate host in Ireland and Gammarus pulex pulex in Scotland, England, and Wales. Pomphorhynchus laevis seems to be useful for indicating the tributary of origin of salmon smolts in several Irish rivers. Its usefulness as a tag for Irish salmon on the high seas is not yet established.


1997 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 1408-1413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabe Gries ◽  
Kevin G Whalen ◽  
Francis Juanes ◽  
Donna L Parrish

Paired day-night underwater counts of juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) were completed on tributaries of the West River, Vermont, U.S.A., between 28 August and 10 September 1995. At water temperatures ranging from 13 to 23°C, the relative count of juvenile salmon was greater at night. Nocturnal counts differed for young-of-the-year and post-young-of-the-year (PYOY) salmon, with PYOY exhibiting almost exclusive nocturnal activity. Nocturnal activity in late summer may enable salmon to maintain population densities when space and suitable feeding areas may be limited. Nocturnal activity of juvenile salmon should be considered in studies of habitat use, competition, time budgets, and associated bioenergetic processes.


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